THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN Established in 1883 and now enrolling 48,000 students--including some 13,000 graduate students--The University of Texas at Austin is a dynamic and thriving national center of teaching and research. Many of its graduate programs, including the Department of Classics, are highly ranked nationally, attracting students from all over the U.S. and abroad. Its library holdings are the sixth largest among U.S. university libraries. The University also offers a full spectrum of cultural life: art exhibits, musical events, plays, museums, libraries, lectures and special colloquia.
Culturally and geographically, Austin does not conform to the Texas stereotype. More than one million people live in the metropolitan area of Austin, located on the banks of the Colorado River in the verdant foothills of the Texas hill country. The city and its surrounding lakes offer a wide variety of recreational activities enhanced by the mild and sunny climate. Austin's proximity to Mexico and to the major cities of the state--Dallas, Houston, and especially San Antonio with its sizeable collection of ancient art in the San Antonio Museum of Art--is a further asset. Texas is the only venue in the U.S., for instance, to host both recent national exhibits on women in antiquity ("Pandora" in Dallas; "I Claudia" in San Antonio). Because Austin is the home of state government, several educational institutions besides UT, major research and industrial corporations, a thriving hi-tech community, and an inventive music industry, its social and cultural life is very diverse. Catch "Austin City Limits" on PBS for just a taste of the eclectic spirit that explains why Austin this year--as in years past--is on many lists of the top ten places to live in the U.S.
GRADUATE STUDIES IN CLASSICS Classics is an interdisciplinary field of study which comprises all areas of classical antiquity: literature, history, linguistics, art and archaeology, philosophy, and religion. Though every student will have particular areas of concentration and interest, our programs strive to acquaint students with the diversity of human experience in Greece and Rome and to make them effective in transmitting this experience to modern society. The programs are designed to help students learn skills of independent research and investigation, to sharpen their interpretive and critical abilities, and to provide them with the technical competence needed for their profession.
Through effective teaching and innovation, the Department's undergraduate enrollment now is among the largest in the U.S. Therefore, besides the obvious benefit of a large and diverse graduate faculty, our graduate students have the additional advantage--through teaching and observation--of learning firsthand about the challenges of maintaining the Classics in the modern American university. Since our graduate students are well prepared to meet these challenges, the placement record of our Ph.D.s has been strong and we continue to put a great deal of effort into placement.
We advise prospective applicants, however, to be realistic in their expectations and to be aware of the current job market for Ph.D.s in Classics, and in the humanities and social sciences in general. Successful graduate study requires a high degree of self-motivation, self-discipline and openness to new and varied ways at looking at old things. The Ph.D. marks only the beginning of a classicist's education. We encourage you to think of our graduate program as a setting designed to enable you to explore productively many aspects of antiquity on your own.
The graduate program of the Department of Classics offers the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Classics. The area of concentration is left to the student's own choice, although there are certain general requirements designed to ensure familiarity with the basic areas of pertinent knowledge. The Department also offers Ph.D. degree programs with concentrations in Classical Archaeology, Ancient History, and Ancient Philosophy.
The Graduate Faculty and Students
The Classics graduate faculty at The University of Texas is one of the largest and most versatile in the country. Their interests encompass the whole spectrum of approaches to classical antiquity and its contributions to western civilization. Visiting professors and lecturers, colloquia and special programs further challenge the faculty and students in Classics with current scholarship and criticism.
The Department strives to foster a close association between its full-time faculty of 25 and the approximately 35 graduate students in residence. Because the ratio of graduate students to faculty is very favorable, we are able to give our students close and caring attention as they pursue individual areas of study in which a number of faculty are expert. Informal readings and colloquia by departmental faculty and graduate students provide frequent opportunities for social contact and exchange of ideas outside of organized seminars. Major conferences in the recent past have addressed such themes as women in ancient Greece, performance theory, Philodemus, Homer and the Homeric tradition, and a graduate student-organized conference on ancient religion and economy.
The diversity and quality of the graduate students is another asset of the program. The program is selective: we now enroll 7-10 new students per year. The Department also encourages and supports students to take advantage of opportunities for study abroad. This includes study in Germany, Great Britain, Greece, and Italy on Fulbright, DAAD, and other fellowships (such as the special arrangement between The University of Texas and the Free University of Berlin). The University contributes to the activities of both the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and the American Academy in Rome, and students are encouraged to spend a year or a summer at one of these institutions. Our students have had a strong record in obtaining competitive fellowships awarded by the ASCSA.
