Applying to the Graduate Program

Application Checklist

The deadline for the online application, all application materials, exam scores, and letters of recommendation is December 12.  

• Apply online with the nonrefundable application fee (US$60 for domestic applicants, US$70 for international applicants). 
• Upload the following documents with your online application: 
  • A statement of intent.¹
  • An academic CV.
  • A list of works the applicant has read in the original Greek or Latin.²
  • A writing sample.³
  • Scans of both sides of official transcripts from all institutions attended where college credit was earned - even if you attended while in high school.⁴
• Send by mail to the Graduate Admissions Office:
  • Official TOEFL or MELAB scores required for those whose native language is not English, and who have not received a degree from an institution in the U.S. Send to institution code 1592 only.

Graduate Admissions Office
P.O. Box 182004
Columbus OH 43218-2004

(614) 292-9444
gradadmissions@osu.edu

• Three letters of recommendation:
  • See application for instructions. Reference forms must accompany each letter of recommendation. 

Application Status

• Applicants will receive an email immediately acknowledging the receipt of their application.
  • If an applicant is a new applicant with no prior or current affiliation with The Ohio State University, they receive a second email 24-48 hours later from the Office of the Chief Information Officer that assigns an Ohio State ID Number, and username (lastname.#).
  • Applicants with prior affiliation to Ohio State do not receive this email because they already have an ID and username.
  • When the ID and username are not active, they can be activated at: http://my.osu.edu.
• Applicants should check their status periodically to confirm materials have been received by visiting http://appstatus.osu.edu.
• International applicants will be contacted by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions to supply one or more Affidavit of Financial Support forms and all required supporting financial documents if seeking a nonimmigrant student visa (not required upon application).
• For additional help, visit the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions, go to "HELP", then to "FAQs"

Notes:

¹Statements of intent typically cover some or all of the following topics: What are your academic interests? What is the genesis of these interests? Are there particular members of the faculty with whom you wish to work? These questions are merely a guide, do not feel bound by them. Use them to craft a statement that describes yourself in your own terms while also understanding the kind of issues that the admissions committee is itself considering.

²For partial works read in Greek and Latin, include the portions. For example,
"Herodotus, Historiae 2" and not "Herodotus".
"Herodotus, Historiae (selections, approx. 30pp.)" and not "Herodotus".

³For the writing sample, send us your best work, not your longest. Good samples tend to be 15-35pp long. Shorter samples are often insufficiently ambitious. Longer ones tend to ramble. These numbers are arbitrary and only meant to guide you as to the kind of thing we are looking for. They are not intended as page limits.

⁴International credentials should include certified educational records and degree certificates or diplomas in the original language with English translations. Send only scanned images of paper official transcripts issued by your institution's Registrar or order electronic transcripts. Make sure to mark out all U.S. social security numbers before scanning. Ohio State will not accept web reports, advising reports, or self-reported scores, or transfer credit on another school's transcript. If you are admitted to the university as a graduate student, you will be required to submit final official transcripts. Do not send to the Graduate and Professional Admissions Office paper official transcripts unless specifically requested by their office. Hard copies of transcripts are not required by the Department of Classics.

[pdf] - Some links on this page are to Adobe .pdf files requiring the use of Adobe Reader. If you need them in a more accessible format, please contact classics@osu.edu.