Apply for Regular Membership

Eligibility

Regular Membership is open to citizens of the United States or Canada who are graduate students or graduating seniors at a college or university in those countries, or to non-citizens enrolled in a graduate program at a cooperating institution. The U.S. or Canadian citizen must be enrolled in a U.S. or Canadian program at the time of application. Preferably, applicants will have completed at least one year of graduate study before entering the School, but well-qualified undergraduate seniors who will have received a baccalaureate degree by the time of entry shall be considered for admission and for the fellowship competition. Applicants are expected to have (1) a strong background in the ancient Mediterranean world broadly conceived and (2) reading knowledge of French and German. Reading ability in ancient Greek, some familiarity with modern Greek, as well as other relevant foreign languages will be helpful. It is the policy of the School not to discriminate in awarding admission for Regular Membership on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, or disability.

For in-depth details on eligibility, please see the School's Regulations (Section VI.1-3).

Application Process

The application serves as both the application for admission and for School fellowships. The application is due by January 15. Detailed instructions are included on the application form. Please review the online application form well in advance of deadline. 

Link to online application form: https://ascsa.submittable.com/submit/115614/ascsa-regular-membership-application 

A complete application consists of the following: 

• A listing of colleges and universities attended, with dates of residence, degrees, field(s) of major study, and honors attained. 
• A listing of teaching and other professional experience, with institutions and dates. 
• Brief descriptions of your attainments in the following subjects: Latin and Greek, ancient history, ancient literature, Greek and Roman art and archaeology.
• Brief descriptions of proficiency in German, French, Italian, Modern Greek.
• A "Narrative of Research Experience." In a statement of no more than 1500 words, 12pt, single spaced, describe a substantial writing project (seminar paper, MA Thesis, etc.) based on your original research that included at least some measure of re-writing in response to feedback from your professor. The following prompts are not intended to be exhaustive—you may consider additional topics—but responses to all of them should appear somewhere in your statement. 
  • Identify your research question and briefly describe how you came to it.
  • How did this experience change your response to constructive feedback? Provide specific example(s).
  • How did this experience contribute to your growth as a writer? Provide specific example(s).
  • How did this experience contribute to your growth as a researcher? Provide specific example(s).
  • What do you consider to be the significant findings of your research?
• UPDATED (10/31/24): A "Personal Statement."  This 300-word statement addresses anything about yourself and your experiences that conveys what you personally would bring to the Academic Year Program (aka Regular Year Program), including aspects of your background or life experiences that have shaped your perspective on your field of study, any challenges or obstacles you have overcome in the pursuit of your career, and commitments to service and leadership in the academy or your community.
• Official transcripts for undergraduate and graduate study. You may order official transcripts, scan, and upload them to the appropriate field. If official electronic transcripts are offered by your Registrar, you may send them to application@ascsa.org. 
• Applicants should supply contact information from three individuals who are willing to submit recommendation letters by January 20th. One of these letters should be from the applicant's advisor, thesis director, Departmental Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, or Gradate Chair, and should explicitly confirm that the student is in good standing. (In the case of an undergraduate applicant, a letter from the student's major advisor will suffice.) Once an online application is submitted, recommenders will be sent an email with instructions about how to submit their letters of recommendation. Or, the applicant may choose to send the request at any time using the "Send Request Now" button on the application form before submission. NOTE: The ASCSA will never contact your recommenders directly. The applicant must take responsibility for asking references for submission of letters.  
  • If you would like to provide your recommenders with more details about what they could write in their letter for your application, the committee has suggested: "Given the intensity, physical rigor, breadth, and depth of the Regular Member Program, in addition to your assessment of the applicant's intellect and academic preparation, the Admissions and Fellowship Committee would welcome your comments on qualities that might not be apparent elsewhere in the application, including, e.g., the applicant's curiosity, perseverance, flexibility, and resilience."
• After the submission deadline, you will be contacted with further details about scheduling the exam for the first Saturday in February.

