Summer Session, June 8 to July 22, 2026
Apply by January 5, 2026
The Summer Session program of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is a six-week travel study course designed for those who wish to become acquainted with Greece and its major monuments, and to improve their understanding of the country’s landscape, history, material culture, and literature from antiquity to the present.
The 2026 Summer Session runs from June 8 to July 22, 2026, and its Directors are Dr. Michael Hoff (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Dr. Nancy Serwint (Arizona State University).
The ASCSA Summer Session has provided extensive exposure to Greece, ancient and modern, for generations of students of Classics and related fields. It has a strong academic component with participants researching and presenting topics on site and offers unique opportunities to interact with eminent archaeologists in the field. Roughly half of the session is spent in travel throughout Greece. Three trips give participants an introduction to the major archaeological sites and museum collections throughout the country. The remainder of the session is devoted to study of the museums and monuments of Athens and Attica with day trips to such sites as Marathon, Sounion, and Eleusis. The Summer Session Program is designed to present a comprehensive view of Greece’s rich history, art, and archaeology.
ASCSA 18-day Summer Seminars
The Summer Seminars of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens are 18-day programs that focus on specific cultural themes, historical periods, or geographical regions. The Seminars are led by exceptional scholars of Classics and related fields. Under their direction, participants study texts, visit archaeological sites and museums, and engage with expert guest speakers in order to deepen their understanding of Greece’s landscape, history, literature, and material culture.
Summer Seminar
Landscape with Figures: Human-Environment Interaction in Premodern Greece (June 15 to July 3, 2026)
Apply by January 5, 2026
The seminar aims to enhance participants’ appreciation of environment, climate, and natural resources of Central and Southern Greece as vital contexts for the understanding of historical developments in those regions from antiquity to early modern times. Natural resources and modes of their exploitation in different regions of Greece gave character to both people and places; fluctuations of climate and human habitation tell tales of coexistence and adaptation, with lessons of both successes and failures in sustainability. In pursuit of local socio-ecological systems (SES) in Greece, we will visit and examine a selection of natural, historical, and archaeological sites in Attica, Boiotia, the Saronic region, and Peloponnese offering a new perspective on historical events, as well as on social and cultural developments of classical antiquity and later periods of Greek history. It will be taught by Professor Irene Polinskaya (King’s College London).
Summer Seminar
Chalkidike Peninsula: From Hellenic Colonization to Byzantium (July 9 to July 27, 2026)
Apply by January 5, 2026
Due to its strategic location, Chalkidike played a fundamental role in a range of intercultural relations from Antiquity to Byzantium and beyond. The seminar will investigate some of the most important events in Greek history, including the foundation of apoikiai by Andros, Corinth, and Euboea, the Persian Wars, the rise of Athens, the expansion of Macedon, and the Roman and Byzantine empires. It will explore the archaeology of local topography and settlement patterns in the Chalkidike, Hellenistic to Roman cities and Byzantine monasteries, as well as cross-cultural interactions, from the alphabet to commercial networks to warfare. Key historical and archaeological questions about identity, religious change, harbor towns, and political institutions will be examined. Taught by Professors Amalia Avramidou (Democritus University of Thrace) and Amelia R. Brown (Australian Research Council Senior Researcher, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University).
Structure of the Programs: Daily Life, Eligibility, Costs, Scholarships
The ASCSA Summer Programs offer unparalleled opportunity to experience the ancient sites, monuments, and culture of Greece first-hand, under the guidance of expert professors deeply familiar with the country and topic, and up-to-date with the latest research.
When in Athens, the programs are based at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Roughly half of a program is spent in travel throughout Greece, and participants are housed in hotels. The commitment to presenting a detailed view of Greece’s rich history, leads to long days and extensive walking in the hot Mediterranean summer. Participants should be prepared for a rigorous program of study.
Enrollment is open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students, as well as to high school and college/university teachers of classics and related subjects. Each program is limited to twenty participants. The language of instruction is English. Open to all nationalities.
The fee for each 2026 Seminar is $2,750 USD. The fee for the 2026 Summer Session is $4,900 USD. Fee includes tuition, room for the entire program dates, partial board in Athens, travel within Greece, and museum and site fees. International airfare, most meals outside Athens and weekends in Athens, and incidental expenses are the participant’s responsibility.
Financial aid is available in the form of ASCSA scholarships, awarded on the basis of academic merit. Many classical organizations have funding opportunities.
For more information, and how to apply, link here <https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-session-and-seminars>: https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-session-and-seminars.