A brief description of the department:
The Harvard department has been at the forefront of graduate education in
Classics for well over a century. It offers a variety of approaches,
emphasizing a wide range of knowledge and skills rather than narrow
specialization. While the majority of candidates take the degree in Classical
Philology (i.e. Classics), the department also has Ph.D. programs in Ancient
History, Archeology, Philosophy, Medieval Latin, Byzantine Greek, and Modern
Greek.
Particular strengths or unique areas of interest for the department: “Holistic approaches”, “reception studies”, “philology”, “comparative studies”
Application deadline: Beginning of January
Unusual features of the application: None
GRE scores required: Yes
Writing sample required: Yes; For example, a chapter of senior thesis or a seminar paper
For “best consideration for admission”, applicants should have (note that there are always special cases, and that meeting the stated numerical goals will not guarantee admission to any program):
Our recommendations and suggestions on this question vary according to which
program is involved. To generalize, we look for, but do not blindly demand,
quite high GRE results, particularly in the areas of verbal and analytical
expertise, and for overseas students we expect reasonably strong TOEFL
scores. But we are mostly interested to see good writing samples, good
language background, both in grades and in number of courses taken, mature
and committed statements of purpose, and strong and detailed letters of
support.
Average number of new graduate students per year: We do not have a separate MA program. All students are registered for the
Ph.D.
and on average we admit 7-8 new students each year.
Approximate percentage of applicants this represents: The number of admissions ranges between 10% and 15% of the application pool.
Number of new students entering program this fall: Seven, for PhD
Approximate percentage of incoming students given full funding: All admitted students are fully funded and at the same level of support.
Number of guaranteed years of funding: Currently Ph.D. degree students are guaranteed funding for six years,
which is the normal length of the program.
Out of those years, number student will be expected or required to serve as TA, RA, or the like: Usually for three of the six. In the first two years we provide full tuition
and stipend grants, with no teaching or assisting permitted, and there is one
year of guaranteed (teaching-free) support for completion of the
dissertation.
International students eligibility for financial aid: Yes, everyone is funded at the same level.
PhDs and MAs awarded since January 2005: 21 Ph.D.s
Major changes anticipated in the department over the next few years, if any: No major changes expected, beyond the occasional and normal cases of retirement and new hire
Best contact person for questions: DGS: Richard Thomas (rthomas@fas.harvard.edu); CHAIR: John Duffy (duffy2@fas.harvard.edu)
2007 Survey Response