Evaluating Application Materials
The Admissions and Fellowships Committee reviews applications for admission to the program and awards fellowships. In making their decisions, the committee focuses on three major criteria:

• Academic Preparation and Performance (appropriate to rank): Has the applicant demonstrated their preparedness and ability to take advantage of the School's program and resources? Assessment of academic preparation and performance is based on evaluation of the applicant's transcripts, brief descriptions of attainments in ancient history, ancient literature, Greek and Roman art and archaeology, reported knowledge of ancient and modern languages, and the entrance examinations, with consideration paid as appropriate to the applicant's rank (e.g., graduating senior, pre-MA, ABD etc.). 
• Research and Communication Skills: Does the applicant demonstrate the development of research and communication skills (both written and oral), again appropriate to their rank, necessary for effective research and teaching? Assessment is based largely on the "Narrative of Research Experience", the "Statement of Future Plans", and the list of teaching and other professional experience, with consideration of the content of both statements (areas of interest, knowledge of the intended field of study, areas of research excellence, responsiveness to feedback) and of the communication skills demonstrated by these documents.
• Contributions to the ASCSA Community: The ASCSA is committed to fostering a community of scholars and educators that represents diversity across multiple axes of identity and areas of study. This category identifies qualities that contribute to its commitment, ones that the other assessment categories may overlook. These include broad curiosity about antiquity, intended subfield of study, perseverance toward goals, participation in extracurricular activities, unique professional or service/volunteer experiences, and life experience.  

Guidance regarding the ASCSA Regular Member Exams

Please note that the format of the February 2025 exam will differ from the format of exams offered previously. The following information reflects the new format, and so differs from the format of the sample exams (linked below) from previous years. 

The examinations play an important role in the Admissions Committee’s decisions regarding both admissions and the allocation of fellowships. Applicants should approach these examinations as they would other qualifying or field examinations at the graduate level.

All applicants for Regular Membership will choose two of four examinations to take, each two hours in length: 1) a Greek History examination, with topics ranging from Prehistoric to Post-Classical Greece; 2) a Greek Art and Archaeology examination, with topics ranging from prehistory to Post-Classical Greece; 3) a Greek Literature examination, with topics ranging from Homer and Hesiod to Late Antiquity; and 4) an Ancient Greek Translation exam, with passages drawn from the Greek Translation Reading List. 

Examinations in 1) Greek History, 2) Greek Art and Archaeology, and 3) Greek Literature: 

• These three examinations comprise an identification section and an essay section.

• Identifications (25% of the grade). Applicants choose five from a list of fifteen terms, names, or technical expressions. Examiners are looking for brief but detailed identifications that make clear the historical context and significance of the term being identified. Incorrect, vague, or inadequate answers will affect one’s grade

• Essays (75% of the grade). Applicants will respond to three of about nine prompts and are encouraged to demonstrate the breadth and depth of their knowledge by selecting questions that cover a range of chronological periods and intellectual approaches. Examiners look for the applicant's ability to articulate a clear, coherent argument based on detailed engagement with ancient sources and scholarship pertinent to the topic. Essays should combine a discussion of appropriate, specific case studies with broader analysis positioning the question within current scholarly paradigms. Applicants are advised to reserve 90 minutes for this section, or approximately 30 minutes for each essay

Translation Examination in Ancient Greek: 

• The Greek Translation exam comprises six passages (each no longer than 20 OCT lines), three prose and three poetry. Passages are drawn from works by the authors listed below. Examinees have two hours to translate three passages, either two prose + one poetry OR two poetry + one prose. The exam identifies the authors and texts from which the passages are drawn, provides a brief contextualizing statement for each passage, and glosses unusual vocabulary and constructions. Applicants who sit for this exam are expected to have some familiarity with the style and language of these authors, not to have read all of the works by them! Thus, the exam is assessed as a sight exam, without expectation that the examinee has previously encountered these passages. 

Sample Exams in previous and current formats can be downloaded here: 

2001 Sample Exam
2002 Sample Exam
2003 Sample Exam
2004 Sample Exam
2005 Sample Exam
2006 Sample Exam
2007 Sample Exam
2008 Sample Exam
2009 Sample Exam
2014 Sample Exam
2015 Sample Exam
2016 Sample Exam
2017 Sample Exam
2018 Sample Exam
2019 Sample Exam
2020 Sample Exam
2021 Sample Exam
2022 Sample Exam
2023 Sample Exam

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national or ethnic origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation when considering admission to any form of membership or application for employment.

Ready to Apply?

Deadline: January 15, 2025