Guide to Graduate Program Policies, Procedures, and Resources

Grades and Academic Eligibility
Students must remain academically eligible in order to continue in their degree program. Registration in following semesters for academically ineligible students will be canceled automatically. Students become academically ineligible if they 1) receive a courses grad of F, F*, or XF in any one course, or grades of L in a total of 9 or more hours; 2) fail a graduate examination for the second time. For further information see the Graduate School Handbook here.

It is department policy that a passing grade on a graduate examination is P- or higher; a grade of L+ or lower is a failing grade and necessitates a retake of the exam. The examination committee has the discretion to require a student to retake one question or section on an exam without assigning a failing grade to the exam as a whole. In such cases, the exam will not receive an official grade until all questions or sections have been completed and graded. The student will retake the question or section within four weeks of the original exam date.

Registration
Full-time registration requires that a student register for either 1) at least 9 hours of courses during the fall or spring terms or 2) at least 3 hours of thesis (993) or dissertation (994) credit during the fall, spring, or summer terms. In certain circumstances, students who do not meet these requirements but are engaged in other academic work may apply for a Waiver of Hours in order to count as full-time registration. Students do not need to register for summer terms in order to maintain status as full-time students, provided that they were registered during the fall and spring terms of the preceding year. Students must be registered full-time in order to hold an assistantship or fellowship during a fall or spring term. They are required to be registered whenever they are using University resources to make progress towards the degree. In addition, they must be registered in any term, including summer terms, in which they take an examination, including the prospectus and dissertation defenses. For further information, see the Graduate School Handbook here.

Residence
Every graduate degree program has a residence requirement, which is fulfilled by registering for courses at UNC-CH or at nearby institutions (see below under ‘Courses’). The residence requirement is calculated as follows: 9 or more credit hours = 1 semester residence; 6-8.9 hours = 3/4 semester; 3-5.9 hours = 1/2 semester; less than 3 hours = 1/4 semester. Residence is always calculated by number of credit hours; thus, enrollment in 3 hours of thesis or dissertation credit constitutes full-time registration, but counts as only 1/2 semester residence. For further information, see the Graduate School Handbook here.

Courses
All courses taken for credit towards a graduate degree must be at the graduate level, i.e., 400 level or higher. Courses numbered below 300 do not count toward academic program requirements, do not carry either course or residence credit, and are not entered into the student’s academic eligibility calculation. In addition, degree-seeking students must register for all courses through the Graduate School, and not through the Friday Center of Summer School.

Students may take up to two graduate-level courses through inter-institutional registration during a fall or spring term, provided that they are registered for at least 3 hours at UNC-CH. These courses count towards full-time enrollment status and carry residence credit. Eligible courses include those at Duke (numbered 500 and above), North Carolina State University (4000 and above), and UNC-Greensboro (500 and above). Students may take courses at other institutions only if no equivalent course is available at UNC-CH. For further information, see the Graduate School handbook here under ‘Inter-Institutional Registration’ and the program website here.

• MA in Classics
  MA in Classics
  See also the policies in the Graduate School Handbook here. In order to be awarded an MA in Classics, students must demonstrate:

  (1) a command of Greek and Latin grammar and syntax and a general competence in idiom and style;
  (2) first-hand knowledge of a basic canon of authors and works, both Greek and Latin, prose and poetry, and an understanding of the main lines of Greek and Latin literary history;
  (3) an ability to do graduate-level work in one of the related disciplines of classical archaeology or ancient history;
  (4) an ability to build on their knowledge to pose creative questions about the literature and culture of the ancient Graeco-Roman world;
  (5) an ability to use basic research tools and methodologies, including the ability to work with scholarship in a language other than English;
  (6) an ability to successfully formulate and execute a substantial article-length research project;
  (7) competence in classroom instruction in at least one format.

  Students will demonstrate that they have met these goals by successfully completing the following requirements:

  1. A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher), including the following specific requirements:

  a. 9 hours in Greek (GREK) and 9 hours in Latin (LATN)
  b. 3 hours in either Greek or Latin prose composition (GREK 710 or LATN 710); this may count towards the total of 18 hours in Greek and Latin noted in (a)
  c. 3 hours in an advanced seminar in either Greek or Latin (GREK or LATN 901); this may count towards the total of 18 hours in Greek and Latin noted in (a)
  d. 3 hours in either classical archaeology (CLAR) or ancient history (HIST)
  e. 3 hours in CLAS 720, Methods and Perspectives in Classical Scholarship
  f. 3 hours, but no more than 3, in thesis credit (GREK or LATN 993); this does NOT count towards the total of 15 hours noted in (a)
  Note: Courses in other departments may count toward the 30-hour minimum if approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The Graduate School recommends that at least half the courses taken for a graduate degree be at the 700-level or higher.

  2. 1 hour in CLAS 710, Proseminar in Pedagogy
  3. A reading knowledge of German, French, or Italian. This requirement can be met by taking and passing the Foreign Language Proficiency Assessment (FLPA). The FLPA is administered once a semester by the Graduate School, typically in November and April; registration is online, and there is a $35 fee. It is a three-hour exam, equivalent to the final exam in a 204 course, and use of a dictionary is permitted. Students are urged to begin German as soon as possible, since a reading knowledge of German is required for the PhD.
  4. MA written Examinations. There are two written examinations, a translation examination and a literature examination.  Students take these examinations in the fourth semester of study, normally in late January/early February, on successive days of a weekend.  They are based on four reading lists: works in the original languages, recommended commentaries, works in translation, and recommended surveys of Greek and Latin literature.  The reading lists are available here.  A detailed guide to preparation for and the format of these examinations is available here. For departmental policy on the grading of graduate exams, see here.

  a. The translation examination lasts four hours and consists of four passages, one each in Greek prose, Greek poetry, Latin prose, and Latin poetry, taken from the works on the MA list of works in the original language.
  b. The literature examination lasts four hours and consists of three questions in a set format.  Students are asked to compose (1) a commentary on a passage, taken from the list of works to be read in the original language; (2) an essay question and a model answer for a final examination in an advanced undergraduate course; and (3) an essay on a major genre of Greek and Latin literature.  Questions (1) and (2) are limited to either Greek or Latin literature; question (3) covers both languages.

  5. MA Thesis. The thesis will normally be a paper the student has written for a graduate course, with corrections and suggestions of the instructor carried out. See the detailed guide here.
  6. Advancement Interview.  After approval of the MA thesis, students take part in a 45-minute conversation with four members of the department faculty, normally the DGS, their thesis supervisor, and two members of their exam committee. This conversation, which is not a formal exam and is not graded, covers the student’s exams, thesis, research interests, and plans for the future.
  7. Residence. It is a requirement of the Graduate School that master’s students complete a minimum program residence credit of two full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over several semesters. In addition, 24 of the 30 required credit hours of graduate courses must be taken in residence.

• MA in Classical Archaeology
  MA in Classical Archaeology
  See also the policies in the Graduate School handbook here.
  1. A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher), distributed as follows:

  a. 6 hours in Greek art and archaeology
  b. 6 hours in Roman art and archaeology
  c. 6 hours in elective CLAR courses
  d. 3 hours in an advanced archaeology seminar (CLAR 910); this counts towards the requirements noted above in (a), (b), or (c)
  e. 3 hours in ancient history (HIST) or a suitable replacement approved by the Director of the Archaeology Program and the Director of Graduate Studies.
  f. 6 hours in Greek or Latin. Note: LATN 601 and 602 do not fill this requirement or count toward the requirement of 30 hours.
  g. 3 hours, but no more than 3, in thesis credit (CLAR 993); this does NOT count towards the requirements in noted above in (a), (b), or (c)

  2.1 hour in CLAS 710, Proseminar in Pedagogy.
  3. A reading knowledge of German, French, Italian, modern Greek, or another modern language appropriate to the student’s area of study. The choice of language must be approved by the Director of the Archaeology Program. For German, French or Italian, this requirement can be met by taking and passing the Foreign Language Proficiency Assessment (FLPA). The FLPA is administered once a semester by the Graduate School, typically in November and April; registration is online, and there is a $35 fee. It is a three-hour exam, equivalent to the final exam in a 204 course, and use of a dictionary is permitted. For testing in languages other than German, French, or Italian, students should contact the Director of the Archaeology Program. Students are urged to begin German as soon as possible, since a reading knowledge of German is required for the PhD in Classical Archaeology.
  4. MA Written Examination on Greek and Roman art and archaeology. Students take this exam in the fourth semester of study, normally in late January/early February, on successive days of a weekend. They should consult with the Director of the Archaeology Program early in the Fall semester before the exam is to be given. Students ordinarily take exams on departmental laptops, although they may with permission of the Director of the Archaeology Program write them by hand. The exam consists of two parts: 1) three questions on Greek art and archaeology (one of which consists of a visual analysis essay); 2) three questions on Roman art and archaeology (one of which consists of a visual analysis essay). Each part lasts four hours. For departmental policy on the grading of graduate exams, see here.

  Questions will be developed from a list of four topics provided by the Director of the Archaeology Program in the fall semester preceding the MA exam. A short bibliography for each topic will also be provided. Images for the visual analysis component of the exam will mostly be drawn from the following textbooks:

  (1) Barringer, Judith M., The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece (Cambridge UP 2014).
  (2) Neer, Richard T., Greek Art and Archaeology (Thames & Hudson 2011)
  (3) Kleiner, Fred, A History of Roman Art (Thomson Wadsworth 2006)
  (4) Ramage, Nancy H., and Ramage, Andrew., Roman Art (6th ed. Pearson 2014)

  5. Thesis. The thesis will normally be a paper the student has written for a graduate course, with corrections and suggestions of the instructor carried out, plus an expanded, annotated bibliography. See further below under ‘MA Thesis’.
  6. Residence. It is a requirement of the Graduate School that master’s students complete a minimum program residence credit of two full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over several semesters. In addition, 24 of the 30 required credit hours of graduate courses must be taken in residence.

• MA Thesis
  MA Thesis
  1.The thesis will normally be based on a paper the student has written for a graduate course; the student will choose the appropriate paper in consultation with the faculty member for whom papers were written and with either the Director of Graduate Studies or the Director of the Archaeology Program, or both.2. All students are encouraged from their first semester onwards to think about one of their papers as the basis for their thesis, and should initiate the process of revising it as a thesis by the start of their third semester. Because the timeline for submitting the thesis is very tight and overlaps with the MA exams (see 7 below), students will need to use a paper from one of their first three semesters, and in most cases from one of the first two semesters. A paper from a course in the third semester will need to be planned as the thesis from the start.

  3. The course paper will be revised and expanded under the direction of the faculty member for whom it was originally written, who will be the director of the thesis. The revisions and expansions will in particular involve incorporating and engaging more of the relevant scholarship on the topic, including scholarship in at least one language other than English, and adding a substantial bibliography. Students who are considering the use of any formal third-party assistance in the revision process, whether through the UNC Writing Center or elsewhere, should discuss that in advance with their thesis director. The paper will be expanded to a minimum of 30 pages, excluding bibliography but including footnotes, and a maximum of 60 pages.

  4. There is no thesis prospectus. All that is needed to initiate the process is for the student and the thesis director to agree on what specifically the student needs to do to transform the course paper into an MA thesis.

  5. The thesis committee will consist of three members (as required by the Graduate School): the director of the thesis, one other faculty member appointed by the DGS or the Director of the Archaeology Program in consultation with the student, and either the DGS or the Director of the Archaeology Program, whose role will be to serve as chair of the committee. If the DGS or Director of the Archaeology Program is one of the first two readers, any member of the faculty can serve as the third reader and chair of the committee.

  6. The thesis must be formatted according to the standards set out in the Graduate School’s ‘Thesis and Dissertation Guide’; note especially the useful ‘Submission Checklist’. Students do not need to meet all these formatting requirements in order to submit the thesis to their committee, but it will save time and trouble to keep them in mind from the start.

  7. With the approval of their thesis director, students submit their thesis to their committee for final approval; there is no oral defense for the MA. Once the committee has approved the thesis, students must ensure that it is formatted according to the Graduate School guidelines (see 5 above) and submit it electronically for online publication with ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing. For the procedures, see here; see also the additional information and FAQs here and here.

  8. It is important to adhere to the following schedule, and accordingly to plan in advance. In order to graduate with the MA in May, the thesis must be submitted by mid-April; the precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here. Students accordingly need to submit a final draft of their thesis to their committee by the end of March at the latest in order for committee members to have time to read it and for the student to make any revisions requested by the committee. In order to make this deadline, especially since the MA exams take place during the same period, students need to begin work on the thesis in the fall semester. They should select their paper and set up their committee by October 15th at the latest, and have the revisions well underway by the end of the semester. Students should plan to submit a full draft of their thesis to their thesis director by mid-March in order for him or her to read it prior to submitting it to the whole committee.

  9. Students who write an MA thesis will register for three hours of thesis credit (993) during their fourth semester. Students must register under their thesis director’s section number. Students should consult with the office staff if they have any questions about registration, and should respond to their requests for information in a timely fashion or risk not being registered for the semester. They must also submit to the Graduate School the required online Application for Graduation by mid-February; the precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduate Deadlines’ page here. Instructions for submitting the application can be found on the same page.

  10. Students who have written an appropriate MA thesis at another institution may apply to the Director of Graduate Studies for permission to bypass the MA thesis. They should submit a written request to the DGS by October 15th of their second year. The DGS will evaluate the particular situation and decide whether or not to grant permission. Note that students who bypass the MA thesis must still take the MA written exams but do not receive an MA from UNC-Chapel Hill.

• PhD in Classics or Classics with Historical Emphasis
  PhD in Classics or Classics with Historical Emphasis
  See also the policies in the Graduate School Handbook here.
  1. A minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher) beyond the 30 required for the MA, including the following specific requirements. If a student has taken more than 30 hours of approved courses before the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement. Courses taken before completion of the MA may also be used to satisfy the specific requirements listed below. It is strongly recommended that all candidates for the PhD in Classics take both Latin and Greek Composition (LATN 510 and GREK 507). It is recommended, but not required, that candidates for the PhD in Classics with Historical Emphasis take courses in the ancient historians, epigraphy, and more than the one required archaeology course.

  a. 9 hours in advance seminars (GREK or LATN 901).
  b. 9 hours in Greek; this includes courses used to satisfy (a) above.
  c. 9 hours in Latin; this includes courses used to satisfy (a) above.
  d. 3 hours in classical archaeology (CLAR).
  e. 3 hours in ancient history (HIST).
  f. 6 hours, but no more than 6, of dissertation credit (GREK or LATN 994)

  Note: LATN 601 and 602 do not count toward the requirement of 24 hours. Courses in other departments may count toward the 30-hour minimum if approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The Graduate School recommends that at least half the courses taken for a graduate degree be at the 700-level or higher.

