Students in classical and religious studies have unique opportunities for immersive learning and international education. The experiences of focused exploration and foreign travel broaden our horizons of understanding and challenge us with new perspectives, beyond learning in the classroom and library.
Nashville Parthenon Internship
This immersive semester-long internship (CLAS 3880/3881) enables students to become docents at the Nashville Parthenon. After participating in the training course at the museum, students devote a set number of hours per week to publicly oriented activities, such as leading tours and offering educational presentations to groups off-site. They may also participate in other museum operations, such as digitizing collections, preparing exhibits, or developing apps and educational materials for visitors. By broadening a student’s understanding of the history of Greece and Tennessee, public art and archaeology, cultural heritage, and the classical tradition, this experience provides the opportunity for community outreach and genuine public engagement.
Interns choose from three areas of focus:
All interns complete docent training and serve as museum docents throughout the semester. For further information, please contact the director of undergraduate studies.
Vanderbilt faculty lead Maymester courses in Greece, South Italy, Israel, and Türkiye (coming soon). The department also supports semester-long study at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome and participates in an active archaeological excavation in Kenchreai, Greece. Students can receive generous departmental funding to attend these programs. Visit the Study Abroad website for full details on all study abroad opportunities and available funding.
Maymester Opportunities
Each summer, department faculty lead intensive, on-site courses during the month of May across the ancient and modern Mediterranean. These three-credit courses combine classroom instruction with visits to archaeological sites, museums, and cultural landmarks, and are open to students from all backgrounds and majors.
The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (The Centro)
The Centro is the premier undergraduate study abroad program for students passionate about ancient Rome. As a member institution, Vanderbilt sends students to this semester-long program based in Rome, where they take the Centro’s signature course on the ancient city alongside weekly field trips across Italy—to Etruscan, Samnite, and Greek sites as well as Rome itself. The Centro provides behind-the-scenes access to restricted archaeological areas and meets the demonstrated financial need of every admitted student, with need-based scholarships that can exceed $35,000. Visit their website for more information and to apply. Faculty contact: James Zainaldin
Study Abroad Funding
The department is committed to making international study accessible. The following awards specifically support students undertaking study abroad, fieldwork, or related programs:
The application form for all three scholarships will be made available in February, after which applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the announced deadline. Students may also apply for university-wide support through the Global Summer Fellows Program, undergraduate Experience Vanderbilt funding, and Immersion Vanderbilt funding. For further details, please contact Dan Solomon.
For students who want to accelerate their study of Greek or Latin beyond what is available during the regular academic year, the department supports attendance at two of the most prestigious intensive language programs in the country: the UC Berkeley Greek and Latin Summer Workshops and the Latin/Greek Institute at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York. Both are rigorous ten-week, total-immersion programs that compress several semesters of language study into a single summer. In recent years, Vanderbilt students have attended these programs with departmental financial support and returned with the language skills to undertake advanced coursework, independent research, and honors theses, preparation that has positioned them for graduate study or careers in the field.
Eta Sigma Phi is the national honorary society for students of Greek and Latin. It thrives today as the leading collegiate organization for promoting the study of the classical world. The Eta Sigma Phi chapter at Vanderbilt, chartered on June 28, 1928, still gathers and hosts events at the initiative of students, often in collaboration with faculty. To learn how to get involved, contact the director of undergraduate studies.
The department recognizes outstanding student achievement through several annual awards drawn from both classical and religious studies.
Ned Nabers Award
The Ned Nabers Award was established by colleagues and friends in memory of classics professor Ned Parker Nabers, who served on the faculty from 1966 until his death in 1984. It recognizes the best essay or research paper by an undergraduate in the field of classical art and archaeology.
Morris H. Bernstein Jr. Prize
The Morris H. Bernstein Jr. Prize was established in 1983 by William H. Bernstein (BA’1983) in memory of his father, Morris H. Bernstein, Jr. (BA’1943, MD’1946). It is awarded to an undergraduate who has studied two semesters of Latin and wins a competition held in April requiring participants to deliver, from memory, selected Latin passages that reflect the classical ideal.
Outstanding Senior in Religious Studies Award
The Outstanding Senior in Religious Studies Award recognizes the contributions and achievements of the leading undergraduate in the religious studies program.
Vanderbilt Arabic Student of the Year
The Vanderbilt Arabic Student of the Year award recognizes outstanding achievement in the study of Arabic.
Miles AbneyFor my Immersion project I interned for The Flourishing Center in New York City, which is a company centered around the field of positive psychology. They offer a variety of courses to help train people in applying the science of happiness and flourishing to a variety of professions. For my final project I chose to focus on a subsect of the field of positive psychology: successful aging. Rooting my project in research by gerontologist Karl Pillemer, I surveyed adults in my life and used the data to put together an “advice archive” full of advice regarding living and aging successfully. Throughout the experience, I learned a lot about the science of positive psychology that I know I will carry with me long past my time at Vanderbilt.
Jaret RushingAs the 2022 Nichols Humanitarian Fund Award winner, Jaret Rushing conducted a month-long summer project that contributed to the Shurafa Shrine Conservation project in Cairo, Egypt. This 14th or 15th century building has been structurally restored, thanks to the work of Dr. May al-Ibrashi, the Athar Lina Initiative, and the financial support of the Antiquities Endowment Fund (American Research Center in Egypt). The history of the site and the function of the built environment remain unclear. In a land rich in archeological treasures, a small and threatened shrine like this is vulnerable to neglect and even destruction in the name of urban renewal and economic modernization of the neighborhood.