Departments

• As of fall 2023, approximately 246 departments were awarding degrees in classical studies at colleges and universities in the United States. These departments included large, freestanding departments in the discipline as well as programs within departments awarding degrees in multiple disciplines. In the latter case, the department chairs were asked to report information for classical studies only.
• Of the 246 departments awarding degrees in classical studies, 77 (31%) were awarding graduate degrees in the discipline, with 49 (20%) awarding PhDs.

Faculty

• Classical studies departments employed 1,830 full- and part-time faculty members in fall 2023, with an average of 7 faculty members per department (and a median of 6).
• Approximately 71% of the classical studies faculty either had tenure or were on the tenure track.
• Faculty members employed full-time with tenure or on the tenure track taught an average of 38 undergraduate students in fall 2023, while full-time faculty employed off the tenure track taught an average of 93 undergraduates. Faculty employed part-time taught an average of 61 undergraduate students in that fall term.
• While 43% of classical studies departments had made at least one new hire for the 2023–24 academic year, amounting to 100 new permanent faculty, the departments collectively had lost an average of 170 faculty per annum over the previous two years. Among the faculty who left, 53% had retired.
• An estimated 18% of classical studies department chairs thought the number of tenure-line faculty in their department had increased from fall 2020 to fall 2023,while 26% estimated that their tenure-line faculty count had decreased during that period. In addition, 20% of chairs in the discipline thought the number of nontenure-track faculty had increased over the same period, while 18% thought the number had decreased.
• Looking ahead, 13% of classical studies chairs expected the number of tenure-track faculty in their department to increase over the next three academic years, while 28% thought the number would shrink. (The remainder thought the most likely outcome would be no change or were not sure.) In contrast, 12% thought their nontenure-track faculty count would increase, while 20% thought the number would shrink.
• About 26% of the departments had a faculty member come up for tenure during the previous two years. Averaging over these two years, 40 faculty were granted tenure per annum nationwide, none were denied tenure, and 10 left prior to a tenure decision.
• Because it is not appropriate for a person to assign a demographic identity to another person, the survey did not ask department chairs to report their faculty members’ races or genders. However, the survey did ask chairs to describe themselves. Women constituted 40% of the chairs in classical studies departments in fall 2023, and 81% identified their race/ethnicity as white.

Undergraduate Students

• In fall 2023, departments that awarded degrees in classical studies had undergraduate course enrollments of 92,810, with an average enrollment of 377 per department. (These are duplicated enrollment figures, with students taking multiple courses in the discipline counted in every course.) The average is skewed upward by large programs, typically at research universities, which had significantly larger-than-average enrollments, as indicated by a median enrollment of only 184.
• Approximately 80% of classical studies department chairs thought undergraduate enrollments had held steady or increased from fall 2020 to fall 2023.
• On average, classical studies departments awarded 7 bachelor’s degrees per department in the 2022–23 academic year (with a median of 5 per department). These departments had an average of 15 juniors or seniors with a declared major in the discipline (and a median of 12).
• In the 2022–23 academic year, classical studies departments awarded an average of 9 minors in the discipline (with a median of 7 per department) and 8 certificates or other microcredentials per department (with a median of 8). While 52% of departments reported awarding minors, only 14% of the departments awarded a certificate or other microcredential.

Graduate Students

• Degree-granting departments in classical studies had 2,000 enrollments in graduate courses in fall 2023, with an average of 26 (and a median of 17) enrollments per department with a graduate program.
• Approximately 1,110 students were working toward graduate degrees in classical studies. The average (and median) number of students pursuing an advanced degree in classical studies was 14 per department that granted such degrees.
• The 49 departments awarding PhDs admitted an average of just over 5 new doctoral students into their programs in fall 2023, for a total of 250 new doctoral students in the discipline.

Departmental Practices and Concerns

• Approximately 48% of department chairs were optimistic about the future of classical studies at their institution, while 24% were pessimistic. (The remainder were either unsure, or neither optimistic nor pessimistic.)
• The survey found that 16% of the chairs in classical studies were concerned about the academic freedom of faculty members in their departments. Among those departments, the most common concern was threats to such freedom from academic administration (cited by 79% of chairs). Chairs’ second most common concern was threats to academic freedom from their boards of trustees (cited by 57%).
• While 97% of classical studies departments provided research support for their full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members, and 81% offered such support for full-time nontenured faculty, only 37% offered such support for part-time faculty.
• Asked what their departments had done in recent years to attract additional majors, 83% of classical studies department chairs reported outreach to students who were in other majors or undeclared. The second most common strategy, reported by 65% of chairs, was to add high-interest introductory courses intended to attract students.
• An estimated 48% of departments supported the career development of their undergraduates by offering (and for a small share of departments, requiring) occupationally oriented lectures; 50% offered internships; and 38% offered some occupationally oriented coursework or workshops. These percentages were relatively small among the disciplines included in the survey.
• In departments awarding doctorates in the discipline, 56% offered occupationally oriented lectures for their doctoral students; 44% offered internships; and 82% offered occupationally oriented coursework or workshops.