Doctoral Program
Stanford Classics offers an intellectually vibrant and broadly transdisciplinary exploration of the ancient Mediterranean world. Ph.D. students specialize in literature, history, archaeology, or philosophy and the history of science; their training combines core skills and methods with innovative and theoretically informed approaches.
If you are considering studying Classics at Stanford, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with our approaches to the fields of study here. Review the requirements of the program below and be in contact with our Director of Graduate Studies if you have any questions.
Financial Aid
The Classics Department offers a six-year funding package contingent upon satisfactory progress toward degree completion. Funding covers applicable tuition costs, health insurance, and living expenses. Students through their fifth year in the program will be provided with stipend, tuition, and health insurance for four academic quarters each year. Students in their sixth year will be provided with salary, tuition and health insurance for autumn, winter and spring quarters. Generous funding is also available for travel and research, especially in the Mediterranean area. The department strongly encourages students to finish in the allotted time (usually six years) and does not guarantee funding past the sixth year. The onus is on any student requiring additional time to make his or her own applications for university and outside fellowships.
Teaching Requirements
Four quarters of pedagogical experience are required for graduation. Typically, students teach two quarters in their second year and two quarters in their third year of the program. Teaching may involve running discussion sections for our larger lecture courses, co-teaching a smaller course, being the primary instructor of a course (usually language), or providing essential additional instruction and advising for students of a course. Care is taken to choose courses which align with the student's field of study, experience and confidence from the faculty to perform well. Additional teaching is only awarded based on the needs of the department.
Language Requirements
The department requires students to demonstrate facility in both modern and ancient languages (Latin and/or Ancient Greek). These requirements and related assessments are listed in detail in the Stanford Bulletin.
Other Requirements
Stanford University requires that Ph.D. students complete 135 units of coursework, with a maximum of 45 units which may be transferred from another institution. Each track within the Ph.D. program requires different sets of coursework to complete within the 135 units of residency. These requirements are listed in detail in the Stanford Bulletin. After coursework is completed (typically by the end of the third year), the final two years are then devoted to proposing, writing and defending the dissertation.
Have Questions Along the Way?
Contact the team at classics [at] stanford.edu (classics[at]stanford[dot]edu)