For Fall 2024 admission, the application deadline is December 15, 2023.

Applications must be submitted online through the USC Graduate School Admissions portal. Please note that you do not have to complete your application in one sitting; it will not be complete until you click the “submit” button.

Please review the Graduate Admissions website and note that applications must include the following components:

  • Follow the step-by-step instructions by selecting either the “Checklist for U.S. Students” or “Checklist for International Students.”

  • USC has an application fee for all graduate programs; qualified applicants may apply for a waiver (check if you are eligible for a fee waiver here).

  • Transcript submission is a two-step process:

    • First, upload scanned copies of official transcripts to the online application. Please note that these must be official transcripts printed on university letterhead.
    • After you submit your application and have received your 10-digit USC ID number, you must also mail in official transcripts from all colleges, universities, and other post-secondary institutions you have previously attended.

  • Please provide your up-to-date curriculum vitae (upload to the Documents subsection in the Supporting Information section).

  • Please indicate the number of years you have studied Latin, Greek, and any other ancient and/or modern languages. Graduate study in classics requires reading knowledge of Latin and Greek. While there is no strict rule, in order to make timely progress in the program, we generally expect at least three years’ coursework in Latin or Greek and two in the other at the time of application.

  • Your statement of purpose should explain both why you wish to pursue graduate study in classics and, more specifically, why you wish to do so at USC. It should outline your areas of research interest, the relevant areas of experience and training that inform your work, and your professional ambitions. We admit a small number of students each year in order to offer them full financial support; we therefore seek to find individuals whose interests best suit our program.

  • Please submit a research paper, written in English, of approximately 20 to 25 double-spaced pages in length. If you are excerpting material from a longer paper, such as an honors or master’s thesis, please include a brief abstract of the project as a whole in order to situate the submitted paper within that larger work. The paper you submit with your application should demonstrate your analysis of ancient primary sources (textual and/or material, as relevant) as well as your originality of thought and skills as a writer. Send an essay you are proud of.

  • We request that you provide three (3) letters of recommendation from faculty at your current or past institution(s).

  • GRE scores are no longer required.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We admit only as many students as we can fully fund. The number varies from year to year but is generally on the order of 3-4 incoming students per year.

  • We support everyone whom we admit with package that combines fellowship support and teaching assistantships for five years, as long as the student continues in good standing. These packages generally combine three years of fellowship with two years of teaching. The annual financial package consists of a competitive stipend, 12 units per semester of tuition remission, and year-round health insurance.

    Students beyond their fifth year may also be eligible for further support in the form of internal or external fellowships or TAships. Additional travel and research support during the academic year and over the summer (e.g. for conferences, on-site workshops, excavations, and other types of research and professional advancement) is available by application from the department and/or university

    When will I hear from USC?
    The faculty evaluates applications in January and early February and will contact applicants as soon as a decision on their case is made. Because we only admit students for whom we have a full funding package, the admissions committee maintains a list of alternates, and the final roster for the year is not closed until mid-April. Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies with any questions about the status of your application.

  • Please review additional information on the Frequently Asked Questions page of the Graduate Admission website, found here. International students should also consult the Frequently Asked Questions web page for International Students, found here.

If you have questions about the application process or experience difficulties with the on-line portal, please contact Ryan Prijic in the departmental office, prijic@usc.edu.

If you have further questions about USC’s graduate program in Classics, please email Professor Stefano Rebeggiani (Director of Graduate Studies), rebeggia@usc.edu.

You may also email any department member, as listed in the Faculty section of our website, with whom you might like to study in order to talk more about the program and their work.