Fellowships & Funding

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.  In the first and fifth years this support takes the form of a Dean’s Fellowship (DF), free from teaching duties. In years two through four, it is converted to a Teaching Fellowship (TF). TFs are expected to teach one course per semester, and their teaching activity cannot exceed 20 hours per week. In their initial semesters a TF usually assists in, and/or teaches one or two sections of, a lecture course; later they may be assigned a stand-alone course in the undergraduate Greek or Latin language sequence.

Both Dean’s Fellowships and Teaching Fellowships include:

1. Stipend: $13,133.50/semester (effective Sept 1, 2023)
2. Tuition remission
3. Health insurance

Advanced students may also be appointed as Senior TFs to teach stand-alone courses in the undergraduate Greek or Latin language sequence.

Except for students applying to the dual-degree program MA in Classical Studies and PhD in Philosophy, MA students are ineligible for department financial support.

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, using funds from alumni gifts, has established a fellowship program, Graduate Research Abroad Fellowships, to support foreign-based research by doctoral students whose field-based or archival research requires an extended period of residence in another country or countries. This program is primarily intended for students in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, where the opportunity to conduct foreign research is often crucial and where sources of funds are limited, but students from all Arts & Sciences disciplines will be eligible for consideration.  GRAF awards may not be used for foreign-based study or training such as acquiring language skills, or for attending professional conferences.

There are two kinds of Graduate Research Abroad Fellowships:

• The Short-term GRAF supports travel and living costs during a relatively brief period of study abroad. For trips taken during the academic year when students will normally be supported by another fellowship, up to $4000 in travel costs is provided. For trips during the summer (late May through August) a fellowship provides up to $6000.
• The Long-term GRAF enables a student to spend an extended period (at least a full semester) of foreign-based field or archival research. It provides up to $13,000 to cover living, travel, and research expenses.  A Long-term GRAF also provides Continuing Study Fees and the cost of participation in the basic BU student health plan for the time the student is abroad. Receipt of a Long-term GRAF has important implications for the student’s five-year fellowship package.  Please refer to this page for details.

Fellowships will be awarded to students nominated by their departments and recommended by a faculty committee. At the time of nomination, students should be well advanced in their doctoral studies and will normally have completed all doctoral program requirements except the dissertation. Each department or doctoral program may nominate up to three students each semester, using this nomination form. Forms should be submitted by departments to the Graduate School by November 1 for the fall round and by March 21 for the spring round. Up to ten Short-term and ten Long-term Fellowships will be awarded each year.

Source: https://www.bu.edu/cas/current-students/phd-mfa-students/financial-aid/aid-for-phd-students/

Conference Support

Whenever funds are available, the Department will reimburse students for travel and accommodations for conferences. We prioritize funding for students giving papers or interviewing at the SCS. With any remaining funds, we next prioritize regional conferences (such as CAMWS, CANE, CAAS), and then graduate student or other conferences. Please fill out this form to apply for funding, and send an email to classics@bu.edu once your form has been submitted so that we may respond as soon as possible.

Graduate Student Organization (GSO) Travel Funds

Twice a year, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Organization (GSO) accepts applications for travel grants. The GSO offers two types of awards:

• Presentation travel grants: For students planning on directly participating in a conference or research forum by presenting a paper or poster, participating in a discussion panel, or chairing a discussion or paper session.
• Research travel grants: For students planning to visit an archive, attend a training workshop, or use a research facility.

For instructions, application, and more details please visit the GSO website. Funds are only available for departments who send representatives to most of the GSO meetings.

Summer Travel Fellowship

The Department of Classical Studies offers 4 summer fellowships to study material culture and archaeological sites of the ancient Mediterranean. Fellowships are up to $7,000.00. The fellowship may be used to attend Summer Programs offered through the American School in Rome (AAR) (deadline for application is in mid December), the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) (deadline for application is in early January), or other programs of your choice (upon departmental approval). Funding is also available for a carefully conceived itinerary of your own design (again, dependent upon departmental review). Applications, including budget and one-page travel plans, should be sent to Professor Scully by the 2nd Friday of April.

The Department offers summer funding in the following ways:

1. Stipend support for preparation of examinations for the writing of the prospectus, or for work on the dissertation.
2. Attendance at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens summer program or at the American Academy in Rome Summer Program.
3. Support for summer research or travel as detailed above.
4. Research assistance for faculty (availability varies).

In the sixth year, students may:

1. Apply for a Senior Teaching Fellowship in the Core Curriculum
2. Apply for a Senior Teaching Fellowship in the Writing Program (usually a two-year appointment). These are courses of your own design which combine close study of texts with freshman composition. These courses are time-consuming, but offer exceptional teaching opportunities and desirable job-market skills.

In semesters when faculty members teach in the University Honors College they receive funding for one TF in addition to the department’s allotment. In addition, sometimes the department is able to appointment a G6 or G7 graduate student as a senior TF to teach a Latin or Greek course, but such positions are usually given to G3 or G4 students.

The BU Academy, a private high school on campus, occasionally has openings for graduate students to teach Latin and Greek.

In the Boston area numerous private high schools and colleges regularly have part-time or full-time openings for ABD classicists.