The MA in Classics
The MA program is designed to prepare students for doctoral study in Classics, and an MA in Classics or a closely related field is required for admission to the doctoral program. Students admitted with the BA must first complete the MA before continuing to the doctoral program; continuation requires satisfactory work for the MA. The emphasis in the MA program is on coursework, both to establish command of Greek and Latin, and to develop the skills necessary for research and scholarship. Students are expected to complete all requirements for the MA within two years.
Qualified persons interested in obtaining Latin Teaching Certification in tandem with the MA in Classics should apply concurrently to the UTeach Liberal Arts Post-Baccalaureate Program. Such applications will be evaluated by the same criteria as all others.
Coursework
All students are required to complete 33 semester hours of coursework, including the Report course [see below]. The program of coursework is planned individually by each student in consultation with the Graduate Advisor and any members of the faculty with whom the student plans to work. At least 18 hours, including the Report, must be in a Major area: Greek, or Latin, or both. At least 6 hours of supporting work is required in a Minor area: either within Classics or in related fields, such as anthropology, art history, comparative literature, geography, history, linguistics, philosophy, and religious studies.
At least 24 hours of this coursework must be at the graduate level (courses numbered 380 or higher). Up to 9 hours of undergraduate coursework may be counted, but only at the upper-division level (courses numbered 320-379); no more than 6 hours of undergraduate coursework may be in the Major or Minor areas. No more than 6 hours of coursework (in addition to the Report course, which is offered only this way) may be taken on the Credit/No Credit option.
The MA program has no formal qualifying examinations. But since the MA serves primarily to prepare students for doctoral study, MA students are expected to pass the PhD translation exam in either Greek or Latin and an exam in one modern foreign language by the end of the fourth semester (for details, see PhD Program). The study of Greek and Latin automatically fulfills the Graduate School's Foreign Language Requirement.
The Report course (398R) serves to introduce students to the kind of sustained research required to produce a dissertation and to pursue an academic career. Its main goal is to develop facility in conducting research in Classics: in collecting, sifting, and assessing evidence, and in articulating findings in a clear and coherent argument that is attentive to critical issues and supported by the requisite scholarly documentation.
The Report, which is normally based on a previous seminar paper, is prepared under the supervision of a faculty committee comprising two members: a Director and a Reader. The Report is subject to the committee's approval and ultimately of the Dean of Graduate Studies; when finally approved, a copy is shelved in the Classics Library.
The Report course is offered only on the Credit/No Credit basis. Students must register for it in the semester they expect to graduate (usually their fourth semester).
Download a copy of the Guidelines for Master's Thesis or Report (PDF, 296K - requires the free Adobe Reader)
