Master of arts in classics

The Department of Classics and Ancient History offers the MA degree in classics.

Work closely with faculty members engaged in cutting-edge research, as you work towards your degree through small classes and in a program personally tailored to your own interests and needs.

The department offers two areas of specialization:

• Degree with emphasis on the reading of Greek and Latin texts
• Degree with greater emphasis on classical art and archaeology

Both options allow you a great deal of flexibility to focus on the texts and topics of greatest interest.

The MA degree is normally completed in two years. Students have the option of writing a master’s thesis upon the completion of a minimum of 18 credit-hours of graduate-level courses, or a master’s report upon the completion of a minimum of 24 credit-hours of graduate-level courses.

Research areas

Faculty members in the Classics Graduate Academic Unit have the following research specialties:

• Greek literature, culture and history
• Roman literature, culture and history
• Greek philosophy
• Greek and Roman art and archaeology
• Hellenic culture and language

Research projects

Current faculty research projects include:

• Terrestrial laser scanning of ancient sites
• Political identity and mythology in Greek and Roman history
• Greek history and Ancient Warfare
• Literary and artistic responses to Greek art in Rome
• Cultural Memory and the Roman city scape
• The search for Plato’s Academy
• The Roman mint as a reflection of imperial policy and economic realities
• The role of Alexander the Great in the political thought of the Hellenistic Jews
• Excavations at the Greek Temple of Isthmia and a Roman peristyle house in Abdera
• The politics of freedom during the Peloponnesian War

Contact the director of graduate studies, Matthew Sears, for more information.