The Lionel Pearson Fellowship, offered by the Society for Classical Studies, aims to contribute to the training of American and Canadian classicists by providing for a period of study at an English or Scottish university. The fellowship provides a stipend for one year, which the fellow may use to offset the costs associated with his or her degree course. Faculties of Classics of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities have support the tuition expenses of any Pearson Fellow enrolled at their institution. Fellows may pursue multiple-year degrees, but the fellowship only provides support for the first year.
Competition is open to outstanding students of Greek, Latin, Classics, or closely related fields at any U.S. or Canadian college or university. Fellows must undertake a course of study that broadens and develops their knowledge of Greek and Latin literature in the original languages, and therefore must have a strong background in these languages. Fellows must have a bachelor’s degree before beginning their supported study and ordinarily take up the fellowship in the year following graduation.
2023-24 Guidelines
Purpose: To contribute to the education of American- and Canadian-trained classicists by providing for a period of study at an English or Scottish university
Eligibility: Open to majors in Greek, Latin, or Classics. Applicants should expect to obtain the B.A. by September 2024, in order to begin an academic year of postgraduate work at that time. Normally, he recipient will hold the Fellowship in the academic year or two immediately after graduating with a bachelor’s degree.
Length of Tenure: One year. Fellows may use the Fellowship to support one year of a longer program of study, provided that the program meets the requirement set out below under “Course of Study,” but under no circumstances will a Pearson Fellowship be awarded for a period longer than one year.
Value of Fellowship: $27,000 for 2024-25. At the end of the year, Fellows must submit receipts for academic fees, living expenses, and travel to and from the place of study that equal or exceed the amount of the Fellowship.
Special Offers from Cambridge and Oxford Universities: The Pearson Fellowship may be used at any university in the United Kingdom. Please note, however, that the Classics Faculties of both Cambridge and Oxford Universities have generously offered to provide a tuition subvention for any Pearson Fellow enrolled in either of their programs. Students wishing to study with other faculties at Cambridge or Oxford may have access to such support as well, but the SCS cannot guarantee this. The SCS will attempt (but it cannot guarantee) to obtain a similar accommodation from another institution in the UK should the Fellow attend a university other than Oxford or Cambridge.
Application Process: In 2023-2024, candidates can once again apply directly to SCS for the fellowship. The application should include three letters of recommendation from instructors familiar with the applicant’s work; an undergraduate transcript; a writing sample; and a personal statement describing the candidate’s interests in Classics, proposed plan of study in Britain, and intention to pursue graduate study in the United States.
Selection Process:
(a) Selection Committee. All applications will be read by a Selection Committee consisting of five professional classicists. The members of the Committee are appointed by the President of the Society on the advice of the current Chair of the Committee. They serve for a term of three years, normally without renewal.
(b) Interviews. The Selection Committee will choose a shortlist of four to five candidates to be invited for virtual interviews in early January. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to submit an extended writing sample prior to their interview. See below for deadlines.
(c) Criteria for Selection. In assessing candidates the Selection Committee will give primary consideration to overall promise as a classicist and ability to benefit from a year of study in Britain.
Choice of Place of Study: Fellows are responsible for determining the English or Scottish university at which to take up the Fellowship, and for making all applications for admission. (Information about programs suitable for Pearson Fellows appears below.)
Course of Study: Fellows should choose their course of study in consultation with the relevant department of the English or Scottish university where they wish to work. The program of study need not involve enrolling for a degree; it must, however, be designed to broaden and deepen the Fellow’s knowledge of Greek and Latin literature in the original languages. (Research degrees for which a thesis is the only formal requirement are not suitable.) The proposed course of study must be approved by the Selection Committee before payment of any funds relating to the Fellowship can be authorized.
Fellows’ Reports: Each Fellow submits a report at the end of the fellowship year describing the work done during the year, assessing its value to the Fellow’s training as a classicist, and offering any suggestions that might be helpful to future Fellows.