Graduate Studies Overview

Information for Applicants

The Department offers several programs of study leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. MA programs are designed to prepare students for doctoral level work in classical studies, though from different perspectives and with varying requirements. The PhD program is designed for more advanced students and seeks to prepare students for careers in research and teaching at the secondary school and college levels. Detailed information about the department's graduate programs can be found in its Graduate Student Handbook (currently under revision).

Students are encouraged to study the particulars of each program with care and to consult with the Director of Graduate Studies when making decisions about which program to enter. Students in some programs may also prepare themselves for a career teaching Latin in the schools, and the Department cooperates with the Foreign Language Education Program in the University in order to help future teachers to meet state certification requirements.

All graduate students are required, during their first fall semester in residence, to take CLA 5936 (proseminar). All students must also demonstrate competence in a modern foreign language (French, German or Italian): this is accomplished (i) by completing 12 semester hours of college level work with a grade point average of 3.0 or above, (ii) by earning a 480 or above on the appropriate examination in the Graduate School Foreign Language Tests administered by ETS, or (iii) by passing FRE 5069, GER 5069 or ITA 5069. Graduate students are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average in all graduate work, and no course in Classics for which a student receives a grade of C or below may count toward any graduate degree in the Department. No more than three hours at the 4000 level will count toward any MA degree.

All students are expected, before arranging their comprehensive or translation exams or commencing work on a thesis, to select a major professor. The major professor will help the student to select his or her MA or PhD committee, will direct the student's exams or thesis and will work with the Director of Graduate Studies in order to be certain that the student has met every requirement for the MA or PhD degree. Students are urged to select a major professor by the conclusion of their first year (changes are permitted). Comprehensive and translation exams will ordinarily be given during one week of each term: in the fall term, it will be the second week in November; in the spring term, it will be the week following the spring break. Exams may also be given during the summer, but it will be the student's responsibility to arrange them well in advance and there is no obligation on the part of the faculty to agree to summer exams.