  2. A reading knowledge of a second modern language; see (4) under the requirements for the MA in Greek or Latin. If German was not used to satisfy the MA requirement, it must be used to satisfy this requirement.
  3. PhD written and oral examinations. Students ordinarily take written exams on departmental laptops, although they may with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies write them by hand. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered during any term in which they take an exam. The following schedule of exams was instituted in the 2015-16 academic year.

  a. Special field examination. This is a two-hour written exam and is normally taken in a student’s 6th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the spring semester of the 3rd year). The exact date will be determined by the student and his/her exam supervisor, but it should normally take place before February 15th. In most cases the topic of the exam should relate to the anticipated dissertation field, but students may, in consultation with their advisor and approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, choose an unrelated topic (e.g., as an additional area of research or teaching strength). Students must submit to the DGS by October 1st of their 3rd year a plan for their special topic exam that includes 1) the name of their exam supervisor, 2) the topic of the exam, 3) a brief description and rationale for the topic, and 4) a short preliminary bibliography of 8-12 items. The Student Services Manager will send a reminder of this requirement to all 3rd year students on September 1st.
  b. Translation examinations. These written exams are normally taken in a student’s 7th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the fall semester of the 4th year), usually late August/early September. The Director of Graduate Studies announces the exact dates in an annual memo. There are two exams, one for Greek and one for Latin; each consists of four passages taken from texts on the PhD reading lists, two poetry and two prose, and lasts four hours. These two exams are spread over two successive weekends.
  c. Essay examinations. These written exams are normally taken in a student’s 8th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the spring semester of the 4th year), usually late January/early February, although students may choose to take them in the 7th semester following the translation exams. The Director of Graduate Studies announces the exact dates in an annual memo. There are two exams, one for Greek and one for Latin. Each lasts four hours and consists of essays based primarily on the authors in the PhD reading lists; students have a choice of four out of six questions. The essay exams aim to strike a reasonable balance between literary interpretation and the factual information with which a professional classicist needs to be familiar. Thus students may expect questions that will test their ability to analyze and interpret Greek and Latin texts, but they must also be able to show in their essays a grasp of appropriate information concerning authors, dates, works, and relevant modern scholarship. They may also expect questions on how they would go about teaching a particular text, author, or topic. The two exams are spread over two successive weekends.
  d. Oral examination. The oral exam normally takes place no more than two weeks after the essay exams, and thus in a student’s 8th semester; students who choose to take their essay exams in their 7th semester will take the oral exam at that time as well. The exact date is worked out with each student on an individual basis after the completion of the essay exams. The oral exam consists of four half-hour segments, one each on Greek poetry, Greek prose, Latin poetry, and Latin prose; the student may choose the order of the segments. The exam includes a break, and so is scheduled for a two-and-a-half hour slot. The oral exam is closely tied to but not limited to the contents of the two essay exams on Greek and Latin literature; it may explore the student’s understanding of the literature within their historical, cultural, and social contexts, as well as the student’s ability to discuss and interpret major works. Students may be asked to work with individual texts, and/or to read aloud a selection of Greek or Latin verse.

  4. Dissertation prospectus. A student should submit a dissertation prospectus as soon as feasible after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the Director of Graduate Studies). For guidelines on the content and format of the prospectus, see the Department’s dissertation guide. The committee will meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) oral defense of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered for dissertation credit (994) during the term in which they defend their prospectus.
  5. Dissertation. See below.
  6. Final oral examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee. See further below.
  7. Residence. It is a requirement of the Graduate School that doctoral students complete a minimum program residence credit of four full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over several semester. At least two of the required four semesters of residence must be earned in contiguous registration of no fewer than six credit hours at UNC-Chapel Hill.

• PhD in Classical and Medieval Latin
  PhD in Classical and Medieval Latin
  See also the policies in the Graduate School Handbook here.
  1. A minimum of 24 hours of graduate courses (400-level of higher) beyond the 30 required for the MA, including the following specific requirements. If a student has taken more than 30 hours of approved courses before completion of the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement. Courses taken before completion of the MA may also be used to satisfy the specific requirements listed below.

  a. 9 hours in advanced seminars (GREK or LATN 901)
  b. 9 hours in courses on late ancient and medieval Latin, chosen from among the following: LATN 514, 530, 723, 724, and 770; this may include courses used to satisfy (a) above. Other late ancient or medieval Latin courses may be substituted if approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
  c. 9 hours in classical Latin; this includes courses used to satisfy (a) above.
  d. A minimum of 3, and preferably 6, hours chosen from an area of medieval studies in one of the following departments: Art, English and Comparative Literature, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, History, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, or Romance Studies. Courses must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
  e. 6 hours, but no more than 6, of dissertation credit (LATN 994).

  Note: LATN 601 and 602 do not count toward the requirement of 24 hours. The Graduate School recommends that at least half of the courses taken for a graduate degree be at the 700-level or higher.

  2. A reading knowledge of a second modern language; see (4) under the requirements for the MA in Greek or Latin. If German was not used to satisfy the MA requirement, it must be used to satisfy this requirement.
  3. PhD written and oral examinations. Students ordinarily take exams on departmental laptops, although they may with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies write them by hand. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered during any term in which they take an exam. The following schedule of exams was instituted in the 2015-16 academic year.

  a. Special field examination. This is a two-hour written exam and is normally taken in a student’s 6th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the spring semester of the 3rd year). The exact date will be determined by the student and his/her exam supervisor, but it should normally take place before February 15th. In most cases the topic of the exam should relate to the anticipated dissertation field, but students may, in consultation with their advisor and approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, choose an unrelated topic (e.g., as an additional area of research or teaching strength). Students must submit to the DGS by October 1st of their 3rd year a plan for their special topic exam that includes 1) the name of their exam supervisor, 2) the topic of the exam, 3) a brief description and rationale for the topic, and 4) a short preliminary bibliography of 8-12 items. The Student Services Manager will send a reminder of this requirement to all 3rd year students on September 1st.
  b. Translation examinations. These written exams are normally taken in a student’s 7th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the fall semester of the 4th year), usually late August/early September. The Director of Graduate Studies announces the exact dates in an annual memo. There are two exams, one for classical and one for medieval Latin; each consists of four passages taken from texts on the PhD reading lists, two poetry and two prose, and lasts four hours. The two exams are spread over two successive weekends.
  c. Essay examinations. These written exams are normally taken in a student’s 8th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the spring semester of the 4th year), usually late January/early February, although students may choose to take them in the 7th semester following the translation exams. There are two exams, one for classical and one for medieval Latin. Each lasts four hours and consists of essays based primarily on the authors in the PhD reading lists; students have a choice of four out of six questions. The essay exams aim to strike a reasonable balance between literary interpretation and the factual information with which a professional classicist and medievalist needs to be familiar. Thus students may expect questions that will test their ability to analyze and interpret classical and medieval Latin texts, but they must also be able to show in their essays a grasp of appropriate information concerning authors, dates, works, and relevant modern scholarship. The two exams are spread over two successive weekends.
  d. Oral examination. The oral exam normally takes place no more than two weeks after the essay exams, and thus in a student’s 8th semester; students who choose to take their essay exams in their 7th semester will take the oral exam at that time as well. The exact date is worked out with each student on an individual basis after the completion of the essay exams. The oral exam consists of two half-hour segments, one each on classical Latin poetry and prose, and one hour segment on medieval Latin; the student may choose the other of the segments. The exam includes a break, and so is scheduled for a two-and-a-half hour slot. The oral exam is closely tied to but not limited to the contents of the two essay exams on classical and medieval Latin literature; it may explore the student’s understanding of the literatures within their historical, cultural, and social contexts, as well as the student’s ability to discuss and interpret major works. Students may be asked to work with individual texts, and/or to read aloud a selection of Latin verse.

  4. Dissertation prospectus. A student should submit a dissertation prospectus as soon as feasible after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the Director of Graduate Studies). For guidelines on the content and format of the prospectus, see the Department’s dissertation guide. The committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) oral defense of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered for dissertation credit (994) during the term in which they defend their prospectus.
  5. Dissertation. See below.
  6. Final oral examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee. See further below.
  7. Residence. It is a requirement of the Graduate School that doctoral students complete a minimum program residence credit of four full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over several semesters. At least two of the required four semesters of residence must be earned in contiguous registration of no fewer than six credit hours at UNC-Chapel Hill.

• PhD in Classical Archaeology
  PhD in Classical Archaeology
  See also the policies in the Graduate School Handbook here.
  1. A minimum of 30 hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher) beyond the 30 required for the MA, including the following specific requirements. If a student has taken more than 30 hours of approved courses before the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement.15 hours in Classical Archaeology, with a minimum of 6 hours at the advanced seminar level (CLAR 910). Other archaeology courses may be substituted with the approval of the Director of the Archaeology Program.

  a. 15 hours in Classical Archaeology, with a minimum of 6 hours at the seminar level (CLAR 910). Other archaeology courses may be substituted with the approval of the Director of the Archaeology Program.
  b. 3 hours in ancient history (HIST) or a suitable replacement approved by the Director of the Archaeology Program and the Director of Graduate Studies.
  c. 3 hours in Greek (GREK) or Latin (LATN).
  d. 3 hours outside of Classical Archaeology in an area relevant to the student’s interests, e.g., epigraphy, papyrology, palaeography, ancient history, anthropology; a Greek or Latin literature course taken in addition to requirement (c) may also satisfy this requirement.
  e. 6 hours, but no more than 6, of dissertation credit (CLAR 994).

  2. 1 hour in CLAS 711, Proseminar in Professional Development.
  3. A reading knowledge of a second modern language; see (3) under the requirements for the MA in Classical Archaeology. If German was not used to satisfy the MA requirement, it must be used to satisfy this requirement.
  4. The PhD qualifying exams are normally taken in a student’s 8th semester in the graduate program (i.e., the spring semester of the 4th year), usually in mid-January. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered during any term in which they take an exam. The student should consult the Director of the Archaeology Program at least one term before the examinations are to be taken. The two essay examinations will be in areas determined by the student in consultation with two faculty members. These exams should be in the field of the planned dissertation topic. The PhD qualifying exams will take place over the course of two days. For each subject or topic covered by the exams, students will choose two (2) of four (4) questions. Each sitting of the exam will be four hours long (2 hours/question). Students are required to use a department-issued laptop for these exams. A detailed guide to preparation for and the format of these examinations is available here. For departmental policy on the grading of graduate exams, see under ‘General Degree Requirements’.
  5. Dissertation Prospectus. After successful completion of the PhD qualifying examinations, a student should submit to the planned members of the dissertation committee a prospectus by the end of the eighth semester (spring of the fourth year), which must be defended by the end of April in the same semester, except in extraordinary circumstances. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the Director of Graduate Studies). For guidelines on the content and format of the prospectus, see the Department’s dissertation guide. The committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) oral defense of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation. It is Graduate School policy that students must be registered for dissertation credit (994) during the term in which they defend their prospectus.
  6. Dissertation. See below.
  7. Final oral examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee. See further below.
  8. Residence. It is a requirement of the Graduate School that doctoral students complete a minimum program residence credit of four full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over several semesters. At least two of the required four semesters of residence must be earned in contiguous registration of no fewer than six credit hours at UNC-Chapel hill.
  9. PhD Dissertation

• PhD Dissertation
  PhD Dissertation
  The main formal requirements and procedures for the dissertation are summarized below. For further details, including a range of helpful advice about the dissertation process, see the Department’s dissertation guide, ‘So You Want to Write a Dissertation?’, available here.
  1. The dissertation committee consists of five members (as required by the Graduate School). A majority of them must be regular faculty members from the Department of Classics. The others may be scholars from other academic programs or institutions who have particular expertise in the student’s area of research; they must be approved as special appointees to the Graduate Faculty. Doctoral students are expected to consult with their dissertation director at frequent intervals throughout the progress of their research and with the other members of their committee as needed. By Graduate School policy they are required to submit a progress report to each member of the committee at least once a year. By Department policy, they should submit that report by 1 May, using a standard form and providing copies to the DGS and the Student Services Manager as well as their committee members. A copy of each annual progress report will be kept in their file.2. The dissertation must be formatted according to the standards set out in the Graduate School’s ‘Thesis and Dissertation Guide‘; note especially the useful ‘Submission Checklist‘. It is a good idea for students to be aware of these standards from an early stage of the writing process.

  3. The dissertation defense takes place only after all members of the committee have had adequate opportunity to review a draft. The dissertation advisor is responsible for determining that the draft is in an appropriate form for committee evaluation. If substantial revision are necessary, they should be completed before the defense is scheduled. It is Graduate School policy that the student must be registered for dissertation credit (994) during the term in which they defend their dissertation. All committee members must be present at the defense, although when necessary some may participate by telephone or Skype. A majority of the committee members must judge the dissertation to be acceptable in order for it to be approved.

  4. Once the dissertation has been approved, students must carry out any changes required by the committee; the dissertation advisor is responsible for verifying that they have been made. Students must also ensure that the dissertation is formatted according to the Graduate School guidelines (see 2 above) and submit it electronically for online publication with ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing. For the procedures, see here; see also the additional information and FAQs here and here.

  5. In order to receive their degrees, students must submit their dissertations and file the Application for Graduation before the required deadline. These are normally the 2nd Friday in October, for December graduation; 2nd Friday in February, for May graduation; and the 2nd Friday in June, for August graduation. The precise deadlines are set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here; instructions for submitting the application can be found on the same page. Students should plan to have their defense at least two weeks prior to the submission deadline, in order to have time for final changes and formatting, and to submit the final draft to their committee at least two weeks prior to their anticipated defense date.

  6. Students writing a PhD dissertation will register for 6 hours of dissertation credit (994): 3 hours in the semester in which they defend their prospectus, and 3 hours in the semester in which they defend their dissertation.

• Key Points

  1. In order to continue in a degree program, all students must maintain academic eligibility in accordance with Graduate School policy. The main points of the policy are summarized above under ‘Degree Requirements’ and are set out in detail in the Graduate School Handbook here.

