Undergraduate Prizes

Source: https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/prizes-undergraduate Parent: https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/

Information about all Harvard College prizes may be found on the website of the Prize Office (from which most of the information below is taken). This page highlights those of particular interest to students of the Classics.

Prizes awarded by annual competition

• Bowdoin Prizes in Classical Greek and Latin for Undergraduates:\ An annual prize of $5,000 is offered for the best translations into Classical Greek or Latin of the selection chosen by the Department of the Classics. Entries for the 2025–26 Bowdoin Prizes are due by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2026 (two weeks before the last day of classes in the spring semester). Contestants for the Bowdoin Prizes in Greek and Latin are expressly forbidden from using Chat GPT, generative AI, or machine translation tools at any stage in the planning or writing of their submissions. Complete details are available on this year's undergraduate Bowdoin flyer.
• George Emerson Lowell Scholarship Prize:\ From the bequest of Judge John Lowell, Class of 1834, and Mrs. Lowell. An annual award of $500 for excellence in the Classics, awarded on the basis of an examination which tests, in alternate years, competence in Greek and Latin language and literature. Any undergraduate in the College with sophomore or junior standing is eligible to compete. Information about the 2026 Lowell exam will be posted soon.
• John Osborne Sargent Prize for a Latin Translation:\ First offered in 1886–1887 by John Osborne Sargent, Class of 1830, and endowed in his memory, in 1889, by his daughter, Georgianna W. Sargent. An annual prize of $600 for the best metrical translation [students may choose meter] of a lyric poem of Horace, to be selected each year by the Department of the Classics. Open to Harvard College undergraduates, visiting undergraduates under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and admitted Extension School Bachelor Degree candidates. Entries for the 2025–26 Sargent Prize are due by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2026 (two weeks before the last day of classes in the spring semester). Note that contestants for the Sargent Prize are expressly forbidden from using Chat GPT, generative AI, or machine translation tools at any stage in the planning or writing of their submissions. Complete details are available on this year's Sargent flyer.

Prizes awarded to graduating seniors

• Classics Department Prize: The Department of the Classics awards several prizes annually to seniors who have demonstrated excellence in Latin and/or Greek. No application is necessary.
• Louis Curtis Prize: From the fund established by Louis Curtis, of the Class of 1870. Awarded annually for excellence in Latin to a senior who has concentrated in any of the fields of concentration of which Latin forms a part. Recommendation for the prize is made by the Department of the Classics on the evidence of excellence in courses in Latin and in such requirements for honors as demonstrate proficiency in Latin. No application is necessary.
• Richardson Scholarship: From the bequest of William King Richardson, 1880. To a senior for distinction in Greek and Latin, especially reading at sight and composition. No application is necessary.
• Pease Thesis Prize: Awarded to the best undergraduate thesis in Latin as voted by the faculty of the Department of the Classics. No application is necessary.
• Smyth Thesis Prize: Awarded to the best undergraduate thesis in Greek as voted by the faculty of the Department of the Classics. No application is necessary.
• Vermuele Thesis Prize: Awarded to the best undergraduate thesis in Classical Archaeology as voted by the faculty of the Department of the Classics. No application is necessary.
• David Taggart Clark Prize: From the bequest of David Taggart Clark, Class of 1892. Awarded to the member of the graduating class of Harvard College selected to make the Latin oration at Commencement.
• Hoopes Prize: From the estate of Thomas T. Hoopes, Class of 1919. For undergraduates on the basis of outstanding scholarly work or research. For further information, please see the Hoopes FAQ or contact the Prize Office at prizes@fas.harvard.edu or (617) 495-4780.
• Arthur Deloraine Corey Fellowship:\ While not technically a prize, senior concentrators interested in graduate study should look into this potential funding source for study at a European institution from the Department. See the relevant section in Study Abroad and Other Opportunities.