The Department of Classics and Religious Studies offers teaching assistantships. Assistants receiving quarter-time and half-time appointments are classified as in-state residents for fee purposes, resulting in a savings of more than $3,000 each semester for full-time enrollment. Students who make appropriate progress in their academic programs are ordinarily supported for four years.

The awards are made annually on a competitive basis, with stipends ranging between $21,000 to $22,000 for half-time assistantships.

Enrolled graduate students at the University of Iowa who also are holding a university appointment of at least 25 percent time are eligible to receive a contribution from the university toward the cost of their health insurance coverage.

The Department typically provides five years of financial support in the form of teaching or research assistantships to our PhD students, based upon factors including the quality of work during the previous appointment, satisfactory progress toward the degree, satisfactory completion of all duties related to the appointment, and availability of funding.

Teaching assistantships

Teaching assignments are for beginning and second year Latin, and for discussion sections in large lecture classes. We hold training sessions for each of the different teaching assignments, and offer on-going support and training for graduate teachers. The University also has a prestigious Center for Teaching where special training and professional preparation is available to all graduate students and faculty.

Rhetoric courses

Only entering graduate students may be assigned to teach Rhetoric (a required course for undergraduates) for a two-year period. Rhetoric instructors design their own syllabus and participate in a rigorous professional development program. Classics graduate students who have participated in the program praise the experience and find it a valuable addition to their CVs.

Distance courses

The Department offers several distance courses through the Division of Online Education. Unlike on-campus courses, there are no classrooms or meeting times. Students complete assignments according to a timetable established in the syllabus. Teaching Assistants receive these assignments electronically and grade them.

Classics courses in English

The Department offers many courses on ancient literature, history, and culture. Graduate students serve as discussion leaders for weekly sections of large lecture courses run by faculty. They also attend the lectures, meet regularly with the faculty supervisor, and grade papers and exams.

Research assistantships may also be available. Research assistants work with faculty members on their research projects, gaining valuable skills and becoming familiar with the research tools in our field. Some research assistants have helped with the production of Dr. Cargill's website Bible & Archaeology and with Dr. Dilley's NEH-funded project "Communicating Revealed Texts: Best Practices for Born-Digital Editions Using Enhanced Imaging."

The University of Iowa supports several other fellowships for which departments can nominate students at various stages of the program. Students hoping to be considered for these highly competitive fellowships should be sure to have their applications in by the middle of January.

Learn more about these fellowships

Finding money to perform research might be important to your graduate career. Students should turn first to the Division of Sponsored Programs for help in obtaining funding. You can also find additional resources on funding for professional conferences specifically.

The department is usually able to provide summer research support for PhD students.

Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Year Fellowship is intended to help students in the social sciences and humanities complete their dissertations. Students must be nominated by department.

Ballard and Seashore fellowships are awarded for one semester.

Graduate and Professional Students Government (GPSG) research grants provide funding for graduate and professional students to conduct qualitative or quantitative research with the aim of increasing their knowledge of or contributing to current scholarship in their particular field(s) of study.

Graduate College summer fellowships are intended to facilitate completion of the doctoral degree in a timely manner for students who will have completed their comprehensive examinations by the spring.

Marcus Bach Graduate Fellowships aim to support the completion of an MFA project or doctoral dissertation. The fellowship’s goal is to foster intercultural communication and/or the understanding of diverse philosophies and religious perspectives, and projects in this area are the most appropriate proposals.

Marcus Bach fellowships are awarded for one semester.

Stanley Graduate Awards for International Research are the University of Iowa’s premier award given annually to UI graduate students for the pursuit of international research/fieldwork and career interests (can only be received once).

The T. Anne Cleary International Dissertation Research Fellowship provides funds for UI doctoral candidates to conduct dissertation research outside of North America, and is available to all disciplinary areas. Award amount ranges from $1,500 to $5,000.

The American Association of University Women is one of the world's largest sources of funding for graduate women. They provide more than $3 million in funding for more than 200 fellowships and grants to outstanding women and nonprofit organizations.

The American Historical Association (AHA) provides various research grants and fellowships for research and writing.

Boren Graduate Fellowships provide up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency.

Boren Fellowships support study and research in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East.

The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship is designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences, and particularly to help PhD candidates in these fields complete their dissertation work in a timely manner. $25,000 for 12 months of full-time dissertation writing.

The Chateaubriand Fellowship is a grant offered by the Embassy of France in the United States. Every year, it allows doctorate students enrolled in American universities and post-doctorates to conduct research in France for up to 12 months. Chateaubriand recipients receive a stipend, a round trip ticket to France, and health insurance.

European Association for International Education (EAIE) offers an online scholarship database, an integrated, centralized European platform providing information on all scholarships offered for studying in Europe.

Students can find and compare relevant programs based on their nationality, background, where and what they want to study, and many more search criteria.

Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship (FLAS) is an award for students concentrating in a modern foreign language and a program that includes international or area studies. FLAS fellowships may be used for dissertation research in certain circumstances.

The Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship provides opportunities to doctoral candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies.

Applications will only be considered for research projects that focus on one or more of the following geographic areas: Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, South Asia, the Near East, East Central Europe and Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States and its territories).

Please note that applications that propose projects focused on Western Europe are not eligible.

Competitive priority will be awarded to research projects that focus on any of the seventy-eight (78) languages deemed critical on the U.S. Department of Education’s list of Less Commonly Taught Languages.

Fulbright grants are designed to give masters and doctoral candidates, recent baccalaureate recipients, and young professionals and artists opportunities for personal development and international experience. Stipend varies depending on country visited. Very competitive and early application process.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship study and research grants offers a variety of funding opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars to study and research throughout Germany.

This is very competitive and early application is recommended.

The Institute for European History provides a doctoral fellowship for graduate
students pursuing research in Germany.

The International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) provides PhD candidates with support for international research. Fellowship award amounts will vary depending on the research plan.

McNeil Center for Early American Studies provides nine-month stipends of $20,000.

All fellows are expected to be in residence in Philadelphia during the academic year and to participate regularly in the center's program of seminars and other activities.

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships provide two years of funding, $35,000 per year (one year of supported research and writing to complete the dissertation, and a second year for new scholars to advance their research).

The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship supports
early-stage doctoral students pursuing innovative approaches to dissertation
research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.

Mellon Fellowships for Dissertation Research in Original Sources help junior scholars in the humanities and related social-science fields gain skill and creativity in developing knowledge from original sources, enable dissertation writers to do research wherever relevant sources may be, rather than just where financial support is available, encourage more extensive and innovative uses of original sources in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and related repositories in the U.S. and abroad, and provide insight from the viewpoint of doctoral candidates into how scholarly resources can be developed for access most helpfully in the future.