Diversity and Inclusion Summer Programs

The Department of the Classics at Harvard announces the following opportunities and initiatives designed to advance our community’s goals of diversity and inclusion:

Prospective applicants and colleagues with questions about these programs are welcome to contact the Department Administrator, Teresa Wu (ttwu@fas.harvard.edu).

1. Harvard Classics Scholars-in-Training Summer Program

The Department of the Classics offers scholarships to enable college and high school students to take courses in Ancient Greek, Latin, or Ancient Greek history and culture in person at the Harvard Summer School in summer 2024. In addition to course fees and room and board, the scholarship will provide a stipend to help compensate the successful candidate for loss of summer income during the seven weeks of the intensive course. Both high school and college participants will also participate in activities to help them develop valuable research skills.

In the belief that our community and our discipline thrive on diversity, we especially welcome applications from members of groups historically underrepresented in the academia (e.g., underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds) and those who are interested in making contributions to access, inclusion, diversity and outreach in the field of Classics.

Application requirements

  • Responses to the following questions:
    • What do you hope to gain from this program? How will this program help you accomplish your goals? (Please write no more than one paragraph.)

    • Please identify a topic relating to the Ancient Greek and/or Roman worlds that you would be especially excited to explore. What interests you about this topic? (Please write at least three paragraphs.)

    • A core part of our educational mission is to identify and attract the most promising students from the broadest possible range of backgrounds. We are committed to educating individuals who reflect the growing diversity of perspectives and life experiences represented in society today and who are interested in making contributions to access, inclusion, and diversity in the field of Classics. Please share how your experiences or activities will advance these goals. (Please write no more than 500 words.)
  • Resume* with the names and contact information of two referees whom the selection committee may contact to provide a reference on your behalf.
  • Copy (scanned) of transcript/report card from institution currently attending or last attended (unofficial is acceptable).
  • In addition to requiring you to list the names of two referees, we provide a section ("Recommendations") where you can request your referees upload letters of recommendation. Please note that these letters are optional; we will not penalize applicants if their applications do not include formal letters of recommendation.

*Sample resume template

Eligibility requirements

All students must

  • be enrolled full-time in an accredited public or private high-school or undergraduate institution in the United States;
  • be in good academic standing;
  • be a documented U.S. citizen or non-citizen U.S. national, or permanent resident of the United States in possession of an alien registration receipt card (I-551) or another legal document of such status at the time of application. International citizens studying in the United States with an F-1 Visa are not eligible.

High school students can only apply if they

  • are at least 16 years old by June 17, 2024, and will not turn 19 years old before July 31, 2024;
  • AND will graduate from high school and enter college in 2024, 2025, or 2026.

Deadlines

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on January 26, 2024.

Please note that applicants will be notified of our decision by February 7. Students who receive scholarships will then need to submit an application to the Harvard Summer School. High School students must complete an application to the Harvard Summer School Secondary School Program by February 14, 2024. We will reach out to scholarship recipients to provide more information about this process, and will cover their application fees to the Harvard Summer School. (Application fees are only required for the Secondary School Program.)

Courses

  • Intensive Beginning Greek (Greek S-AAB)
  • Intensive Beginning Latin (Latin S-AAB, in person)
  • Beginning Greek (Greek S-AA)
  • Beginning Latin (LATI S-AA)
  • Introduction to the Ancient Greek World (CLAS S-97A)

All scholarship recipients—high school and undergraduate students—are eligible for these courses. Please note that, unlike in previous years, high school students are permitted to take intensive language courses.

In order to access the application portal, applicants will first need to create a HarvardKey. Please note that receiving a HarvardKey can take more than 24 hours, so applicants should create their key and begin their application well before the deadline.

Once you have received your HarvardKey, follow this link and log in to CARAT, our application portal. After your first login, you will be asked to fill out your profile.

After this, click this link to access our application.

