Greek and Latin M.A.
All students must meet the Requirements for the Master's Degree
Overview
Graduate students in the program primarily learn general philological skills in Greek and Latin. That said, current faculty research interests include Mycenaean and Homeric Greece; Greek and Latin lyric and elegiac poetry; Greek drama; the Attic orators; ancient literary criticism; Greek and Roman philosophy and intellectual history; Greek and Roman historiography; Greek and Latin prose; Latin epic; satire; Greek and Roman technological authors; Roman history; Roman imperial families; mythology; archaeology; medieval studies; Near Eastern history; and ancient music. There is also particular faculty interest in the following authors: Cicero; Homer; Virgil; Petronius; Ovid; Plato.
Specific Requirements
Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Master of Arts
An undergraduate major or minor or the equivalent; Greek and Latin language skills sufficient to take advanced courses (usually at least two years of each); a reading knowledge of a modern foreign language, usually French, German, or Italian. Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (General test only).
Minimum Degree Requirements
Option A (Thesis) | ||
Twenty-four credits of graded course work plus at least six credits of thesis research (GKLT 391), and successful completion and defense of a master's thesis. The twenty-four credits of course work consist of: | ||
GKLT 300 | Proseminar | 3 |
Six credits of GKLT 381 (Seminar) | 6 | |
Nine additional credits of advanced courses in Greek and Latin | 9 | |
Six additional credits in Greek, Latin, Classics, or approved credits in related fields | 6 |
Note: The thesis option is reserved for students who have completed their first probationary year in the program and have passed the Greek and Latin sight translation exams by the beginning of the third semester. This option is, by special application, subject to departmental permission.
Option B (Non-Thesis) | ||
Thirty credits of graded course work. The thirty credits of course work consist of: | ||
GKLT 300 | Proseminar | 3 |
Six credits of GKLT 381 (Seminar) | 6 | |
Fifteen additional credits of advanced courses in Greek, Latin, and Classics | 15 | |
Six additional credits of advanced courses in Greek, Latin, Classics, or approved credits in related fields | 6 |
Note: The non-thesis option is the default option for the majority of students who, in lieu of a thesis, present to the faculty a dossier of two polished term papers from their course work.
Both Options | ||
Comprehensive examinations in Greek, Latin, at least one modern foreign language, ancient history, and literature and philology are required. In addition to course work, students will have a list of ancient authors to be read in the original languages. |
Comprehensive Examination
Comprehensive exams are taken in the first and last two weeks of Fall and Spring semesters. The comprehensive exam includes the following components: 1) translation exam in Greek and Latin passages from the reading list (this component will be attempted at the start of the third semester (if not passed on the first attempt, it will be reattempted at the start of the fourth semester); 2) ancient history (completing CLAS 121 and CLAS 122 may be substituted, but students must enroll in them as CLAS 295 and CLAS 296 and do additional work for the 200-level credit); 3) literature and philology (the GKLT 300 final exam will count for this exam if the faculty consensus is that the exam was sufficiently rigorous and the student performed sufficiently well). In addition, students must demonstrate reading knowledge of German (the graduate coordinator in Classics may agree to substitute another appropriate language if the student makes a strong case) via a modern language exam.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts
Completion of all requirements listed above for either the thesis or the non-thesis option.