Graduate Program

Our Ph.D. program is dedicated to training students in the broad and integrated field of Classical Studies, which includes Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Greek and Roman world.

We seek to provide students with a broad understanding of Greco-Roman antiquity as a whole; a working knowledge of the specialized tools and techniques needed for research in the field; and familiarity with methodologies developed in other disciplines that are relevant to Classical Studies. Duke is particularly fortunate in faculty and resources that allow direct contact with the textual and material foundations of our knowledge of antiquity.  A flexible program of courses can thus be arranged. After course work is completed, an integral part of the training is teaching experience, in courses in Classical Studies and in Greek and Latin.

The department cooperates with others at Duke that share our interests, such as Art and Art History, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, and Women's Studies.  We have close ties to the faculty, students, and resources of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with whom we collaborate in the Consortium for Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology (CCMA).  Our faculty and students are integral both to Duke’s Center for Late Ancient Studies, and to Duke’s Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.  We also have strong ties to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the American Academy in Rome, and the American Research Center in Turkey.

The department encourages all graduate students to take advantage of its extensive research materials, which include the collection of Duke papyri; the collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts in Perkins’ Special Collections Library; and the Classical sculpture, ceramics, and other material in the Nasher Museum of Art.

Please feel free to contact Tolly Boatwright, the Director of Graduate Studies, if you have questions about the program. Please note that our department does not accept students wishing to pursue only a M.A. in Classical Studies, but that a joint J.D./M.A. degree is available to qualified Law School students.