Current faculty in Classics, Classical Archaeology and Ancient Philosophy as well as related disciplines are listed at http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/faculty.html.
Library facilities and a staff dedicated to assisting in research, reference and collection needs are housed with the Department of Classics in the Classics Library in Waggener Hall. The holdings, which total over twenty-six thousand volumes, cover all classical texts and most major commentaries, critical studies, archaeological and reference works, as well as classical and archaeological periods. In addition, the main library of the University, the Perry-Casteñeda Library, holds one of the top-ranked research collections in the country. It has more specialized books and journals in Classics as well as a broad range of related subject areas. Students also have access to the Swenson Coin Collection, the Meritt and Reinmuth squeeze collections, and a collection of original drawings, photographs, and notes on ancient architecture by Lucy Shoe Meritt. Holdings of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center include a collection of Greek papyri from Egypt and many Renaissance editions of classical texts.
The Department has a Slide Library of more than 55,000 slides, administered by a full-time slide librarian. This library also provides facilities for making slides or photographs for research reports and projects.
PASP, ICA and Other Research Resources
The Department houses the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory (PASP), an international research center with approximately 10,000 photographs of nearly all Aegean inscriptions and related reference materials. PASP now publishes Studies in Mycenaean Inscriptions and Dialect and co-edits the monograph series Aegaeum.
On the same floor is the Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICA) where the results of excavation work on the Greek colonial site of Metaponto in southern Italy have been studied for over twenty-five years. Recently ICA expanded its research to the Greek colonial site of Chersonesos, a newly declared World Cultural Monument on the Black Sea. ICA has been a pioneer in the multi-disciplinary exploration of the countryside of the ancient world.
The Department, with the strong support of the University, has long been in the forefront of computer research and teaching in Classics. We have been a beta test site for Perseus 2 and the DCB (L'Année Philologique), have developed our own computerized instructional programs, and are in the process of digitizing our visual resources for classroom projection and other uses. All graduate students are entitled to individual e-mail accounts and Web pages, and they have 24-hour access to the Department's computer lab, equipped with G3 Power Macintoshes. All are directly connected to the Internet and to the TLG, PHI, Perseus and DCB databases and are equipped with word-processing, database, image processing, web site creation, Internet and other programs.
Requests for information and application materials can be made to:
The Graduate Coordinator
Department of Classics
1 University Station #C400
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712Telephone: 512 471-4759
Fax: 512 471-4111
E-Mail: classics@mail.utexas.eduSee also the Graduate Studies: Prospective Students Web Page
Web site: http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/prospect.htmlHOW TO APPLY
1) Application forms and official transcripts should be sent to:
Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC)
The University of Texas at Austin
PO Box 7608
Austin, Texas 78713-7608Telephone: 512-475-7438
2) Letters of recommendation--required of all applicants--and a writing sample and a copy of your personal statement should be sent to the Department.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ALL MATERIALS IS JANUARY 3
The Graduate School lays down several academic conditions governing admissions to any graduate program at The University of Texas. Further information can be found at the web site listed above.
Normally our graduate applications are for the Ph.D. program. It is possible that in special cases, like those of secondary school teachers, admission might be granted to the M.A. program. For admission to the M.A. program, the Department would still expect a strong background, usually of at least several years' study, in both Greek and Latin, though allowance can be made for deficiencies in one of the languages.
Admission to the Ph.D. program requires a GPA and a GRE score significantly higher than the minimum, strong (yet honest) and individualized letters of recommendation, a good preparation that will enable you to pursue graduate-level study from the start, and a writing sample of about 20 pages. In addition, we look closely at your personal statement. Use it to tell us about yourself, your goals, and your reasons for applying to our program. We work hard at admissions to make sure that UT Austin will be the right place for you. Feel free to talk with us about your interests before making a formal application.
Inquiries should be made to:
The University of Texas at Austin
The Graduate Adviser
Department of Classics
1 University Station, C3400
Austin, Texas 78712UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT
All students who have been admitted will receive financial support for five years (though in practice, more), depending on their making satisfactory progress toward degree. It is important to note that, in contrast to the situation in many other universities, holders of nearly all these awards (including international students) are treated as Texas residents for tuition purposes. Notification to new applicants will be sent out on or before March 15.
Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructors
Most of our financial support for graduate students is in the form of stipends based on 20 hours of work per week. The Department currently employs AIs and TAs. AIs have a master's degree and teach their own classes in Latin and (less often) Greek and Classical Civilization. TAs are students without master's degrees who assist faculty members in Classical Civilization or Ancient History courses.
University and Department Fellowships
There are two stages at which University Fellowships can be an option. At the beginning end, a small number of new students may receive a one-year University fellowship (followed by four years of T.A. or A.I. ships). A strong undergraduate record in Classics and a high GRE score are most helpful for first-year applicants. In addition, at the dissertation stage or when a student wishes to spend a year abroad (typically, at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens) the Department may nominate up to three students each year to be considered for University Fellowships. The number of these is limited and they are awarded on a competitive basis, though applicants to our program customarily do very well in the university-wide competition.
FINANCIAL AID (n.b.: this is different from the university and financial support above)
Information about educational loans and similar kinds of assistance is available from:
The Office of Student Financial Services
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box 7758, UT Station
Austin, TX 78713-7758
PLEASE CONSULT THE MOST CURRENT DEGREE RULES at this link
The Department has a long tradition of active involvement with secondary education in the State of Texas and nationally. Although The University does not offer a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in the teaching of Latin, some students who earn an M.A. in Classics choose to acquire an additional eighteen hours in the College of Education to qualify for a Texas Certificate of Education. Nine of the additional hours involve supervised practice teaching on the secondary level. Placement can be expected, since for some years now the demand for Latin teachers in Texas high schools has outstripped the number of certified candidates.
A Master's degree is not necessary for certification, and if a student wishes to proceed directly from a B.A. to certification, he or she should contact the Latin Certification Adviser in the Department of Classics.
Nonresident tuition is waived in favor of resident tuition for teaching assistants, assistant instructors, and others employed by The University of Texas for at least 20 hours per week on a regular monthly basis. The same applies to holders of fellowships.
Single graduate students may choose to live in one of several university dormitories or co-ops. In one of the new residence halls a special graduate unit has been set aside. It affords residents privacy from other floors and provides the flexibility in life-style most often requested by graduate students. It is co-ed by alternate suite and fully air-conditioned.
University Apartments for married students are located about 4 miles west of the campus with both city and University shuttle bus service available. Unfurnished units are available. Since these units are very much in demand and there is a long waiting list, early application is encouraged. Write to:
Division of Housing and Food Service
The University of Texas at Austin
PO Box 7666
Austin TX 78713-7666512-471-3136
www.utexas.edu/student/housing/Austin has a considerable supply and variety of apartments and rental houses. Due to the current economic upturn and a rapid increase in population, the rental occupancy rate is close to 100%. Students are thus urged to make arrangements for housing well in advance of registration. The Division of Housing and Food Service maintains an off-campus housing information service which has been helpful to graduate students. Inquiries must be made in person in the office at Kinsolving Residence Hall, 200 West 26th Street, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call (512) 471-3136.
The University provides a free shuttle bus service throughout the city, so a private car is not a necessity (although it is convenient, especially if you live far from campus).
While no graduate program is perfect, and no graduate program can guarantee its Ph.D.s a job, we believe that our program has special strengths: its interdisciplinary nature, the close and friendly attention faculty can give to students, a strong sense of collegiality among the students themselves, the considerable resources of the University, and the useful preparation for teaching you will get in the midst of a large and diverse undergraduate teaching program. We regularly promote our graduate students as emerging scholars through supporting such activities as graduate student conferences, encouraging them to give papers at conferences and submit articles and reviews to Classical journals, and inviting them to participate in editing projects and in archaeological field research and publication.
Feel free to write us, to make inquiries, and to visit http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/
Email addresses:
Department Chair: Cynthia W. Shelmerdine <cwshelm@mail.utexas.edu>
Graduate Adviser: Lesley A. Dean-Jones <ldjones@mail.utexas.edu>
Chair of the Gradaute Studies Committee: Andrew M. Riggsby <ariggsby@mail.utexas.edu>
Graduate Program Coordinator: Theresa Vasquez <classics@mail.utexas.edu>
Updated
Please send corrections, additions etc. to classics@mail.utexas.edu