  2. In order to qualify for continued departmental funding, students must demonstrate ongoing satisfactory progress toward the degree. For funding purposes, satisfactory progress is defined as follows: 1) completing any outstanding assignments for a course in which a grade of ‘Incomplete’ has been assigned, and receiving a permanent grade for the course by the end of the following term; 2) completing all the requirements for the MA and being awarded the degree at the latest by August of the second year after matriculation; 3) retaking and passing any failed PhD examination by the end of the following term. All these requirements are described in more detail below under ‘Progress toward the Degree’.

  Students who become ineligible for continued departmental funding for any of these reasons may regain their eligibility by making up the deficiency: that is, by completing their course work and receiving their permanent course grade; by completing the requirements for the MA, being awarded their degree, and admitted to the PhD program; or by retaking and passing their PhD exams. The restoration of eligibility is not automatic, however, but is decided by the Chair on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, semesters of funding that are lost for these reasons are not restored, but count towards the ten semesters of anticipated funding specified in the original offer letter. That is, semesters unfunded because of deficiencies count as semesters of anticipated funding.

  Students may petition for an exception to the policy on continued funding, but should be aware that the Department will grant such petitions only in truly exceptional circumstances.

  3. All students must be reviewed and approved in their 4th semester in order to be admitted to the PhD program after completion of the MA. Satisfactory progress toward the degree as defined for funding purposes does not in itself guarantee admission to the PhD program, which is always determined by the faculty on a case-by-case basis. Further details may be found below under ‘Progress toward the Degree’.

  4. The Student Services Manager keeps the official departmental record of students’ progress toward the degree. Students must accordingly keep her up-to-date on any matters that concern degree requirements and provide documentation as needed. Further details may be found below under ‘Resources’.

• Progress Toward Degree
  • Courses

    Courses

    Registration. Graduate students already in the program should enroll in courses for the following semester as soon as feasible, since courses with low enrollments are in danger of being cancelled. All students should enroll at the latest before the start of classes, although it is possible to make changes by adding and dropping courses for one week after the start of classes.

    Incompletes. Students in both the MA program and the PhD program who are granted an incomplete in a course must complete all outstanding assignments and receive their permanent course grade by the end of the following term: that is, for fall classes, the last day of class in the following spring semester (usually the end of April), and for spring courses, the last day of class in the second summer session (usually late July). Because the course instructor is responsible for making the grade change through the online system (see here), he or she must set a deadline for receiving the assignment(s) that will allow him or her enough time to grade the work and submit the grade change prior to the above deadlines. Failure to make up incompletes on this schedule will make a student ineligible for departmental funding. Students and their instructors must complete the ‘Departmental Contract for an Incomplete’ (available here) and file it with the Students Services Manager.

  • MA Program

    MA Program

    Students must complete all the requirements for the MA and be awarded the degree within two years of matriculation in order to remain eligible for departmental funding. In most cases, it is expected that students will receive their degree in the May commencement exercise; in some cases, as noted below, an August graduation is also acceptable. In order to meet this requirement, students should keep in mind the following policies and deadlines.

    MA Examinations. The MA exams take place in the 4th semester: normally late January/early February for the MA in Greek or Latin, late January and April for the MA in Classical Archaeology. It is Graduate School policy that a student who fails an exam may not retake it until at least three months after the first attempt. Since a student must have passed the exam in order to graduate (see below), this will in some cases mean that a student who fails an exam will not be able to graduate until August. An August graduation maintains eligibility for departmental funding for the fall semester. Note that a student who fails an examination for the second time becomes academically ineligible to continue in the Graduate School; registration in following semesters for academically ineligible students is canceled automatically.

    MA Thesis. In order to graduate with the MA in May, the thesis must be submitted by mid-April; the precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here. Students must accordingly plan ahead in order to meet this deadline; see further the schedule suggested above in point (7) under ‘MA Thesis’. In unusual circumstances, a student may petition to complete the thesis over the summer in order to graduate in August; an August graduation maintains eligibility for departmental funding for the fall semester. Note that for an August graduation the deadline for the submission of the thesis is mid-July. Students must thus plan to have a final draft of the thesis completed by mid-June at the latest.

    Application for Graduation. Students must apply to graduate online prior to the deadline. For May graduation the deadline is normally in early February; note the early date! For August graduation the deadline is normally in late July. The precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here. Information about the application process can be found on the same page.

    Time Limits. A student who has become ineligible for departmental funding by failing to obtain the MA within two years of matriculation may continue in the program without funding in order to complete the degree. It is policy of the Graduate School that a student enrolled in an MA program has a maximum of five calendar years from the date of first registration to complete the degree. Reapplication is required to continue pursuit of the degree after the expiration of this five-year limit. Students in good standing my request a one-time extension of the time limit or a leave of absence, both for up to one year; for further details, see the Graduate School Handbook under ‘Time Limits’ here. Students who are awarded a leave of absence during their first two years of study may petition the department to have their funding clock suspended, so that the period of leave does not count towards the total of ten semesters of anticipated funding specified in the original letter of offer, but this cannot be guaranteed.

  • Advancement to the PhD Program

    Advancement to the PhD Program

    Students should be aware that successful completion of the MA does not in itself guarantee advancement to the PhD program. The department’s faculty review each student separately in a meeting convened in March, in order to decide on advancement to the PhD. They take into account the student’s entire record, including grades, reports on course work, the results of the MA exams, a progress report from the MA thesis director, and other relevant information provided by the Director of Graduate Studies, the Director of the Archaeology Program, and individual members of the faculty. Approval of advancement to the PhD program may be determined by an informal consensus; in cases of non-approval, there must be a formal motion that the student not be advanced, followed by a faculty vote. After the faculty meeting, the DGS, the Director of the Archaeology Program, or the student’s advisor notifies the student and the Student Services Manager of the official decision of the faculty.

    Students who plan not to continue beyond the MA should inform the DGS by the middle of March in their second year at the latest.

    Students who fail to obtain the MA within the prescribed two year period as noted above may still be admitted to the PhD program after they have completed all the requirements for the MA and been awarded their degree by the Graduate School. Admission is not guaranteed, but is determined on a case-by-case basis. Students who have been admitted to the PhD program will also normally regain eligibility for funding. The funding clock, however, is not stopped during this period; the total number or semesters prior to the student’s entering the PhD program will count towards the ten semesters of anticipated funding specified in the original letter of offer.

  • PhD Program

    PhD Program

    Under the normal conditions, students have funding for their first three years in the PhD program; this funding is contingent on satisfactory progress toward the degree. Since most students take four to six years after the MA to complete their PhD, students should start investigating additional sources of funding as soon as possible; see further below under ‘Funding Opportunities for ABDs’.

    PhD Examinations. The PhD exams take place over the course of a student’s 3rd and 4th years: the special field or topic exam in the 6th semester (spring semester of the 3rd year) and the other exams in the 7th and/or 8th semester (4th year). It is Graduate School policy that students who fail an exam may not retake it until at least three months after the first attempt, and that students must be registered for the term in which they retake an exam. It is departmental policy that students must retake a failed exam by the end of the following term: that is, for fall classes, the last day of class in the following spring semester (usually the end of April), and for spring courses, the last day of class in the second summer session (usually late July). Failure to retake exams on this schedule will make a student ineligible for continued departmental funding. For students in the philology tracks, this means that those who fail one or both of the translation exams in the 7th semester must retake it along with the essay exams in the 8th semester; those who fail one or both of the essay exams must retake it before the end of the summer, and may not take the oral exam until they have retaken and passed the essay exam(s). No student may schedule a dissertation prospectus defense until he or she has passed all the required PhD examinations. Students who fail an exam are encouraged to retake it as soon as possible after the three months have elapsed; they should work closely with members of the exam committee in order to identify weaknesses and take steps to address them. Failure on a PhD exam may cause a student to be ranked lower than others for continued funding if financial resources are scarce. Note that any student who fails an examination for the second time becomes academically ineligible to continue in the Graduate School; registration in following semesters for academically ineligible students is canceled automatically.

    Dissertation Prospectus. Students should plan, and in the case of the archaeology track are required, to submit a dissertation prospectus to their committee before the end of their 4th year. In most cases, the special field or topic exam, taken in the second semester of the 3rd year, should be the first step towards the formulation of a dissertation project.

    Admission to Candidacy. Once a student has fulfilled all the course and language requirements for the PhD, has passed all the examinations, and has submitted a dissertation prospectus and had it formally approved by the committee, he or she must apply to the Graduate School for admission to candidacy. The form may be found online here. Admission to candidacy formally confers the status of ABD, ‘All But Dissertation’.

    PhD Dissertation. The writing of the dissertation normally takes two to three years. The deadline for the submission of a dissertation to the Graduate School is normally about a month before the date of graduation. Thus, the deadline for the May graduation is in mid-April, for the August graduation in mid-July, and for the December graduation is in mid-December. The precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here. Students should plan to schedule their dissertation defense no less than two weeks prior to the submission deadline.

    Application for Graduation. Students must apply to graduate online prior to the deadline. For the December and May graduate the deadline falls early in the semester: normally in late September for the December graduation and early February for the May graduation. For August graduation the deadline is normally in late July. The precise deadline is set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here. Information about the application process can be found on the same page.

    Time Limits. It is a policy of the Graduate School that a student enrolled in a PhD program has a maximum of eight calendar years to complete the degree. For students in the Department of Classics, this normally means eight years from receipt of the MA and admission to the PhD program. Reapplication is required to continue pursuit of the degree after the expiration of this eight-year limit. Students in good standing may request a one-time extension of the time limit or a leave of absence, both for up to one year; for further details, see the Graduate School Handbook under ‘Time Limits’ here.

• Tools for Assessment
  • Diagnostic Language Exam

    Diagnostic Language Exam

    All entering graduate students are required to take these exams at the start of their first year. They are purely diagnostic; that is, their purpose is to identify an weaknesses in the students’ language preparation, and thus allow faculty to better advise them on ways to meet the requirements of their particular MA program (Greek/Latin or Classical Archaeology) and to prepare for admission to the PhD program; this might include recommendations to take certain classes and/or to sight read or otherwise work with particular members of the faculty.

    The exam consists of four short passages, one each in Greek poetry, Greek prose, Latin poetry, and Latin prose and lasts for two hours. These passages come from standard authors, but are ones that undergraduates would not normally have read; that is, the intent is that students will be translating at sight. It takes place in the afternoon of the Department’s orientation for new graduate students, normally the Friday before the first week of classes. The members of the Graduate Exams Committee grade the exams over the weekend, and provide comments to the Director of Graduate Studies. The DGS in turn shares them with the students to discuss the comments and, if any weaknesses have been identified, to suggest particular courses or other means of addressing them. This meeting should take place as soon as possible during the first week of classes so that, if it seems advisable, changes can easily be made to the student’s schedule. The evaluation of their performance on the diagnostic language exam becomes part of students’ files.

  • Grading System

    Grading System

    The Graduate School at UNC-CH uses a grading system that differs from and cannot be converted to the more traditional ABC grading system. This system is used both for course work and for graduate exams. The main elements of the system are presented below, but for further details see the Graduate Handbook here.

    H = High Pass: Clear Excellence
    P = Pass: Entirely Satisfactory Graduate Work
    L = Low Pass: Inadequate Graduate Work
    F = Fail

    Although the Graduate School does not recognize pluses and minuses, departmental faculty generally make use of these modifiers as a way of evaluating performance more precisely. 

    It is department policy that a passing grade on a graduate examination is P- or higher; a grade of L+ or lower is a failing grade and necessitates a retake of the exam.  The examination committee has the discretion to require a student to retake one question or section on an exam without assigning a failing grade to the exam as a whole.  In such cases, the exam will not receive an official grade until all questions or sections have been completed and graded.  The student will retake the question or section within four weeks of the original exam date.

    In addition to these permanent grades, there are also the temporary grades of AB (absent from the final examination) and IN (work incomplete). Instructors may assign an IN if they determine that exceptional circumstances warrant extending the time for the student to complete the work for the course (other than the final exam). It is University policy that all course work must be completed and the IN replaced by a permanent grade by the last day of classes for the same term one year later; otherwise, the IN converts automatically to a F*. It is Department policy that the work must be completed and the permanent grade assigned by the end of the following term. Failure to complete courses on this schedule will make a student ineligible for departmental funding. See further above in ‘Progress toward the Degree’.

  • Course Work

    Course Work

    Grades on individual assignments as well as on the course as a whole are the primary tool for assessing performance. A course grade of F makes a student automatically ineligible to continue in the degree program. A grade of F on any individual assignment is a clear indication of a serious problem that the student should address immediately. A course grade of L is likewise an indication of a serious problem, on which the student should seek guidance as soon as possible. A course grade of L in three courses (9 hours) makes a student automatically ineligible to continue in the degree program; note that a C in a course taken at another institution transfers as an L. A grade of L on an individual assignment, although not as serious as an F, is nevertheless an indication of a major concern, particularly in the case of a paper. One of the chief criteria that faculty consider in deciding to admit students to the PhD program is aptitude for research, and an L on a course paper indicates a major weakness that should be addressed as soon as possible. A P- is not a cause for concern, although it does indicate an area where there is room for significant improvement and as such should be taken seriously.

    In addition to grades, all departmental faculty are expected, and all non-departmental faculty are invited, to provide descriptive and evaluative reports on students’ performance in their courses. They may choose either to use the departmental Report on Graduate Student Course Work or write a letter. Instructors are encouraged to be as detailed and specific as possible and especially to be explicit about any weaknesses. Students should pay close attention to any comments on weaknesses, and are encouraged to discuss them with the course instructor, their advisor, and/or the Director of Graduate Studies in order to decide how best to address them. A copy of all course reports is kept in the student’s file.

    Since course work is a crucial tool for assessing students’ abilities and needs, it is essential that students consult with their instructors prior to making use of any formal third-party assistance with their written work, including tutors at the UNC Writing Center.

  • Teaching Evaluations

    Teaching Evaluations

    All graduate students regularly have responsibilities for course instruction either as teaching assistants or as course instructors. Teaching is not only an integral part of students’ funding but is also crucial to their training and professional development. Students should accordingly pay no less attention to their performance as teachers than they do to their performance in courses and on exams.

    Several different types of feedback are available. Faculty assigned TAs who lead recitation sections are expected to submit written reports on the performance of their TAs and are encouraged to be as detailed and specific as possible and especially to be explicit about any areas for improvement. Graduate students teaching their own courses are assigned a faculty supervisor who should discuss the course objectives with them, review their syllabus, and visit their classes in accordance with departmental policy (see the Guide to Instructional Policies, Procedures, and Resources under ‘Class Visitation and Course Supervision‘). These faculty supervisors/visitors are likewise expected to submit reports. Lastly, graduate students serving as course instructors or as TAs with their own recitation sections will also receive student evaluations.

