Graduate Programs in Classical Studies

Our graduate program in Classical Studies prepares students both to be insightful professional scholars of classical antiquity and effective and inspiring teachers. The program centers on structured study of the classical languages, Greco-Roman culture, and the perspectives and methods of research available for the classical world. The faculty, as teachers and mentors, provide careful training and guidance of students, who are encouraged to show independent initiative in pursuing their own interests, goals, and intellectual identities. For our commitment to multiple career pathways, see career pathways.

The Department of Classical Studies promotes interdisciplinary and comparative literary, historical, and cultural studies embracing a wide range of areas. Our particular strengths lie in Greek drama, Greek and Roman epic, Greek and Roman history, Roman rhetoric, translation and interpretation of classical literature, Indo-European/historical linguistics, and the classical tradition in Europe and America. 

We seek students of outstanding accomplishment, originality, and imagination who wish to communicate their enthusiasm to others, both as scholars and teachers. Typically, successful applicants have a minimum of three years (or the equivalent) of Greek and Latin. 

All students accepted into the MA/PhD program are awarded five years of financial support, assuming that the student is in good standing and proceeding through the program in a timely manner. Students from underrepresented minority groups or with an interest in social justice may also seek a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship from the Graduate School, which provides an additional year of funding, which may be used either to make up any gaps in preparation or to extend research time.

To prepare students as independent researchers and inspiring teachers, our seminars guide students in preparing abstracts to present papers at the Society of Classical Studies annual meetings and other venues (for a year-by-year listing of student presentations at conferences, see graduate student papers). We also host a graduate conference every year. In addition, we have multiple resources to support our students during the summer months, including summer travel fellowships (up to $7,000) to attend the Summer School programs at the American Academy in Rome or the American School of Classical Studies in Athens or to create their research agenda for summer travel in the Mediterranean. View graduate internships, fellowships and funding.  

The Department of Classical Studies works closely with faculty and students from across the Humanities, including the Departments of History of Art & Architecture, Archaeology, World Languages & Literatures, Religion, and Philosophy, and the School of Theology. View affiliated faculty

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Zsuzsanna Varhelyi

Associate Professor of Classical Studies; Director of Graduate Admissions; NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor

varhelyi@bu.edu