Bridge M.A. in Classical Studies

The M.A. in Classical Studies (Bridge M.A.) is a fully funded, three-term (fall, winter, spring) program designed to assist promising students in Classical Studies, Ancient Philosophy, Ancient History, or Greek and Roman Archaeology in developing the Ancient Greek and Latin language skills needed to pursue a Ph.D. in Classical Studies.

Exceptional students with demonstrated potential for graduate study will gain research, language, and teaching experience while interacting with other graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty in a variety of contexts (e.g., seminars, one-on-one meetings, Departmental talks and events) over the course of their Bridge M.A. year.

See below for important information on eligibility and evaluative criteria.

For more information about the Bridge M.A. Program, please contact:

Associate Professor Margaret Foster, Bridge MA Program Director: fostermc@umich.edu

Regina Clark, Graduate Program Coordinator: reginall@umich.edu or 734-615-3181

Prerequisites, Eligibility, and Evaluative Criteria

Applicants for the Bridge M.A. should have completed at least two years of college level training in one of the ancient languages (Latin or Greek), and one year in the other.

Applicants must also fit the criteria for eligibility in the Rackham Merit Fellowship Program, which is open to newly admitted students who:

Have a record of superior academic achievement;
Are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA);
Are excellent in one or good in two or more dimensions of the RMF criteria (see below) as described in the RMF Rubric and the RMF Assessing Eligibility and Evaluating Criteria Guide.

Nominee has led and/or substantially engaged in activities that broaden the participation of individuals with diverse backgrounds in the academic, professional, or civic realm. By broadening participation, we mean efforts in the U.S. to specifically reduce educational disparities based on race, ethnicity, first-generation status, familial income, or gender.
Have experienced financial hardship as a result of family economic circumstances;
Have participated in programs in the Rackham application open to students from disadvantaged backgrounds;
Are first-generation U.S. citizens in their families;
Are first-generation in their families to graduate from a four-year college;
Nominee is from an educational or geographic background that is underrepresented in their discipline in the U.S. or at U-M and/or holds membership in a federally recognized Tribe.

The evaluative criteria were updated in July 2025.

Application Process and Requirements

The following materials are required for consideration to the M.A. in Classical Studies (Bridge M.A.) You should submit all materials by uploading them into your online application. All materials are due on December 15.

1. Completed Rackham Application

2. Three letters of recommendation. Please make sure that you register three recommenders when you fill out the online application even if you don’t yet know who the third will be. If you only enter one or two and click submit you will be unable to go in the ApplyWeb system and enter a third later. We recommend that you enter a placeholder name which you will be able to go in and change in ApplyWeb under Review Your Activity. If you or your recommenders will be submitting letters of recommendation by paper, include this Letter of Recommendation form with your submission. Please have these letters sent directly to the department via US Mail.

3. Statement of Purpose - Briefly explain the nature of your study in Classics or related fields, your primary areas of interest (if known), what studies you would like to pursue in graduate school, and whether there are any Michigan faculty with whom you would especially like to work. Upload at the Statement of Purpose page.

4. Personal Statement - details here

5. Resume or CV. Upload at the Resume or CV page.

6. Scholarly writing sample - Preferably a paper or thesis that you have submitted in a pertinent course (20 page limit). Upload at the Writing Sample page.

7. Transcripts – Please scan your official transcripts and upload them with your online application. This will be sufficient for the Department’s admissions file and is our preferred method of receiving your transcripts. Please include transcripts from institutions from which you received a degree or from which you took courses relevant to your application. (If you decide to have your transcripts mailed to the department rather than upload them, we must receive them by the due date of December 15. Please send them well ahead of time to make sure they reach us by the deadline.)

Updated 10/15/20: Applicants are no longer required to send separate official transcripts to Rackham Graduate School as part of the application process. Only students who are admitted will be required to send official transcripts to Rackham. More information about transcripts is available here.

If your first language is not English AND you do not qualify for a Rackham English Proficiency Exemption, please send one of these scores: TOEFL, ECPE, IELTS, or MET.

*GRE scores are not required

Language test scores are valid two years from the test date (example: 12/15/2023 scores are valid until 12/15/2025). The official scores must be received from the testing agency no later than the graduate program application deadline.

Photocopies and/or faxes of English proficiency scores will not be accepted.

Degree Requirements