    The Chair regularly reviews all faculty reports and student evaluations, and shares them with the DGS, the Chair of the Archaeology Committee, and/or the student’s individual advisor as needed. Copies of all reports and evaluations are kept in the student’s file. Students should read them carefully, and are encouraged to discuss any questions or concerns with their course instructor, their advisor, and/or the Director of Graduate Studies.

  • Second-Year Review

    Second-Year Review

    The department faculty meet in October to conduct a review of graduate students in their second year of the program. The Director of Graduate Studies leads the discussion of each student’s grades, reports on course work, teaching evaluations, and (if applicable) student evaluations, soliciting input from individual members of the faculty and in particular each student’s designated faculty advisor. This discussion allows the Director of Graduate Studies and faculty advisors to develop a comprehensive view of each student’s progress. After this meeting, individual faculty advisors meet with their advisees to discuss any concerns that have been raised. This faculty review is intended to assist the department faculty, faculty advisors and Director of Graduate Studies in advising individual students as they progress through their second year and towards the official decision of the faculty – at the end of the second year – about their advancement to the PhD.

• Resources
  The successful completion of a PhD program requires hard work, efficiency, dedication, and persistence, and no student is expected to accomplish it on his or her own. The Department, the Graduate School, and the University provide a range of resources, and all students are encouraged to make use of them.

  • Student Services Manager

    Student Services Manager

    The Student Services Manager maintains graduate student files, keeps the official departmental record of their fulfillment of requirements, notifies students of deadlines, assists with the scheduling of exams and defenses, and handles all the official paperwork dealing with the graduate programs. Neither the Director of Graduate Studies nor the Chair of the Archaeology Committee keeps records on individual students; it is only the Student Services Manager who does so. It is accordingly imperative that students inform her as soon as possible of their plans for taking exams and scheduling defenses, of the membership of their thesis and dissertation committees, and of their fulfilling requirements. In most cases, students also need to provide appropriate documentation. For the required audited undergraduate surveys in Greek and Roman history and/or archaeology, they need to have their course instructor send her an email affirming that they have completed and passed all the required assignments and exams. For the foreign language requirement, they need to supply documentation of having successfully passed the FLPA. If the DGS or the Chair of the Archaeology Committee approves a substitution for a regular requirement, students should ensure that he or she sends the Student Services Manager an email as an official notification of their approval. The Student Services Manager is always able to advise on policies, procedures, and deadlines.

  • Faculty Advisors

    Faculty Advisors

    Individual advisors are assigned to all entering graduate students on the basis of the interests and goals that they described in their applications. They can provide guidance relevant to the student’s particular area of interest by, e.g., suggesting particular classes to take or faculty members to work with, including those outside the department and at Duke, by recommending particular skill or background information that the student ought to acquire, or simply by providing a sounding board for the student’s ideas and interests as they develop. Students are encouraged to contact their advisor at any time, but should plan to meet with them at least once each semester to discuss their experience and plan for the coming semesters. As students’ interests shift and develop, the advisor originally assigned may give way to another. During their second year, as they work on their MA thesis, the thesis director will become the de facto primary advisor. During their third year, as they work towards their special field or topic exam, their exam supervisor will become primary, and in many cases will continue on as the dissertation director.

    In addition, all members of the department faculty are happy to provide guidance, feedback, and advice on any matter relating to the graduate program or to the field and academic life more generally. Students should always feel free to talk with anyone whom they think might be helpful with a particular issue, but should note in particular those in the following roles. Course instructors are always in the best position to provide guidance and feedback not only on the specifics of the individual course but more generally on the topics and skill with which the course are concerned.

  • Department Administration

    Department Administration

    As the person with general oversight over the department’s graduate program, the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) can advise on any matter relating to requirements and expectations. In particular, the DGS supervises the MA and PhD exams in the philology tracks. Students should plan to meet with the DGS regularly to discuss their progress and raise any questions or concerns that they might have. The Chair of the Archaeology Committee has specific oversight over the MA and PhD tracks in Classical Archaeology, including the graduate exams, and is the best person to consult on matters relating to those tracks and their requirements. Lastly, the Department Chair is always available for discussion about any matter pertaining to the program or to the Department more generally.

  • Exam Support

    Exam Support

    All students planning and preparing for MA and PhD exams are strongly encouraged to consult with the DGS and/or the Chair of the Archaeology Committee at least one term before and also to meet individually with the members of the exam committee.

    Guidance. For students in the philology tracks, an information session is scheduled every fall, normally before the middle of October. The DGS and all the members of the exam committee take part; they sketch the general procedures, discuss their individual practices and expectations, and can answer questions. Students who are planning to take either the MA or PhD essay exams in the spring or following fall semesters should plan to attend, and all other students are welcome. Students actively preparing for exams are encouraged to follow-up by meeting with the committee members individually. Although the information session focuses in particular on the essay and oral exams, faculty members are also generally willing to sight-read and otherwise work with students who are preparing for translation exams. Lastly, the Student Services Manager maintains a binder of previous exams that is available in her office for consultation; these can not only help provide students with an idea of what their own exam might look like, but can also be used for practice exams.

    Students in the archaeology tracks are required to consult with the Chair of the Archaeology Committee early in the fall semester before the examinations are to be given. The archaeology exams, especially those at the PhD level, tend to be more geared to the individual student’s areas of focus, and so it is a crucial part of the process that students prepare for them in close consultation with the committee chair and the archaeology faculty more generally.

    Course Relief. Students who are studying for PhD exams may arrange to take a less-than-normal course load in the semester during which or prior to that in which they take their exams. There are two possibilities. One is to petition the Graduate School for a Waiver of Hours, which allows a student enrolled in a minimum of 3 hours to be considered full-time. The Department will support a request for a Waiver of Hours only in unusual cases. The other possibility is to enroll in a directed reading course geared towards exam preparation (CLAR/GREK/LATN 841); this option is particularly appropriate for students preparing for a Special Topic or Special Field exam. Note that it is departmental policy that no directed reading course at the graduate level may enroll more than two students. Both of these options requires the advance approval of the DGS, so interested students should raise the issue as soon as possible.

  • Dissertation Support

    Dissertation Support

    The Department’s dissertation guide, ‘So You Want to Write a Dissertation?’ (available here) provides full information about dissertation procedures and requirements and a wide range of helpful advice about the entire process. The University’s Writing Center organizes a Dissertation Boot Camp, a week-long opportunity for students currently writing dissertations to set writing goals, practice disciplined writing habits, learn new strategies, and connect with other dissertation writers. It is offered four times per year (October, February, May, and June) and is intended to help graduate students make significant progress in their writing and their sense of community. See further details here.

  • Checklists

    Checklists

    Checklists summarizing the requirements for the various degree tracks are available here. These provide a convenient way for students to keep track of their progress in fulfilling requirements. Please note, however, that the Student Services Manager maintains the official departmental record of students’ progress, and so it is important always to keep her updated and, as needed, provide her with the appropriate documentation.

• Types of Appointments

  Types of Appointments

  There are different types of teaching appointments with different levels of responsibility.

  An Instructional Assistant (IA) assists the instructor in lecture courses that lack recitations. The duties of an IA center on assistance with grading exams and other assignments. The course instructor has primary responsibility for assigning final grades. IAs are regularly assigned to large lecture courses, especially CLAR 120 and CLAS 131, which are normally taught every semester. Other courses sometimes assigned IAs include CLAR 242, CLAR 247, CLAS 121, CLAS 122, CLAS 126, CLAS 241, CLAS 242, and CLAS 263.

  A Teaching Assistant (TA) serves under a faculty instructor in large lecture courses, in one of two capacities. In courses with recitations, TAs are responsible for leading two recitations each and grading the work of the students in their recitations; they may also, at the discretion of the instructor, assist in preparing and presenting lectures and assignments. In courses without recitations, TAs work with the faculty instructor to organize the course, set assignments, and deliver course content; a TA of this sort is in effect acting as an apprentice, training for the possibility of teaching the course in the future. In all courses with TAs, the faculty course instructor has primary responsibility for assigning final grades.

  A Teaching Fellow (TF) is the instructor of record for a section of a multi-section course (LATN 101, 102, and 203; occasionally GREK 101 and 102) or for a freestanding course (LATN 204, 601, and 602; GREK 203, 204, and 205; CLAS 125, 253, 257, and 258). TFs in multi-section courses use a common syllabus and common exams, which they prepare under the supervision of the course supervisor. TFs in other courses devise their own syllabi and tests, subject to input from and the approval of their course supervisor. All TFs have primary responsibility for assigning final grades.

  A Senior Teaching Fellow (STF)is the instructor of record for a large lecture course. STFs have full responsibility for their course, including curricular design and the assignment of final grades, and they supervise other graduate students serving as IAs. STFs are regularly assigned to CLAR 120, CLAS 126, and CLAS 131, and may be assigned to other courses. STFs often co-teach courses, and are always assigned a faculty supervisor, who must review and approve their syllabus in advance and provide other guidance and feedback as needed.

  All GTAs are responsible for holding regular office hours (two hours per week) and informing the Department staff of their office hours. The responsibilities of most GTAs in the Department should not exceed an average of twelve hours a week; those of STFs should not exceed an average of fifteen hours. Students who are spending significantly more time than this should talk to their course supervisor and/or the Department Chair.

• Graduate Teaching Appointment Contracts

  Contracts

  • Teaching Fellowship Contract
  • Instructional Assistant Contract
  • Senior Teaching Fellow Contract
  • Teaching Assistants in Lecture Courses without Recitations
  • Teaching Assistants in Lecture Courses with Recitations
  • Teaching Fellows in Latin and Greek Courses

  Requirements, Training, and Evaluation

  • General Requirements

    General Requirements

    1. All GTAs are required to complete the online FERPA training module before taking up their initial assignment. FERPA, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, has two main provisions: on the one hand, it guarantees college students the right to inspect their own education records upon request; on the other, it forbids school officials from disclosing education record information without the student’s written permission unless one of the exceptions provided by FERPA applies. For further information, see the Department’s guide to instructional policies here. For the FERPA training module, see the Registrar’s website here. GTAs must also agree to the Terms of Use of ConnectCarolina; users must log in to ConnectCarolina, and then click on the link at the bottom of the main page.

    2. All graduate students must be registered full-time in order to hold an assistantship or fellowship during a fall or spring term; this requirement does not apply to students who are teaching in the Summer School or through the Friday Center for Continuing Education. Students must register prior of the start of classes, although they may make changes to their schedule during the first week of classes.

    3. To be eligible for an appointment as a TA, TF, or STF, a graduate student must hold an MA or have completed at least 18 hours of semester credit hours in graduate level courses in a relevant field. Note that this is a requirement for SACSCOC accreditation, and is not negotiable.

    4. Offers of a graduate teaching appointment to students not yet enrolled in the Graduate School of UNC-CH are contingent upon enrollment. Offers to students completing an MA in the Department of Classics at UNC-CH are contingent upon completion of the MA and admission to the PhD program. All offers are contingent upon continued satisfactory progress towards the degree, as defined above.

    5. The Chair of the Department may reassign a GTA to other duties at any time if his or her work is judged unsatisfactory. GTAs are entitled to a written statement of the reasons for any such action, and they may appeal such a decision to the Department’s Committee of Appeals. This Committee consists of the Director of Graduate Studies, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the Departmental Senior Teaching Fellow. If any of these are personally involved in the case and so needs to recuse him- or herself, the Chair will appoint another person of comparable rank who is acceptable to the student making the appeal.

    6. All graduate teaching appointments are subject to approval by the University Administration and to the availability of funds.

  • TFs in Latin and Greek Courses

    TFs in Latin and Greek Courses

    In order to serve as a Teaching Fellow in LATN 101, a graduate student must:

    1. hold an MA in Classics (Latin, etc.) or have completed 18 hours of relevant graduate coursework;
    2. have received a passing grade in the Department’s Proseminar in Pedagogy (CLAS 710) or be currently enrolled;
    3. have performed satisfactorily in graduate level Latin courses, as determined by grades and faculty reports; and EITHER
    4a. have received a passing grade in a Latin prose composition course (preferably our LATN 710) or be currently enrolled; OR
    4b. have earned a grade of 90% or higher on a written qualifying exam and performed satisfactorily in an interview; the latter involves reading Latin aloud and responding to questions about Latin grammar and pedagogy. A sample qualifying exam is available in the Student Service Manager’s office.

    The qualifying test will be given once a year in the early fall, so that the results are available when the Chair when begins course planning for the following year. The Director of the Elementary Latin Program will be responsible for drawing, administering, and grading the written exam, and also for conducting the interview.

    First-time TFs in LATN 101 must also participate in the ‘boot camp’ training seminar for Latin instructors that normally takes place the weekend before the beginning of classes in the fall semester. TFs in a higher level Latin course must normally have prior experience teaching a lower level Latin course. TFs in Greek courses must have completed the training requirements for Latin courses and have had at least two semesters’ experience teaching Latin.

    The course supervisor for LATN 101 and 102 is the Director of the Elementary Latin Program; for LATN 203 and 204, the Director of the Intermediate Latin Program; for GREK courses, the Director of the Elementary and Intermediate Greek Program. The Chair may appoint alternative courses supervisors as needed. TFs in LATN 101, 102, and 203 and in GREK 101 and 102 must use the textbook and follow the syllabus developed by or with the course supervisor. TFs in other courses must submit their syllabi to their course supervisors for approval prior to the beginning of the course and should regularly consult with them about the progress of the course and individual assignments.

    A member of the faculty will visit the TF’s class at least twice in the course of the semester. The faculty visitor will normally be the course supervisor but may be another member of the faculty. The course supervisor may evaluate the TF’s teaching in other ways as well, using surveys, interviews of enrolled students, or other appropriate means. It is, however, departmental policy that the supervisor advise the TF in advance of all evaluation methods to be employed. The course supervisor and any other faculty visitor will prepare written reports. One copy of the report is given to the TF, and another copy goes in the TF’s file; TFs may respond to the reports if they wish.

  • GTAs in Archaeology and Civilization Course

    GTAs in Archaeology and Civilization Courses

    IAs: Faculty course instructors who are assigned IAs should meet prior to the start of classes to discuss their responsibilities and provide any training that is needed. In particular, they should provide clear guidelines for grading, so that grading across IAs is consistent, and should meet as needed with their IAs to review their work and discuss best practices. Course instructors are not required to provide written evaluations of their IAs’ work, although they are encouraged to do so, especially if they have particular concerns about or praise for an IA’s performance. They should, however, discuss with their IAs whether their work is satisfactory or not, and why, and should report to the Chair of the Department if it is not.

