Classics (MA)

Location(s): Main Campus

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Master of Arts in Classics

Program Website: Master of Arts in Classics

Field(s) of Specialization

Art and Archaeology
Text and Culture

Faculty and Administration

For a listing of program faculty and administrative contacts, please visit the program directory.

Program Description

The Master of Arts in Classics emphasizes a holistic approach to the Greek and Roman worlds and encourages all students to study languages, literature, history, and material culture. Students continue their study of Greek and Latin in order to ensure that they can access the wealth of literary and documentary sources that have survived and continue to surface. The program also assigns prominence to historical context and material culture, especially promoting active archaeological research and travel to the Mediterranean. The program is structured on the principle that these diverse approaches inform one another and produce a cross-disciplinary, well rounded and thus broader understanding of the world and legacy of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Facilities

Cypriote Museum (170+ objects, Chalcolithic through Mediaeval, mostly Geometric-Archaic ceramics); Archaeology Lab; Departmental Library and Workroom.

Institutional Memberships: American School of Classical Studies in Athens; Archaeological Institute of America; Canadian Institute in Greece; Classical Association of Canada; Classical Association of the Middle, West and South; Ontario Classical Association; Society for Classical Studies.

Associated Archaeological Field Projects: Gournia Archaeological Project (Crete); Khavania Archaeological Project (Crete); Marzamemi Maritime Heritage Project (Italy); Pantelleria Excavation Project at Lago di Venere (Italy).

Overseas Opportunities

Faculty working on excavations overseas take students to assist them when possible. Current projects include excavation and ceramic study with Prof. Smith at the Bronze Age site of Gournia on Crete; excavation with Prof. Greene in the harbours of Burgaz, Turkey and the late antique shipwreck at Marzamemi, Sicily, as well as conservation and analysis of cargo from the Archaic shipwreck at Pabuç Burnu, Turkey; and excavation with Prof. Murray at the Punic and Roman sanctuary site in the Lago di Venere area on the island of Pantelleria, Italy. Such experiences can be given a course number (e.g. CLAS 5V82), but do not count towards requirements for the MA degree. Students may also participate in overseas projects not run by the Department of Classics, but must obtain permission from the Graduate Program Director in consultation with their supervisor.

The Department regularly offers a field school and a study tour for its undergraduates in alternating years. Recent field schools have brought students to excavations at Gournia and Khavania, Greece; Marzamemi and Pantelleria, Italy; and Burgaz, Turkey. Recent study tours have also brought students to Greece, Italy, and Turkey. Students will be informed of overseas courses with opportunities for teaching assistantships. Qualified graduate students are given priority for such positions. In all cases, interested students will apply for any position available.

The Department also has an internship (CLAS 5N00 ) at the Canadian Institute in Greece (CIG). The internship provides an opportunity for students to live in Greece for three months while working on their Thesis or Major Research Paper projects. CIG will offer free membership, a free museum pass, discounted accommodation and free classes in modern Greek at the Athens Centre. The student will perform twenty hours of work a week for CIG and have access to all the libraries of the various archaeological schools in Greece through a CIG membership. The course does not count towards requirements for the MA degree.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have a BA Honours, or equivalent degree, in Classics or related discipline, with a minimum overall average of B and a minimum major average of 75%. Applicants to the Critical Ancient Studies program and to the Text and Culture specialization will normally have balanced strength in Greek and Latin or substantial experience in one of the ancient languages. There are no formal ancient language requirements for admission to the Art and Archaeology specialization, but students are encouraged to align their study of ancient languages with their academic interests.

The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of suitable candidates.

Individuals interested in part-time study should consult with the Graduate Program Director.

Degree Requirements

There are two schemes for the MA degree:

Scheme A - Course work with major research paper (normally completed in five terms)
Scheme B - Course work with thesis (normally completed in six terms)

Acceptance into the thesis stream requires explicit departmental agreement that the candidate is prepared to pursue advanced scholarly research, and the preparation of an acceptable thesis proposal.

For a full list of graduate course offerings by subject area, please refer to the Courses tab in the navigation menu.