Information Sessions

We will hold two Zoom information sessions for interested applicants:

Please sign up in advance to receive the Zoom link. For further information, please contact the Department Administrator, Teresa Wu (ttwu@fas.harvard.edu)

2. Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard Program (SROH)

The Department of the Classics provides summer research opportunities to connect undergraduates interested in doctoral work in Classics with faculty members in our department. The 10-week program, offered through Harvard Griffin GSAS and the Leadership Alliance, provides a stipend and access to a host of networking and mentoring opportunities to conduct a research project under the supervision of a faculty member in our department. We currently welcome applications from undergraduates interested in fields related to Greco-Roman antiquity, including but not limited to Republican and Imperial Latin literature; Cicero and Roman oratory; Latin historiography; reception of Latin literature; history of classical scholarship. In the summer of 2021, the SROH student conducted research on ancient Roman cosmetics, and in the summer of 2023 the student studied Roman female identity. There are some eligibility requirements as it pertains to academic standing and residency status, but the program is otherwise open to undergraduates enrolled in any accredited college or university in the US.

For further information please contact Prof. Irene Peirano Garrison (peirano@fas.harvard.edu).

Application deadline TBD

A link to the application and further information about program eligibility and requirements can be found on the Harvard Griffin GSAS website.

Testimonials from Students and Tutors

“The summer program was an incredible opportunity to explore the vast and interdisciplinary nature of Classics— thanks to the support of passionate graduate students and professors willing to go above and beyond to empower our studies. From learning about the intricacies of ancient coins to joining in on weekly game nights, I'm so grateful to have joined such a welcoming and collaborative community of Classicists from around the country.”

Riya Joshi, Walter Payton College Preparatory High School

“The Harvard Summer Program this year was an amazing way for me to interact more with the Classics and accumulate a solid foundation of Ancient Greece before beginning the language at school this year. Even though I participated in the program virtually via Zoom, the experience of parsing Ancient Greek texts as well as analyzing Ancient Greek artifacts made the program feel just like, if not even better than an in person one.”

Kelly Sung, St. Paul's School

“Interning under the guidance of Professor Irene Peirano Garrison and Alex Vega, a graduate student in Classical Philosophy, during Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard (SROH) was one of the most enriching educational experiences of my life. I learned so much about the process of conducting Classics research, and I was able to present the culmination of my work at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium due to their endless support, constructive critiques, mentoring, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to embrace the intersections of health sciences and women's studies in antiquity.”

Charnice Hoegnifioh, Yale College (SROH, summer 2021)
Project title: “The Price of Beauty is Pain:
Makeup and Women’s Health in the Roman Empire”

“The summer program was a time where I got to explore so much about myself surrounded by a community empowered through our commitment toward studying and understanding Classics. Each meeting was spent exploring what it meant to be a classicist amidst friends who gave me so much joy and laughter over the summer. I was always inspired, engaged, and ready to have fun with this amazing group of supportive people.”

Zoë Sims Rhodes, Park Tudor School (Beginning Greek)


“The mentors were always very supportive by offering extra help with the course content and were always there to chat about anything classics-related. It was also really nice to meet a community and get to know people who love Classics just as much as I do. As a rising high school senior, I also really appreciated learning about studying Classics in college.”

Sanjana Singh, Boston Latin School (Beginning Greek)


“It was a pleasure to work with such a highly motivated group of students as they developed their ideas, analyzed intriguing texts and languages, and found fascinating connections between the ancient past and the world today. It was great to see them grow as scholars while sharing the joy of exploring the classical world with a community of students who shared their interests.”

Alex Vega, PhD candidate in Classical Philosophy, Harvard University
(Head Tutor, Scholars-in-Training and SROH programs)

“I really enjoyed going over grammar and syntax with students, but I found it especially rewarding to talk to them about their interests and aspirations, and to give them guidance as they explored the possibilities of classical scholarship, which ranges from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period, from Persia to Britain, and offers thousands of lenses for studying both people and the past.”

Jorge Wong Medina, PhD candidate in Classical Philology, Harvard University
(Head Tutor, Scholars-in-Training Summer Program)