    TAs in lecture courses with recitations: Instructors of lecture courses with recitations should meet with their TAs prior to the start of classes to discuss their responsibilities and provide any training that is needed; in particular, they should provide clear guidelines for grading so that grading across recitation sections is consistent. They should also meet regularly throughout the semester to discuss the course, plan for the recitations, and provide guidance and feedback as necessary. In addition, the course instructor will visit the sections of the TAs at least twice in the course of the semester. The course instructor may evaluate the TA’s teaching in other ways as well, using surveys, interviews of enrolled students, or other appropriate means. It is, however, departmental policy that the course instructor advise the TA in advance of all evaluation methods to be employed. After class visits and other evaluations, course instructors will prepare written reports. One copy of the report is given to the TA, and another copy goes into the TA’s file; TAs may respond to the reports if they wish. Lastly, all TAs must encourage their students to submit the online course evaluations at the end of each semester.

    TAs in lecture courses without recitations: Faculty course instructors should meet with their TAs prior to the start of classes to discuss the course and provide any training that is needed. They should also meet regularly throughout the semester to discuss the progress of the course and provide guidance and feedback as necessary. The faculty course instructor should observe at least one of the TA’s lectures in the course of the semester. The course supervisor may evaluate the TA’s teaching in other ways as well, using surveys, interviews of enrolled students, or other appropriate means. It is, however, departmental policy that the supervisor advise the TA in advance of all evaluation methods to be employed. At the end of the semester, the course supervisor will prepare a written report on the TA’s performance. One copy of the report is given to the TA, and another copy goes into theTA’s file; TAs may respond to the reports if they wish. In addition, the TA will receive student feedback through the online course evaluations at the end of each semester.

    STFs: Course supervisors should meet with STFs prior to the start of classes to discuss the course, review and approve the syllabus, and provide any training that is needed. They should also meet regularly throughout the semester to discuss the progress of the course and particular assignments and to provide guidance and feedback as necessary. In addition, the course supervisor will visit the STF’s class at least twice in the course of the semester. The course supervisor may evaluate the STF’s teaching in other ways as well, using surveys, interviews of enrolled students, or other appropriate means. It is, however, departmental policy that the supervisor advise the STF in advance of all evaluation methods to be employed. After class visits and other evaluations, the course supervisor will prepare a written report. One copy of the report is given to the STF, and another copy goes into the STF’s file; STFs may respond to the reports if they wish. Lastly, all STFs must encourage their students to submit the online course evaluations at the end of each semester.

    STFs who are assigned IAs should meet with the IAs before the course begins and make clear their responsibilities: the dates of all assignments and tests the IA will grade, the division of responsibilities in grading between the STF and the IAs, the number and dates of any lectures or presentations the IA will give, and any other responsibilities of the IA. In particular, STFs should provide clear guidelines for grading, so that grading across IAs is consistent, and should meet as needed with their IAs to discuss best practices. STFs who are concerned about the work of an IA should consult with their faculty supervisor.

  Procedures for Appointments

  • General Procedures

    General Procedures

    Early in the fall semester, the Chair sends out a Graduate Teaching Appointment Form (a sample form is available here) to all graduate students, asking them to indicate their previous experience, interests, and preferences for course assignments in the next academic year. Responses are normally due by the middle of September, so that the Chair may have a draft of the schedule ready by the end of the month; at that point, he or she will circulate it to faculty and graduate students. Students should be aware that this draft schedule is subject to change, and almost certainly will change as circumstances change. Official appointments are not made until April for the following fall semester and October for the following spring. At those times the Chair sends out an appointment letter and a contract with further details about the assignment and its responsibilities; students must sign and return the contract to the Student Services Manger, keeping a copy for themselves. Copies of the appointment letter and contract are also sent to the course instructor or supervisor. An assignment may change even after the official appointment has been made, but assigned GTAs will be notified in advance of any such changes.

  • Criteria

    Criteria

    In making assignments, the Chair tries to take into account the preferences of individual students as far as possible, but must balance these with other considerations: seniority, level of experience, quality of teaching record, and above all the curricular needs of the department.

    a. Seniority: The preferences of more advanced students take precedence over those of less advanced students.
    b. Background and training: Students must have a solid record of course work and/or exams in relevant areas in order to qualify for teaching a course.
    c. Level of experience: In general, positions that involve greater responsibilities are assigned to students with experience in less responsible positions. Most initial appointments are as an IA. Thereafter, students may advance to an appointment as a TF or a TA. Only students with prior experience as a TF or a TA will be considered for an appointment as an IA+ or an STF. Course instructorships are generally assigned to students who have previous experience in the course as IAs (preferably as an IA+) or as an instructor in the Summer School; similarly, more advanced Latin courses are assigned to those with experience in lower levels, and Greek courses to those with experience in Latin.
    d. Quality of teaching record: The Chair reviews all faculty reports and student evaluations. Evidence of teaching potential, in the form both of demonstrated skills and of ability to learn from experience and faculty feedback, is important for appointment to more advanced positions; similarly, evidence of unaddressed problems with teaching will result in more restricted assignments.
    e. Curricular needs: The Chair is responsible for ensuring that the Department’s course offerings every semester meet its obligations and contribute to its primary goals. These are always the primary considerations in determining course offerings and making instructional assignments.

    Graduate students are not eligible to teach the following types of courses: First Year Seminars, Honors courses, directed reading courses, and, with some exceptions, graduate-level courses (400 and above). The only regular exception to the latter is LATN 601 and 602, the elementary and intermediate Latin sequence designed for graduate students in other programs.

  Other Teaching Opportunities

  • Graduate Research Consultant Program

    Graduate Research Consultant Program

    This program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, provides opportunities for graduate students to serve as mentors for undergraduates who are pursuing research projects in the context of specific course. GRCs are expected to work 30 hours over the course of the semester and receive a stipend of $1,000. GRCs are not TAs; they do not assist with grading or the delivery of course content. Their role is rather to advise and mentor the undergraduate students, individually or collectively, in the research process. Faculty members may approach graduate students to serve as a GRC in a particular course, or graduate students may register with the program to indicate their interest and availability. See further the OUR website here.

  • Summer School

    Summer School

    The Summer School is responsible for course offerings in the two Summer Sessions. The Department is currently able to offer up to four courses each summer through the Summer School, two in the first Summer Session and two in the second, although that number is subject to change, and it is current practice to assign at least three of these to graduate students. The Department’s Summer School Administrator, in consultation with the Chair, makes decisions about course offerings and instructorships. Potential appeal to students is the major criteria for making appointments, although the Department attempts as far as possible to assign Summer School courses to students who have not yet taught in the Summer School. Summer School appointments are normally reserved for students who are still in their ten semesters of funding. Appointees should be aware that, because Summer School is receipts-based, tuition from enrollments is used to pay instructor salaries, and a course with fewer than twelve students may be canceled.

  • The Friday Center for Continuing Education

    The Friday Center for Continuing Education

    The Friday Center offers a few Classics courses both through Part-Time Classroom Studies and through Carolina Courses Online. Part-Time Classroom Studies (PTCS) is responsible for evening courses, which are taught in the fall and spring semesters. It currently offers two Classical Archaeology courses on a rotating basis, CLAR 120 and CLAR 244. Carolina Courses Online (CCO) currently includes two Classics courses, CLAR 245 and CLAS 126. The Chair recommends instructors for PTCS and CCO courses; interests, experience, and teaching record are the major criteria. Students who are one or two years beyond funding are eligible for these appointments.

  • Tutoring

    Tutoring

    The Department maintains a list of graduate students who are available for tutoring at hourly rates. The office staff post the list on the Department’s bulletin boards and make it available to anyone who contacts the office about tutoring. Any student who would like to be included on the list should contact the office staff and provide an email address and an indication of what languages you are interested in tutoring (Latin and/or Greek). The Department does not recommend particular tutors or provide pricing information. Each tutor must negotiate rates with prospective students. Graduate students new to the process are encouraged to consult with older students who have previous tutoring experience.

  • Resources

    Resources

    Various resources exist to help train and support graduate students in their teaching. First and foremost are their course instructors and supervisors. They provide the specific guidance and training needed for particular teaching assignments, and GTAs should in all instances consult with them on any issues that arise. GTAs should also be familiar with the Department’s Guide to Instructional Policies, Procedures, and Resources, available here. The sections on IT and University Resources and on Issues and Concerns will be useful to all GTAs; Teaching Associates should also be familiar with the sections on Instructor Policies and on Departmental Resources. In addition to the above, TFs, IA+s, and STFs should be familiar with the sections on Textbook Orders, Syllabi, and Course Registration.

    The Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) organizes a variety of workshops and programs for GTAs. The New Graduate TA Orientation is an online session offered every July and January that provides an overview of major issues, policies, and resources. The flagship CFE program for GTAs is the Future Faculty Fellowship Program (FFFP), which is intended specifically for STFs, although TFs in LATN 204 and GREK 203 and 204 may also qualify. The FFFP is a semester-long program that introduces graduate students to evidence-based teaching practices, helps them understand the roles and responsibilities of faculty members at different types of institutions of higher education, and helps them reflect on their professional goals. Applications are due one semester in advance (April 1 for the fall semester, November 1 for the spring), and admission is competitive. Fellows in the program are expected to participate in its activities and complete the required assignments; fellows who complete the course receive an honorarium of $450. The CFE also offers four workshops each semester that are also designed for GTAs with full responsibility for a course. For further information on all these programs, see here.

  • Teaching Awards

    Teaching Awards

    Among the University-wide teaching awards sponsored by the Provost’s Office are the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants. Five of these are awarded every year, and each brings a stipend of $5,000. For further information, see here. Nominations are due October 1st. Anyone may submit a nomination, but since it is often more effective for the department to coordinate nominations, those interested in nominating themselves or others are encouraged to talk to the Chair as soon as possible.

For additional opportunities and resources for professional development, see the list on the Graduate School’s website here. Note also its online Professional Development Guide, which provides a useful overview of skills that graduate students should develop and the resources available to assist them. The Graduate School also offers a one-credit pass/fail course on ‘Effective Presentation Skills‘.

• Graduate Certificates and Professional Programs
  Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies
  The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies offers a Graduate Certificate that provides a formal qualification in Women’s and Gender Studies intended to complement students’ major degree program.  The certificate requires the completion of 9 hours in relevant courses and regular participation in the Department’s activities and events.  For further information, see the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies’ website here.
  Graduate Certification Program in Digital Humanities
  Carolina Digital Humanities offers a Graduate Certificate for graduate students and non-degree-seeking students interested in acquiring credentials in digital technologies.  The certificate requires the completion of 9 hours in digital humanities course and 1 hour in a a faculty supervised field experience.  For further information see the Carolina Digital Humanities website here.
  Graduate Certificate in Business Fundamentals
  The Graduate School offers a Graduate Certificate that is designed to develop basic skills in professional communication, project management, financial accounting, and entrepreneurship that can be helpful in a wide range of careers.  The certificate requires the completion of a set number of 1.5-hour core and elective courses.  For further information, see the Graduate School website here.
  The Richard Bland Fellowship Professional Pathways Program
  The Richard Bland Fellowship Professional Program supports graduate students who identify a summer internship opportunity and a willing professional mentor to enable them to explore a specific non-faculty career path and the skills necessary for success. In collaboration with this mentor, the student must create and propose a relevant, hands-on internship of at least 200 hours designed to achieve their specific goals for career exploration and experience. Fellowship funding of $4,000 for the summer will provide a living stipend and enable the graduate student to engage exclusively in this unique learning internship for the summer. For further information, see the Graduate School website here.
• Fieldwork
  Fieldwork
  For archaeology students, regular participation in summer field projects is an essential part of their training. The choice of the specific project should be determined by the student’s long-term research interests and goals, although projects directed by or otherwise involving the participation of UNC faculty have obvious practical advantages. Students in other tracks, particularly the Historical Emphasis track, are also encouraged to participate in summer fieldworks projects. Students should in all cases consult with their advisor and/or the Chair of the Archaeology Committee in order to choose an appropriate project. The Department has a regular but limited amount of funding to support participation in fieldwork projects, and there are some external sources of funding as well; further information can be found below under ‘Travel Funding’.
• Overseas and Summer Study Programs
  There are many study programs that are appropriate for graduate students. Students should always consult their faculty advisors and mentors about suitable programs; they will need letters of support for their applications. For funding opportunities, see below under ‘Travel Funding’.

  • American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA)

    American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA)

    Academic Year Program. The ASCSA grants annual membership (Regular and Student Associate) to graduate students in Classical Studies in areas of archaeology, literature, art history, and history. It is preferred that applicants have taken at least one year of graduate work, but have not completed the PhD. Regular members are those who follow the annual program of the school (field trips and seminars). Student Associate members usually conduct independent research toward the PhD. For further information see the ASCSA website here. The ASCSA sponsors a number of competitive fellowships that cover most of the expenses of Regular Membership; see further below under ‘Funding Opportunities for ABDs’.

    Summer Program: The ASCSA Summer Program is a six-week introduction to the antiquities of mainland Greece. For more information see the ASCSA website here. A number of scholarships are available for help to fund participation in the Summer Program; see here.

  • American Academy in Rome (AAR)

    American Academy in Rome (AAR)

    The AAR sponsors a number of summer programs intended for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and secondary-school teachers. The Classical Summer School is a six-week program focused on the growth and development of the city of Rome. The Classical Society of the AAR usually offers two scholarships for participants in the Summer School, of which one is reserved for a graduate student. Other scholarships are listed on the AAR website. The Summer Skills Courses in Archaeology are intended to provide hands-on training in specific areas; the content varies year to year. For further information on both programs, see the AAR’s website here.

  • Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies (PIMS)

    Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies (PIMS)

    PIMS, in collaboration with the AAR, offers a Diploma Programme in Manuscript Studies. The curriculum consists of five intensive summer courses, four core courses and one special topic course, two of which are offered on a rotating every summer. The venue alternates between the Pontifical Institute in Toronto and the AAR in Rome. Students have the option of taking four of the five courses and completing a final project in order to earn the diploma, or simply to enroll in one summer program. PIMS offers twelve fellowships to qualified participants. For further information, see the PIMS website here.

  • American Numismatic Society (ANS)

    American Numismatic Society (ANS)

    Every summer the ANS offers the Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics, an eight-week course taught by ANS staff, guest lecturers, and a visiting scholar that is meant to give those with little or no numismatic background basic training for numismatics. A limited number of stipends are available. For further information, see the ANS website here.

