Classical StudiesThanks to the tireless work of many people — Lauren Ginsberg as DGS, my faculty colleagues, our graduate students, and the Duke Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Duke Graduate School — Duke now has a Bridge-to-the-PhD Program. Modeled on similar programs in the natural sciences, the Bridge Program removes barriers to access to graduate study at Duke for talented students from disadvantaged socio-economic statuses. These students usually do not have the opportunity to start Latin and Greek prior to college; as a result, we have been finding ourselves increasingly turning away talented students who are not adequately prepared in Latin or Greek to succeed in our Phd Program. The Bridge Program will give students in all subfields within Classical Studies and select other fields in the humanities an opportunity to come to Duke a year early to study the language they need to acquire before matriculating to the PhD. The Bridge year is fully funded, and the students will receive mentorship by our Department. We are eager to welcome our first student to campus through this program this fall.
