The Classics Department encourages its Ph.D. candidates to travel to conferences for academic and professional development. The Department can provide some funding for students who are presenting a paper on a classical topic or interviewing for jobs. Applicable conferences include the APA and CAMWS, although other conferences, such as graduate student colloquia, will also be considered.
All applications to the Classics Department for travel must be supported by satisfactory progress in the program. Graduate students may submit one request for travel support to the Classics Department per academic year. Every attempt will be made to fund student travel up to a maximum of $500, although students should recognize that funding is based on availability.
Before requesting travel funds from the Classics Department, graduate students who have dissertator status should petition the Graduate Student Council (GSC), which, co-sponsored by the Office of Graduate Student Professional Development, offers Vilas Travel Fellowships for domestic and international travel for dissertators and is especially attentive to students who are attending meetings as job candidates.
Having applied for travel awards from external sources, students should then petition the Classics Department for travel support. All petitions will be considered on a case by case basis and evaluated on the basis of academic merit and satisfactory progress in the graduate program. Petitions should take the form of a letter addressed to the chair of the graduate Admissions and Fellowships Committee, detailing the title of the talk, proof of acceptance, the date and place of the conference, and any other relevant information; all petitions should include a budget, and should disclose details of awards or denial of funding from other sources. Awards from other sources will not necessarily disqualify students for Classics Department funding. The applications will be read and voted on by the Committee on graduate Admissions and Fellowships, which will attempt to respond to the requests in a timely fashion. The student will be notified in writing by the chair of the Committee on graduate Admissions and Fellowships normally within 4 weeks of the submission of the application. Since applications will be read on a rolling basis and funds are more plentiful at the beginning of the fiscal year, students are encouraged to plan ahead and apply for funds as soon as they have had papers accepted. Students hoping to attend a conference in early fall should apply in the spring for provisional funding.
The recipient of any Classics Dept. funds for delivering a conference paper must deliver a practice talk in the Department (e.g., a Pillinger talk) BEFORE the date of the off-campus lecture. The speaker should make plans to have the practice talk advertised to ensure attendance by faculty and peers.
Graduate students are also encouraged to submit applications for study abroad at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the American Academy at Rome. Students wishing to attend the summer session of these two institutions should apply for the following CAMWS awards: for the American School in Athens, the Semple award; for the American Academy in Rome the Mary A. Grant award awarded by CAMWS; in addition, students can apply for the Janice and Herbert Benario award for the summer program of their choice. Please note that it is possible to apply for more than one of these awards. Applicants for these awards should contact Professor Carole Newlands for more information. Supplementary departmental awards for study abroad should be applied to by petition following the procedure outlined in A above. A student cannot normally apply for more than $500 per year from the department for conference travel or study programs. Students interested in travel abroad should also investigate the extensive listing of financial resources for study abroad on the web site of the Office of International Programs. Check the appropriate web sites listed below for application information and deadlines.
Supplementary departmental awards for academic summer schools on classical topics within the US should be applied for following the procedure outlined above.
These guidelines are designed to augment the pool of available travel funding and to help the Department fund a larger number of students on a regular basis. In this manner the Classics Department can reduce spending without endangering or discouraging graduate student travel and funding can be diverted to other graduate student initiatives, such as scholarships, supplementary funding in the preliminary exams year, and hosting prospective students.
Graduate Student Professional Development
Office
http://www.grad.wisc.edu/admin/outreach/index.html
Graduate Student Collaborative web site:
http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/gsc/index.html
Office of International Programs http://www.wisc.edu/global/finaid.htm
CAMWS travel awards http://www.camws.org/awards/index.html