  • Vergilian Society

    The Vergilian Society

    The Vergilian Society organizes a number of short tours (ten to fourteen days) in classical lands, mostly during the summer. For further information, see the Society’s website and follow the link on the top right.

  • Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD)

    Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD)

    The DAAD offers grants to applicants from North American universities, who at the time of application have attained at least sophomore standing, to attend 8-week intensive language courses at leading institutes in Germany. For further information, see the DAAD website here.
    

• Conferences and Publications
  Conferences and Publications
  Conference presentations and publications are a crucial part of an academic career, and it is important for graduate students to begin gaining experience with them. At the same time, the highest priority for all graduate students must be the timely completion of the degree requirements and maintaining satisfactory progress toward the degree, followed closely by the fulfillment of their instructional responsibilities. Students should accordingly be careful to prioritize and balance their obligations, and not to focus on conference presentations or publications to the extent that their work for the degree or their teaching suffers. Students should also not feel pressured to start presenting at conferences too early in their graduate careers; in most cases it’s a good idea to wait until after completion of the MA.Within these parameters, students are encouraged to think about developing course papers and other research projects as conference presentations and potentially as publications; it is usually a good idea to present a project in a conference before working it up for possible publication. Many faculty members will include in their feedback on course papers some appraisal of its potential for further development. Students on their part should always feel free to ask their course instructors whether they think a particular piece of work could be developed further. The original course instructor is often best placed to provide guidance and feedback on developing a paper further, but students should also seek feedback from other faculty who have relevant expertise. All members of the faculty are glad to help with this process. Older graduate students who already have experience with transforming a course paper into a conference presentation can also be a source of useful advice. Lastly, students who are planning to make a presentation at a conference should if all possible try to present it at the Department’s Brown Bag seminar series in advance; this is particularly recommended for students who have little or no experience making conference presentations. Not only is a trial run useful in and of itself, but the faculty and graduate students in the audience often provide valuable feedback on both the content and the mechanics of the presentation.

  Students are strongly encouraged to discuss with faculty advisors and mentors appropriate conferences at which to present; not all conferences are of equal value. The annual meetings of major professional associations are almost always a good option: the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) and the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), which meet jointly in early January, and the major regional association for our area, the Classical Association of the Midwest and South (CAMWS), both its main meeting in April and the Southern Section (CAMWS-SS) meeting that take place every other year in October. Other relevant associations include the Association of Ancient Historians (AAH), the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), and the meetings of other regional associations, e.g., the Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS). Since most preliminary job interviewing is done at the joint annual meeting of the AIA and SCS, it can be useful to get some experience of that meeting before going on the job market. Otherwise, smaller meetings often offer more opportunities for meeting people and making connections. Thematic conferences can also be very good occasions for presenting work, although much depends on the location and organizers; many faculty now think that graduate student conferences are generally of very limited value. Students should always consult a faculty advisor or mentor before submitting an abstract to a conference.

  Lastly, students should keep in mind the two annual colloquia that members of the Department co-organize: that with the Department of Classics at King’s College London in the fall and that with the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University in the spring. Some funding is available for student presenting papers at conferences, both from the Department and from other sources; see further below under ‘Funding’.

  Students who are thinking about developing a paper for publication should seek advice from a faculty advisor or mentor, who can suggest suitable venues, give feedback, and provide guidance on the submission process.

• Travel Policies
  Travel Policies
  Graduate students engaged in any sort of travel should be aware of and adhere to the following departmental and University policies.
  1. For all university-affiliated travel, including travel for fieldwork, participation in conferences or study programs, and research, graduate students must submit in advance a Travel Authorization Form. This form should be submitted even it if the travel is to take place during the summer.2. For all university-affiliated international travel, graduate students must obtain university travel insurance if they are not otherwise covered; further information is attached to the Travel Authorization Form, and the full policy can be accessed here. They must also register their trip with the UNC Global Travel Registry (onyen login required). The purpose of the registry is to facilitate communication with members of the Carolina community who may find themselves in an international crisis situation and to provide assistance.3. For all travel during a semester in which they have instructional responsibilities, even for purely personal reasons, graduate students must discuss the travel with their course instructor or supervisor in advance and make arrangements to cover their duties. TAs, TFs, and STFs must also notify the Department office staff and inform them of the arrangements that have been made to cover their teaching and other responsibilities; the Travel Authorization Form should be used for this purpose. Please note that students acting as course instructors should keep travel during teaching terms to a minimum. In most cases, they should not make plans that would entail missing more than three sessions (at most) of a given class.
• Undergraduate Mentoring
  • Research

    Research

    The Office of Undergraduate Research provides graduate students with a variety of opportunities to become involved in mentoring undergraduates who are engaged in research projects; for further information, see here. Most of these are on a volunteer basis, although participation in the Graduate Research Consultant Program carries a small honorarium of $750.

  • Graduate School Preparation

    Graduate School Preparation

    University Career Services sponsors the Pre-Graduate Educational Advising Program, which connects graduate students with undergraduates interested in applying to graduate school and allows graduate students to share the benefits of their knowledge and experience. There is no financial compensation, but commitments are fairly minimal. For further information, see here.

• Use of Departmental Letterhead
  Use of Department Letterhead
  Graduate students who are currently enrolled and in good standing may use department letterhead, both paper and electronic, for official correspondence, such as letters of recommendation for current or former students who are applying for academic programs, fellowships, and professional positions. Graduate students may not use departmental letterhead for any other type of correspondence, including their own applications for fellowships or academic positions.

Citizenship

• Responsiveness

  Responsiveness

  All members of the department are expected to respond promptly to any inquiries and requests from the staff regarding departmental business. Students should likewise respond promptly to messages from members of the faculty. Such promptness is important for the smooth and efficient transaction of departmental business. Moreover, as a quality that is much appreciated in all contexts, it is useful to make a habit as soon as possible.

• Participation in Department Events

  Participation in Department Events

  Lectures. All graduate students should normally attend all departmentally sponsored lectures. This provides valuable experience for a number of reasons: 1) it is an easy way to gain exposure to a wider range of topics, approaches, and methodologies than you could acquire from your own course work and research; 2) it gives you exposure to the wide range of ways that people present their work, and thus gives you useful ideas for ways that you might present your own work in conference papers and job talks; 3) it gives you an opportunity to develop your skills in interacting with a range of professionals in the field, through both questions after the lecture and conversation during the reception and/or at dinner. Lastly, a poor turnout for a visiting speaker reflects poorly on the department, and thus indirectly on you. Everyone who has a formal association with the department also has an investment in its reputation.

  Dinners with visiting speakers. The department has a policy of paying for two graduate students to join visiting speakers for dinner after their lectures. The Student Services Manager sends out an email in advance of the talk asking for volunteers. Participation is normally on a first-come, first-served basis, although the Department attempts to make sure that everyone has an opportunity. Faculty members will at times encourage particular students to have dinner with particular visitors, because of common interests or other potential connections. Dinner with visiting speakers also provides an excellent opportunity to develop valuable personal skills and make useful connections.

  Other events. All graduate students are encouraged to take part in other departmental events, especially the annual picnic at the start of the fall semester and the weekly departmental seminars and teas. These provide opportunities to learn more about the research of faculty members and graduate students, and to interact informally outside of the classroom.

• Recruitment Activities

  Recruitment Activities

  Graduate. Graduate students play an important role in helping attract top-level students to the Department, especially in graduate student recruitment. All prospective and, even more, current graduate students are naturally aware that the quality of their graduate school experience depends heavily on their peers. As a result, a prospective student’s impression of the current graduate students often weighs heavily in their decision about choice of program; likewise, current students have personal investment in making sure that their new peers are as strong as possible. There are a number of ways to contribute to graduate recruitment. One of the most important is to host a prospective student during his or her visit; the Department provides $25 a night to students who put up a prospective student. Another important contribution is transportation, especially to pick up visitors and take them back to the airport. Other ways to contribute include meeting with the students to answer questions and describe life in the Department and the area more generally; giving them tours of the campus; and taking them for coffee or meals (the Department will reimburse). All graduate students are expected to contribute in some way to the recruitment of new students.

  Undergraduate. Although graduate students play a less prominent role in the recruitment of undergraduates, it is something that they should keep in mind. Attracting students is an increasing priority for every program in Classics, and some interest and experience in the process is a valuable professional skill. There are various opportunities for recruitment and outreach. The Department organizes a beginning-of-the-year event for undergraduates that is meant to showcase the advantages of taking courses or majoring in Classics; graduate students are encouraged to take part, both because they play an active and important role in teaching undergraduates and more generally because they are in some respects better able to connect with undergraduates than are members of the faculty. Graduate students are also encouraged to participate in the annual convention of the North Carolina Junior Classical League, which frequently takes place at UNC under the sponsorship of the Department; possibilities include making a short presentation on a topic that is likely to interest middle and high school students and serving as a judge in a contest.

• Publicity and Promotion

  Publicity and Promotion

  Website Profiles. Graduate students should maintain and regularly update a brief profile on the Department website, including office hours and contact information. They should provide the information to the Department Secretary, who will upload it and make corrections as needed. This is a good way for students to start building their presence in the profession.

  Annual CV. The accomplishments of our graduate students are crucial for the Department’s overall reputation; in turn, the Department’s overall reputation helps determine the value of a graduate degree in our program. Graduate students can assist with this process by ensuring that the Department is aware of and has a record of their accomplishments. All graduate students should accordingly submit an updated CV every spring, with items from the previous year highlighted so that they can easily be located. Make sure to include prizes, scholarships, fellowships, grants, honors and awards; participation in field work and study programs; and research contributions. A guide to formatting CVs, geared particularly to UNC standards, can be found on the Department’s website here. Students are also encouraged to consult members of the faculty about the presentation of their CVs, especially their advisors and the DGS. A person’s CV is a crucial element of any application, and students should acquire as soon as possible the habit of regularly updating and tending their CV.

  Donor Reports. Students who receive grants from one of the Department’s endowed funds, especially to support participation in conferences, fieldwork, or study programs, will be asked to submit a brief account on their experiences that will be incorporated into a report to the donor. The Department relies on the generosity of its donors for funds to support student travel, and they appreciate first-hand accounts of the impact that their gifts have on students’ education and training.

  Tabulae. Individual students may be asked to contribute to the Department’s annual newsletter, Tabulae. The newsletter is one of our main tools for publicity and outreach, and so it is important that it is as interesting and informative as possible. Students who are asked to contribute should make sure to submit any requested material by the deadline; anyone with ideas for the newsletter is encouraged to discuss them with the Chair or with the staff person in charge.

Governance and Administration

• Departmental Administrative Assistants

  Departmental Administrative Assistants

  The Department has three annual administrative assistantships open to graduate students. Each brings a small stipend and has a distinct set of responsibilities, as outlined below. Every April the Chair distributes a memo with further information and solicits expressions of interest; appointments for the following year are made before the end of the semester.
  
  Senior Program Assistant (SPA)
  Stipend: $2,000. Priority given to 5th year graduate students.
  The main duties of the SPA are the following.  Several are shared with the Junior Program Assistant, as noted below.
  1. Attend and contribute to the orientation session for new graduate students (August).
  2. Schedule and conduct initial organizational meeting of the graduate and post-bacc students (August).
  3. Administer the in-person part of the undergraduate Latin placement test (September).
  4. Administer the Foreign Language Proficiency Assessment in Latin (once each semester).
  5. Serve ex officio on the Visiting Speakers Committee and assist with the organization of the lectures.
  6. Assist the Student Services Manager in organizing and preparing for the Department Awards Reception (late spring).
  7. Oversee the Department commencement ceremony and reception (May).
  8. Throughout the year, assist the office staff with small tasks.
  
  Junior Program Assistant (JPA)
  Stipend: $1,000. Priority given to 2nd and 3rd year graduate students.
  The main duties of the JPA are the following.  Several are shared with the SPA.
  1. Organize and oversee the Department Tea Talks.
  2. Purchase departmental supplies as needed, especially for tea and receptions throughout the year.
  3. Work with the SPA to set up and clean up after departmental receptions and assist with visiting speakers.
  4. Take pictures for the departmental website and newsletter.
  5. Assist the office staff with small tasks.
  6. Assist the SPA with the Department commencement ceremony and reception (May).

  Watlington Fellow for Undergraduate Outreach 
  Stipend: $2,000. Priority given to students in the 3rd year and beyond. The Watlington Fellow works closely with the Chair to develop initiatives for undergraduate outreach. The main recurring duties are below, but this is intended to be a flexible position; new ideas and initiatives are always welcome.
  1. Organize the Department table at FallFest, the annual kick-off event organized by the Carolina Union (August).
  2. Assist in planning and organizing the undergraduate kick-off event, Classics at Carolina (September).
  3. Serve ex officio on the Undergraduate Committee.  Specific responsibilities include:
  a. Attend meeting to discuss undergraduate prizes and plan for the year(once at the beginning of each semester).
  b. Assist with the Herington competition(fall, usually October).
  4. Organize and oversee the Latin t-shirt contest(spring semester).

• Departmental Graduate Student Offices

  Departmental Graduate Student Offices

  The graduate students elect the following officers for the academic year at their annual beginning-of-the-year meeting.

  Graduate Student Tribunes. The two tribunes act as representatives of the graduate students to the Department administration. The Chair arranges a formal meeting each semester. In preparation for this meeting, the tribunes should canvass their fellow students regarding any concerns or questions about the Department or the program. As the elected representatives of their fellow students, the tribunes are expected to exercise their own judgement in evaluating the feedback they receive and presenting it to the Chair. In addition, the Chair will from time to time contact the tribunes to solicit graduate student input on specific issues that arise; likewise, the tribunes should likewise always feel free to contact the Chair about any issues that come to their attention.

  Magister equitum. The magister equitum acts as a social event coordinator for graduate and post-bacc students.

  Tea Czar/Czarina. The Tea Czar/Czarina is in charge of the Department’s weekly afternoon tea. He or she makes sure to monitor the tea supplies and informs the DSTF when more tea is needed, and coordinates volunteers to provide the snacks by maintaining a weekly sign-up sheet and if necessary seeking out volunteers.

  UNC-Duke Colloquium Committee. Each year the Department’s graduate students collaborate with their colleagues in the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University to plan, fund, and host an event in the spring. Typically this has taken the form of a graduate colloquium; it has also been organized as a graduate pedagogy workshop. The members of each year’s colloquium committee are selected on a volunteer basis at the beginning-of-the-year meeting in August. The committee includes a president and treasurer (who are usually more senior students), and other members responsible for duties such as coordinating meals during the colloquium, publicizing the event, and reserving venues at UNC and Duke.

