Opportunities for Students of Classics

Employment 

There are several different employment positions that students regularly fill in the Classics department:

  • 2 Office Work positions, usually around 3-5 hours per week
  • 1 Latin Language Assistant/Tutor position, usually around 6 hours per week
  • 1 Greek Language Assistant/Tutor position, usually around 3-4 hours per week

Each spring we also choose one or two senior majors to serve as Student Departmental Advisor(s) (SDAs) for the following year. These are vital, though unpaid, positions. Just speak with the current Department Chair if you are interested in any of these positions.

Working with Faculty 

There are different ways of working with faculty on their pedagogical or research projects, and these vary depending on when the work takes place, as well as its nature.

During the term: Collaboration with faculty on research that takes place during the term is awarded academic credit; with instructor permission, you can enroll in CLAS, LAT or GRK 292: Independent Research.

Work with faculty on course planning or revision (e.g. help with Moodle construction, quiz-making, bibliographical searching etc.) can be paid with student work funds, and faculty sometimes seek this kind of help. These opportunities will be announced on the classics email list and posted on the student employment job postings board.

Over December and summer breaks: Collaboration with faculty on research that takes place over breaks qualifies as a Student Research Partnership, and can be funded through the Humanities Center. The deadline for faculty to apply for this kind of support is at mid-term: Fall term for December projects, and Winter term for Summer projects. See the Faculty Research tab [currently under construction] to get a sense of what projects faculty are currently involved with and hiring for, or ask faculty whether they have such opportunities open, and whether you might be a good fit.

Classics faculty also can hire students as Student Research Assistants to help with research projects in various capacities (editing, data entry, proofreading, etc.) or to assist with curriculum revision and development projects. These positions are processed through the Student Employment Office, and students must be eligible for on-campus work to be employed for any position. Some work may be done remotely, as long as the student is in the US while doing the work.

Academic Enrichment 

In addition to the curriculum that the department offers during the academic year, some students take advantage of other academic opportunities to expand and develop their knowledge of the ancient Greco-Roman world. These enrichment opportunities may, among others, include: 

  • summer intensive language courses both at universities and online (see examples further below)
  • Classics-specific summer programs like those offered by the American Academy in Rome and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, or elsewhere
  • archaeological field schools and survey/excavation projects (see examples further below)
  • conferences and workshops available during the academic year, like the Classical Association of the Midwest and South’s or the Society for Classical Studies/Archaeological Institute of America’s annual meetings

While most of these programs have associated fees and costs, the College and the Classics department can provide some funding to make these experiences more accessible to all students; see the following section on “Funding.” 

Funding

Over the years, the Classics Department at Carleton has enjoyed the generous support of friends, alums, and parents who wish to see the department and our students continue to grow and thrive. Two endowed gifts in particular, the Miles Family Fund and the John C. Rouman ‘50 Endowed Fund for Classics have been established to provide, among other things, money for students pursuing research, academic, or experiential opportunities in the discipline beyond what is typically available on campus. 

So, in addition to the college-wide funding opportunities available to all students (like those administered by the Student Fellowships Office and Humanities Center), the Classics department is fortunate to have additional resources for students for things such as travel to conferences or for research, summer fieldwork or classics-related academic programs, guest speakers, etc. Students may, therefore, apply for any of the following:

  • Miles Family Fund Research/Travel Grant up to $350 (Applications for the Miles Family Research/Travel and Speaker grants will be considered on a rolling basis by the department until the available funds are exhausted.)
  • John C. Rouman ‘50 Academic Enrichment Grant up to $1500 (The John C. Rouman ‘50 Academic Enrichment grants have an application deadline of March 15th.)

To apply for funds, please use the form linked here. In considering applications, the department gives priority to students who: 

  • are majoring or minoring in Classics or have a demonstrated interest in Classics
  • and have not received departmental funds in the past. 

Decisions will typically be made within two weeks of the form submission. A sampling of programs and opportunities that have received funding from the department in recent years is provided below. Please note that grant recipients will be asked to provide a brief description (250 words or fewer) of their own experience and use of funds once completed.

Here are some recent non-curricular experiences in which our students have participated in recent years supported at least in part by departmental funding:

  • Attending a virtual UK-based conference on Poverty in the Ancient World
  • Participation in a summer-intensive Greek Language course
  • Registration and attendance for the Society for Classical Studies/Archaeological Institute of America annual meeting
  • Registration and attendance for the Classical Association of the Midwest and South annual meeting
  • Participation in a Summer Latin Institute in Florence, Italy
  • Participation in an archaeological field school in Pella, Jordan

If you have questions or wish to discuss potential programs or opportunities, please contact the Chair of the department, or any current faculty member.