• The Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF)

  The Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF)

  The GPSF is the main association of graduate and professional students at UNC-CH; it operates as an arm of the UNC Student Government; see here for further information. The Department’s graduate students annually elect one of their number to serve as their representative in the GPSF Senate, along with a second who acts as an alternate. The GPSF Senate is a forum to discuss and seek consensus about graduate/professional student issues and delegate funds for events and travel awards. Active participation in the Senate enables the Department’s graduate students to receive end-of-year monetary allocations to hold their own events.

  There are many other opportunities for graduate students to participate in UNC Student Government: e.g., as officers in the executive branch of the GPSF or the Graduate Honor Court, or as representatives in Student Congress (note that District 11 consists of five representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education).

• Tuition, Fees, and Health Insurance
  • Tuition and Fees

    Tuition and Fees

    All students enrolled in the graduate program must maintain full-time registration during the fall and spring semesters, which entails payment of tuition and fees.

    Tuition rates vary both by residency and number of credit hours. Tuition for non-residents is currently over three times as much as it is for residents, and as a result it is important that all students establish North Carolina residency for tuition purposes as soon as they are able; see further below. Students may maintain full-time registration either by enrolling in at least 9 hours of graduate-level courses or at least 3 hours of thesis (993) or dissertation (994) credit; the tuition for the latter is about half that of the former. All teaching assistantships and fellowships include an in-state tuition award, which covers the cost of in-state tuition; students who hold a teaching assistantship but do not qualify for the in-state tuition are also eligible for a tuition remission award, which covers the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition. See further below under ‘Tuition Remission and North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes’.

    Fees do not vary, either by residency or by number of credit hours. Detailed and up-to-date information about tuition and fees can be found on the website of the UNC Finance Division here. Teaching assistantships do not cover fees, although most fellowships do.

  • Health Insurance

    Health Insurance

    All students registered in a degree program at UNC-CH are automatically enrolled in the UNC System-Wide Health Insurance Plan (see further here). Students are charged a fee for this insurance, which is currently about $800 per semester. However, all teaching assistantships and fellowships include enrollment in an entirely separate plan, the RA/TA Graduate Student Blue Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP) (see further here). Students who hold an assistantship or fellowship must therefore opt out of the regular student health insurance plan every semester by submitting a waiver (see here) prior to the deadline, or they will otherwise be liable to pay the fee for the regular student health insurance. Students should watch for reminders about the health insurance waiver and act on them as soon as possible.

  • Readmission and Reapplication

    Readmission and Reapplication

    Students who allow their registration to lapse pay neither registration nor fees, but should be aware that they lose access to all University resources as long as they are not registered. A formal request for readmission to the Graduate School is required whenever a student fails to register for a regular (fall/spring) semester–whether the student had an approved leave of absence, withdrew during the semester, or simply did not register. To resume their studies, such students must apply for readmission according to the following deadlines: July 1 for the fall semester; December 1 for the spring semester. Students seeing readmission must obtain departmental approval, and so should submit the appropriate forms to the Student Services Manager one month before the Graduate School deadline. Readmission after a long absence is not automatic and will be reviewed carefully by the Department. Students who have remained unregistered for five years or longer must formally apply to the Graduate School for new admission. All students seeking readmission will also need to submit a new application for residency for tuition purposes. For further information on readmission, see the Graduate School Handbook here.

  • Parental Leave Policy

    Parental Leave Policy

    The Graduate School has a Parental Leave Policy that is designed to assist a full-time graduate student who is the primary child-care provider immediately following the birth or adoption of a child. This policy will ensure the student’s full-time, registered status and will facilitate their return to full participation in class work and, where applicable, research and teaching in a seamless manner. All matriculated, full-time graduate students who have been full-time for at least one academic year are eligible to apply for this leave. For further information, see the Graduate School Handbook here.

• Assistantships and Fellowships
  Assistantships and Fellowships
  The standard departmental Teaching Assistantship provides a stipend of $8,000 per semester plus in-state tuition and health insurance; it does not cover fees. Students who hold a Departmental Assistantship serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants in one of the Department’s undergraduate courses; see further above under ‘Teaching’. Departmental and Graduate School fellowships are awarded at the time of initial admission to the program. The Graduate School’s Royster Fellowship provides a stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance; Royster Fellows have non-service years in their first and fifth years, when they do not serve as GTAs. The Department’s Reckford Fellowship is similar, but becomes available only once every six or seven years.
• Tuition Remission and North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes
  Tuition Remission and North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes
  All students who hold a departmental Teaching Assistantship receive in-state tuition as part of their assistantship. Those who are not considered residents of North Carolina for tuition purposes must pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition, which currently amounts to over $8,500 per semester. The Graduate School provides each department with a certain amount of funds to cover that difference; these funds are known as tuition remission, and the Department uses them to pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition on behalf of all non-resident students during their first year. Yet because these funds are limited, the Department cannot guarantee that it can provide tuition remission beyond a student’s first year. It is accordingly important that students do all they can to establish North Carolina residency for tuition purposes by the beginning of their second year. Those who fail to do so may well be liable to pay the difference themselves, since the Department cannot guarantee that it will be able to continue to provide tuition remission.To be considered a North Carolina resident for tuition purposes, a person must have established domicile in North Carolina and have maintained it for at least 12 months prior to applying for residency. Establishing domicile does not simply mean moving to North Carolina, but demonstrating the intent to make North Carolina their permanent home indefinitely. A number of actions are usually taken as evidence of intent to establish domicile, including but not limited to renting or buying a residence, registering to vote, getting a North Carolina driver’s license, joining local organizations, and filing North Carolina taxes. People must do these things within a short period of time, rather than gradually, and should retain documentation of each action to submit with their application. For further details and links to other resources, see the Department’s ‘Brief Guide to North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes’, available here.

  Students should be aware that North Carolina residency for tuition purposes is not a permanent status. Those who fail to enroll for longer than a 12-month period, even if they have been granted a leave of absence, will need to re-apply in order to be considered for re-classification for in-state tuition.

• Travel Funding
  Travel Funding
  Various sources of funding, both within the Department and outside it, are available to help cover the expense of travel of educational purposes, e.g., for fieldwork, research, conferences, or study programs. Since departmental funds are limited, students are encouraged to apply for external funding whenever possible. For summer work in archaeological field projects, see also the Department’s ‘Funding Sources for Archaeology Graduate Students‘.

  • • External Funding

      External Funding

      For additional funding opportunities, students should consult with their faculty advisors or mentors as well as the funding databases listed below under ‘Funding Opportunities for ABDs’.

      CAMWS. The Classical Association of the Midwest and South (CAMWS) offers several competitive awards in support of graduate student travel for research and study. The CAMWS Excavation/Field School Award is a $2,000 scholarship for participation in summer excavation or field school at an archaeological site in the Graeco-Roman world; for further information, see here. The Semple Award is a $4,500 fellowship for attending the summer session of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The Mary A. Grant Award is a $5,000 fellowship for attending the summer session of the American Academy in Rome. The Janice and Herbert Benario Award is a $3,000 fellowship that the recipient may apply to the summer travel (not field work) program of his or her choice. For further information on these three awards, see here.

    • University Funding

      University Funding

      Pre-Dissertation Travel Award. These awards, sponsored by UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives, are intended to allow students do preliminary explorations or potential research materials or sties in preparation for writing a dissertation proposal; they may not be used for dissertation research after a prospectus has been approved. For further information, see here.

      Graduate Student Transportation Grant. The Graduate School has a limited amount of funding to support graduate student travel to a conference to present their dissertation research. Students are eligible for these awards only once during their time at UNC, and must be ABD, registered full time, and expecting to complete the dissertation within the year. The maximum available is $400 for domestic travel and $750 for international travel. See further the Graduate School website here.

      Royster Society of Fellows. Royster Fellowships, including Royster Dissertation Completion Fellowships, include some funding for travel. Students who hold a Royster Fellowship should make use of these funds whenever possible.

      GPSF Travel Awards. These awards are meant to assist with conference and research travel expenses for graduate students, intended for those without other financial support for travel; for that reason, they may not be combined with any other source of funding. See further the GPSF website here.

    • Departmental Travel Awards

      Departmental Travel Awards

      The Department has available a limited amount of money for graduate student travel. Individual awards from Department funds will not exceed $2,000 and will in most cases be less than that. Awards are for the actual amount of reimbursable expenses only. Appropriate uses of an award include travel in connection with research or fieldwork, to participate in a study program, or to present a paper at a professional meeting or conference. Students may apply for funds even for travel that is not yet confirmed, for example, to present a paper that has not yet been accepted or to participate in a study program into which they have not yet been accepted. In all cases, the travel award is contingent upon the project application being accepted and the travel actually taking place. Students may in some cases obtain funds in advance of their travel, but must return the funds if they do not end up making the trip.

      Eligibility. To be eligible for a travel award, students must be officially enrolled at the time they travel and submit receipts; even if funds have been awarded, they cannot be disbursed to students who are no longer enrolled. This enrollment requirement does not apply to the summer sessions. Students who are beyond their five years of anticipated funding are generally not eligible for travel awards; the summer following their fifth year counts as part of the five years of anticipated funding. Exceptions may sometimes be made for students who are presenting a paper at the AIA/SCS meeting and are on the job market. Students who have fellowships or other awards that include money for travel (e.g., Royster Fellowships) are generally not eligible for departmental funding.

      Application Procedures. The Chair sends out a call for applications in January for travel that will occur over the course of the following year, up to and including the the AIA/SCS Annual Meeting the following January. The travel itself must normally take place within a year of the call for applications. Students must provide a brief description of the purpose to which an award would be applied, including dates and location; a brief statement of the project’s value to their training and development; a budget, including a breakdown of the major expenses; and a brief supporting statement from their advisor or another faculty member who can confirm the importance of the travel for the student’s professional development. Students applying for international travel may include the cost of their required University travel insurance as part of their budget; they may also indicate whether they would like the Department Manager to initiate the process of obtaining the travel insurance. Announcements of awards will be made by the middle of October.

      Criteria for Selection. Since funds are limited, it is never possible to fully fund all requests. Priority will be given to requests that meet the following criteria. For all travel, the endorsement of an advisor or mentor is crucial: the Department cannot afford to expend funds on projects whose value to the student’s development is dubious or uncertain, and a faculty member with relevant expertise is the most appropriate person to evaluate that. For travel to conferences and meetings, the most important criterion is the standing of the conference within the field: e.g., annual meetings of major professional associations are normally given highest priority, whereas graduate student conferences normally have very low priority and are often not funded at all. Especially at times when there is high demand, awards will be limited to one conference per student per year. Other things being equal, special consideration will be given to students who are on the job market.

      Disbursement Procedures. Students who have been given a travel award should coordinate with the appropriate staff member to make arrangements for receiving the allotted funds. Funds are disbursed only for the actual amount of reimbursable expenses. For airfare, there are two options. One is to use the University travel system; this allows the ticket to be paid for directly from departmental funds. The other is for students to purchase the tickets themselves and request a reimbursement; it is important to note that a reimbursement can be made only after the travel has been completed. University policy no longer allows conference registration fees to be reimbursed. Students who wish to use travel award funds for registration fees must submit their Travel Authorization Form and make arrangements in advance with the Department Manager; please allow at least four weeks’ advance notice. Students requesting reimbursements, whether for airfare or any other approved expense, should save all the relevant receipts and submit them to the department secretary within five days of their return; the University accounting office has strict procedures for travel reimbursements, and requests that are submitted past their deadline may be denied. Note that original receipts must be submitted; copies are not acceptable.

• Other Reimbursements
  Other Reimbursements
  Graduate students requesting reimbursements for pre-approved expenses other than travel must complete, sign, and submit a Voucher Request form along with the original receipts (copies are not acceptable).
• Additional Employment
  Additional Employment
  The standard stipend for instructional positions in the Department is such that many students have to seek additional employment in order to supplement it, either within the Department (in the form of Research Assistantships), elsewhere within the University (e.g., teaching or advising positions in other units, employment in the Libraries, Student Stores, or UNC Press), or outside the University (including individual tutoring as well as part-time jobs).  This is an unfortunate reality of which Department’s faculty and staff are well aware.  At the same time, it is crucial that students avoid taking on employment obligations that prevent them from maintaining satisfactory progress towards the degree.  It is a difficult and delicate business to achieve the right balance, which varies considerably depending on the student and the circumstances.  It is accordingly impossible to lay down strict rules.  The Department instead observes the following guidelines and procedures in order to work with students to determine what is in their best interests on a case-by-case basis.

  • • Graduate School Recommendations

      Graduate School Recommendations

      The Graduate School recommends that students should not normally undertake research or teaching assistantships in excess of 12-15 hours per week on average for students at the MA level and 15-20 hours per week on average for students at the PhD level. See further the Graduate School website here.

    • Research Assistantships

      Research Assistantships

      Members of the faculty may from time to time hire graduate students to assist them with their research. Research Assistants (RAs) are paid an hourly rate negotiated by the student and faculty member. The nature of their duties and their workload are likewise negotiated, subject to the following limits:

      1. Students without other UNC employment may work up to twelve (12) hours per week. These assignments may require additional paperwork and expense. Please speak with the department manager prior to agreeing to hire.
      2. Students with other UNC employment may work up to six (6) hours per week.
      3. Students with an enhanced fellowship (a five-year fellowship) may work up to three (3) hours per week.
      4. Students employed in the Dept. of Classics in an administrative position (SPA/JPA/Watlington) will require a discussion with the SSM and DGS pertaining to work hours and dates.
      5. No student may exceed twenty hours a week of paid work.

      To set up a Research Assistantship, the student and faculty member must complete the Department’s ‘Contract for Hourly Research Assistant’ available here and submit it to the Department Manager. The contract provides further details about conditions and restrictions.

    • Graduate Research Consultant (GRC) Program

      Graduate Research Consultant (GRC)

      This program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, provides opportunities for graduate students to serve as mentors for undergraduates who are pursuing research projects in the context of specific course. GRCs are expected to work 30 hours over the course of the semester and receive a stipend of $1,000. GRCs are not TAs; they do not assist with grading or the delivery of course content. Their role is rather to advise and mentor the undergraduate students, individually or collectively, in the research process. Faculty members may approach graduate students to serve as a GRC in a particular course, or graduate students may register with the program to indicate their interest and availability. See further the OUR website here.

    • Procedure for Other Forms of Employment

      Procedure for Other Forms of Employment

      Graduate students who hold Graduate School fellowships and assistantships (Royster Society of Fellows, Merit Assistantships, etc.) are required to obtain the approval of the Graduate School before accepting any type of employment. They should speak in advance with the Student Services Manager.

      Graduate students who apply for any sort of University employment are required to have the permission of their home department before they can be hired. Students should discuss the prospective position with the DGS before applying, informing her or him of the type of work and the number of hours that they will be working. The DGS then notifies the Department Manager, who approves the payroll form if the student is hired. The Department Manager will not be able to approve the form until she has received approval from the DGS. A delay in obtaining approval may push back the first day of work and/or cause a hold on receiving the first paycheck. Approval will be regularly reassessed and must be obtained for each new hiring period.Graduate students who seek employment off campus during the academic year are strongly encouraged to discuss their prospective employment options with the DGS, the Director of the Archaeology Program, and/or their advisors or mentors.

    • Financial Crises

      Financial Crises

      Small short-term emergency loans are available from various sources to help students meet unexpected budget shortfalls.  The Department is able to make small, no-interest, short-term loans to graduate students, normally up to a maximum of $500; the borrower signs a pledge to repay the loan within three months. No questions are asked at any point about why the money is needed, and no record is kept of the loan once it has been repaid. The Student Emergency Fund is a joint venture between the Division of Student Affairs and Scholarships and Financial Aid and provides financial support (generally no more than $500) to help students cope with unexpected emergencies; these funds are outright grants and do not need to be repaid. See further the Dean of Students’ website here. The Graduate and Professional Student Federation sponsors a similar fund; see their website here. A complementary fund is the Graduate School’s Graduate Opportunity Fund, which provides one-time grants to meet unusual and unexpected academic expenses as opposed to personal expense; see further here. Students who are facing longer-term financial difficulties may also want to consider taking a temporary leave of absence from the graduate program; see further the Graduate School Handbook on MA programs here and PhD programs here.
      

• Funding Opportunities for ABDs
  Funding Opportunities for ABDs
  Although the Department offers five years of anticipated funding to its graduate students, contingent on satisfactory progress toward the degree as defined above, most students take six to eight years to complete the program and earn their degree. It is therefore important to pursue as many options as possible for funding in the final years of the degree program. Listed below are some of the opportunities that are regularly available. Fellowships that provide support for full-time research and writing are invariably highly competitive; students are encouraged to apply for any fellowship for which they are eligible, but should always have back-up plans in case none of their applications work out. The last subsection provides information about some of the paid teaching positions that are regularly available, but students should also consult with faculty mentors, the Director of Graduate Placement, and older graduate students for other possibilities.

  • Graduate School Fellowships

    Graduate School Fellowships

    Types of Fellowships. The Graduate School offers three different types of dissertation fellowships on a competitive basis.
    1) Dissertation Completion Fellowships provide a year of full funding for students who will complete their dissertations during the period of the fellowship. There are two categories of fellowships: general fellowships and Royster Society of Fellows (SOF) fellowships, which provide an enhanced level of support. Students interested in the latter need to include a statement of interest along with their application, but do not need to submit a separate application; if they are not selected for an SOF fellowship, they will automatically be considered for a general fellowship. For further information, see here.

    2) Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships provide a semester of full funding for students who are conducting dissertation research away from Chapel Hill; applications are due in the fall for the following spring semester, and applications are due in the spring for the following fall semester. For further information, see here.

    3) Summer Research Fellowships provide funding ($4,000) to allow students to focus exclusively on their dissertation research during the summer. See further here. In addition, there are a few special purpose fellowships in each category. Those most likely to be relevant to students in Classics are the Dissertation Completion Fellowship for Underrepresented Students in Humanities, Social Sciences or Professional Programs, and the UNC-Kings Exchange Summer Fellowship for students conducting dissertation research at Kings College London.

    Procedures. Students must be nominated by their department in order to be considered for any of these awards, and the Department is limited in the number of students it can nominate for each type of fellowship: currently three per year for a Dissertation Completion Fellowship (plus an additional student for each of the special purpose fellowships), two per semester for an Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship (plus an additional student per year for each of the special purpose fellowships), and three per year for a Summer Research Fellowship (plus an additional two students for the UNC-Kings Summer Research Fellowship). It is accordingly departmental policy that students apply to the Chair for pre-approval before submitting their application online, so that a departmental committee may rank the prospective applicants.

    The Chair sends out a memo soliciting applications and setting the departmental deadlines: in late November for the Summer Research Fellowship, and in late January for the Dissertation Completion Fellowships and the Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships. Interested students should respond by indicating which fellowship they wish to apply for, a brief description of their research project, and a schedule of what they expect to accomplish during the period of their fellowship; students are encouraged to work closely with their dissertation director during this process. The Chair then consults with a committee consisting of the DGS, the Chair of the Archaeology Committee, and the Director of Graduate Placement in order to determine the departmental rankings. If any of these three is supervising one of the students who is applying, he or she will recuse him- or herself, and the Chair will appoint another faculty member in his or her place. If more students apply than the Department can nominate, priority for the Dissertation Completion Fellowship will go to students who have not already had a year of service-free support, e.g., a fellowship at the ASCSA or the like; note that students who have held a five-year Royster Fellowship are not eligible. Other criteria include the likelihood of the student’s finishing in the year and whether a full year of support is really needed. Criteria for ranking applicants for the other types of fellowships include the student’s overall record, his or her previous funding, and the anticipated results of the fellowship. The Chair then notifies all applicants of the committee’s decision. Students who have been approved should then submit their online application as soon as possible. It is important that they not wait until the deadline, in order to give their recommenders time to submit their letters and the Chair time to submit his nominations and rankings.

  • External Fellowships

    External Fellowships

    In addition to the information below, students should consult these other resources:
    1) the Department’s ‘Funding Sources for Archaeology Graduate Students‘;
    2) the page on External Fellowships on the Graduate School’s website;
    3) the list of Graduate Student Funding Sources on the UNC Global website;
    4) UNC’s Funding Information Portal;
    5) and the Graduate Funding Information Center. Students should also consult with their dissertation director and other faculty advisors and mentors.

    Graduate Tuition Incentive Scholarship. The Graduate School at UNC-CH offers this award as a complement to external fellowships; it covers the cost of in-state tuition for students who have won a major external research fellowship. See further here. This award is particularly useful for students who win awards that involve their absence from campus for a year, such as fellowships at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens or the American Academy in Rome. By covering the cost of in-state tuition, it allows students to maintain their enrollment at UNC-CH even while they are elsewhere and thus maintain their status as North Carolina residents for tuition purposes.

    Berthe M. Marti Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. This fellowship is supported by an endowment held and administered by Bryn Mawr College. It provides funding for an ABD doctoral student or recent PhD (awarded with previous three years) to conduct research for an academic year in Rome. An award can usually be made every two or three years, and it usually alternates between Bryn Mawr and UNC Chapel Hill students. It thus typically becomes available for a UNC student every five or six years; the Chair announces its availability and solicits applications in the preceding academic year. Eligibility for this Fellowship is limited to those who work on a Latin topic, including medieval Latin, palaeography, and textual criticism; those working in Greek, archaeology, Byzantine Studies, and Renaissance Studies are explicitly excluded. It is an advantage, but not a requirement, to have a project that would benefit from on-site research in Rome.

    American Academy in Rome (AAR). The AAR offers about thirty year-long fellowships (the ‘Rome Prize’) in a range of fields, including ancient studies. These are open to both ABD graduate students and to recent PhDs. For further information, see the AAR’s website here.

    American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA). The ASCSA has a number of fellowships to fund graduate students who are Regular Members of the school’s academic-year program. Transcripts, recommendations, and examinations in Greek Language, History, and Archaeology or Literature are required. For further information, see the ASCSA website here.

    American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT). Graduate students who are ABD and are engaged in research (usually dissertation study and fieldwork) on ancient or medieval Anatolia and modern Turkey, in any field of the humanities and social sciences, are eligible to apply for a number of fellowships to support such work at ARIT. For more information visit the American Research Institute in Turkey website.

    Archaeological Institute of America. The AIA sponsors a number of fellowships that can be used to support doctoral research. These include the John R. Coleman Traveling Fellowship, an $10,000 award for travel and study in Italy, the western Mediterranean, and North Africa and the Olivia James Traveling Fellowship, a $24,000 award for travel and study in Greece, Cyprus, Sicily, southern Italy, Turkey, or Mesopotamia. For a full list of AIA fellowships, grants, and scholarships, see here.

    The Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship, sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa, is used to support full-time research for a period of a year; it alternates between the fields of Greek studies and French studies, and carries a stipend of $20,000. Candidates must be unmarried women between 25 and 35 years of age, and either hold a doctorate or be ABD. See further the Phi Beta Kappa website here.

    The Dolores Zohrab Liebman Fellowship provides full funding ($18,000) for a year, and is open to all graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Students must apply through the Graduate School, which nominates three students from across the University per year. Applications are due in the early fall. For further information, see here.

    Mellon Fellowships for Dissertation Research in Original Sources provides a stipend of $2,000 per month for a period ranging from nine to twelve months to do research based on original sources in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and related depositories in the US and abroad. For further information see here.

    The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship provides a year of full support for students in the humanities and related social sciences in the last year of dissertation writing. The application requires a statement from an institutional representative; students who wish to apply should contact the Chair. For further information, see the ACLS website here.

    The International Dissertation Research Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Social Science Research Council, is open to all doctoral students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who are pursuing research that advances knowledge about non-US cultures and societies. There is a strong preference for projects that deal with the modern period or in some way shed light on the contemporary world. See further here.

    The Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) offers both long-term (10 month) and short-term research grants to doctoral students who wish to conduct research in Germany; a command of spoken German is required. Applications are due in the early fall, and students must pre-apply through the Graduate School. For further information, see here.

    The Harvard University Society of Fellows typically enrolls twelve Junior Fellows each year. Candidates must be in their final year of dissertation work or have earned their PhD the previous academic year; most Junior Fellows are recent PhDs. Fellowships are for a period of three years and provide a substantial stipend. Candidates must be nominated by a faculty member, normally their supervisor; they may not apply directly. Nominations are due in mid-August for fellowships starting the following summer. Those interested should talk to their supervisors as far as possible in advance of the nomination deadline. For further information, see here.

  • Teaching and Tutoring

    Teaching and Tutoring

    Below are some of the options for paid teaching positions that are normally available in the area. There are also a few teaching opportunities available through the Friday Center for Continuing Education; see above under ‘Funding, Other Teaching Opportunities’. Graduate students who work elsewhere on campus should get prior written approval from the DGS and should inform the Student Services Manager. Students working off campus should also keep the DGS and the Student Services Manager updated.

    UNC: Other academic departments at UNC are occasionally in need of GTAs. There have at times been openings to teach ENGL 105, the English composition course required of all undergraduates, although it is now generally reserved for graduate students in English and Comparative Literature. Some departments that do not have graduate programs, such as Women’s and Gender Studies and Asian Studies, sometimes have openings in their large introductory lecture courses. Departments seeking TAs will usually contact a faculty or staff member, who will then circulate the call for applications; this will normally be in the spring for the following academic year.

    Two University services that provide academic support for undergraduates regularly hire GTAs. The Writing Center hires teaching assistants who work with writers one-on-one; see further here. The Learning Center hires graduate students to act as Learning Coaches, who work one-on-one with undergraduates to help them develop the organization, time management, and study skill; see further here. Both positions are 15 hours per week, and require participation in training and staff activities as well as one-on-one coaching and advising. Both pay the minimum stipend as set by the Graduate School (currently $7850 per semester), and include health insurance but not tuition. Calls for applications are circulated in the early spring for the following academic year, and are also announced on the Centers’ websites.

    Part-Time College Teaching. Teaching positions are sometimes available on a course-by-course basis at area colleges and universities such as UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest University.

    High School Teaching. There are a number of local and area middle schools and high schools with Latin programs, and both full-time and part-time positions come up fairly regularly. Programs with a position to fill often contact a member of the Department, who will then circulate the announcement to the graduate students. Faculty members have a wide, informal network of contacts in area schools, since many former students in the Department have gone on to teach locally. Graduate students interested in high school teaching should consult with the Director of Graduate Placement and other faculty members, who can put them in touch with area teachers.

• Resources
  Resources
  Advanced students should work closely with the Director of Graduate Placement, their dissertation director, and other faculty mentors in preparing their CVs, cover letters, and other application materials. The Placement Director can also arrange for mock interviews to help students prepare for preliminary and/or on-campus interviews, as well as the increasingly popular Skype interview. Students should remember that the Placement Director and other faculty mentors are always glad to provide ongoing support and guidance even after graduation, until they secure a tenure-track position.University Career Services also sponsors events and provides resources specifically for graduate students, including seminars on preparing CVs and other application materials for both academic and non-academic jobs; see further here. For those interested in exploring non-academic jobs, a highly recommended resource is The Versatile PhD, which includes a range of profiles, sample cover letters and resumes of humanities PhDs who have pursued different career options; it is accessible through the UNC career site here and requires onyen login and registration. Also of interest, though still in development, is The Legion Project, organized by the Paideia Institute to provide a network of Classicists working in non-academic fields. For other resources, see the section on ‘Graduate Placement’ on the Department website. The following websites are especially recommended:
  From Start to Finish: Joy Connolly’s “Affable Guide” to the Job Market
  Resources for Graduate Students
  Navigating the Job Market
  Professionalism
  After You Land the Job
  Alt-Ac and the Digital Humanities
• College and University Positions
  College and University Positions
  The Placement Service of the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) is the main clearing-house for academic positions in all fields of classical studies. Virtually all US institutions of higher education that have an open position in the field, and an increasing number of institutions in other countries as well, advertise their position through the Placement Service. Job candidates may for a fee register with the Placement Service in order to receive up-to-date information about available positions and to use its services for interviewing at the joint Annual Meetings of the AIA and SCS. For further information, see here
• Secondary School Positions
  Secondary School Positions
  To teach in a public school, a person must have teacher certification, although for less common fields such as Latin this requirement may be waived for the initial year. By contrast, a person does not need certification to teach in a private school. The American Classical League operates the National Latin and Greek Teacher Placement Service, which performs for secondary schools the same general function that the SCS’s Placement Service performs for colleges and universities; see further here. The Southern Teachers Agency (STA) is a recruitment agency focusing on private schools in the south-eastern US, and has a particular interest in job candidates who can teach Latin. Representatives regularly visit the UNC campus. See further its website here. Another agency focusing on private schools is Carney, Sandoe and Associates, which operates nation-wide. See further its website here. Neither agency charges job seekers a fee for its services.