Postbaccalaureate programs in Classics

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epiclesis
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Postbaccalaureate programs in Classics

Post by epiclesis »

I'm looking for postbaccalaureate and master's programs in Classics for students who don't have the background necessary to go straight into a PhD program in the field. So far I've found programs at the following schools:

Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
University of California-Davis
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Am I missing any? If you know of any others, please reply and tell me where they are! Programs can be in countries other than the USA, but must be in English!

I have 2 years of Latin and will be starting upper-division courses in Latin soon, but no Greek at all.

whiteoctave
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Post by whiteoctave »

english universities would be those in the golden triangle, to wit cambridge, oxford, kcl, ucl and imperial.
columbia is, in my opinion, the best of the american institutions you list, and as of august 2005 you will have a superbly talented and innovative hellenist among the professors there.

~D

epiclesis
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Post by epiclesis »

And who would that be? I'm a Roman myself, but I know the Hellenists always think they're better. :wink:

I actually spent this past summer at Columbia studying Latin, and it was wonderful. They do have a good program. During the regular year I am at the University of Washington in Seattle (home of Stephen Hinds!)

By the way, I was referring to postbaccalaureate programs, not standard graduate programs in Classics. I am looking for a program for students who, like me, already have a BA in something other than Classics and need further language study in Classics before they can apply to a proper MA or PhD program.

Thanks for your reply, though!

whiteoctave
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Post by whiteoctave »

my reply took postbaccalaureate into account.
ah yes, mr. hinds is a fantastic literary scholar, his book on intertextuality being as yet unsurpassed. i was fortunate to see him lecture a few months ago at cam., and it was a great pleasure.
the hellenist goes by the name of Liz Irwin.

~D

Episcopus
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Post by Episcopus »

I think the verity to be that Swansea University have an excellent language institute. But you may have to work hard to get in! The talent round there is quite hellenistic!

epiclesis
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Post by epiclesis »

I just wanted to add that while we may have Stephen Hinds, Cambridge is doubly blessed to have Emily Gowers, whose CUP commentary on Horace's Satires I eagerly await.

whiteoctave
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Post by whiteoctave »

yes, her commentary should be worth the wait.n if it is the field of literary criticism that interests you, there are many people at Cam. who would well interest you, it being the favoured discipline in recent years: goldhill, henderson, easterling, hunter, beard, morales, fitzgerald etc.

~D

Antonius
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Post by Antonius »

This raises a question that just occured to me as I was looking over some graduate school catalogs: many of the graduate programs in classics I've looked into do not require an undergraduate major in classics per se but do stipulate some minimum number of undergraduate credits for admission. Now, what if you have been studying Greek and Latin independently for a number of years and then decide to get an advanced degree? Is it possible for autodidacts to demonstrate equivalent proficiency (through examination, for example) for admission to graduate school, or is this only possible for AP applicants for undergraduate admission?

GlottalGreekGeek
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Post by GlottalGreekGeek »

I know that CLEP exams tend to work as well as AP exams. In fact, the main difference between CLEP exams and AP exams, as far as I understand, is that AP exams are for high school students, and CLEP exams are for everybody else. Of course, I do not know if they have CLEP exams for any classics courses.

Of course, if you feel really confident in Latin, you could ask your graduate program to just test you to ensure you had the prerequisite skills.

I suppose, if an autodidact were *really* good at Latin and/or Greek, they could take the M.A. final exam (and I think just about every Classics graduate program has some of those lying around) and not only make up for they lack of a Classics B.A., but also get a few years ahead on their Ph.D.

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Post by nostos »

GGG, I like yer website :lol:

Antonius
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Post by Antonius »

GlottalGreekGeek wrote:I know that CLEP exams tend to work as well as AP exams. In fact, the main difference between CLEP exams and AP exams, as far as I understand, is that AP exams are for high school students, and CLEP exams are for everybody else. Of course, I do not know if they have CLEP exams for any classics courses.

Of course, if you feel really confident in Latin, you could ask your graduate program to just test you to ensure you had the prerequisite skills.

I suppose, if an autodidact were *really* good at Latin and/or Greek, they could take the M.A. final exam (and I think just about every Classics graduate program has some of those lying around) and not only make up for they lack of a Classics B.A., but also get a few years ahead on their Ph.D.
I looked into the CLEP exams, but they apparently do not have a Classics track. At this point I'm probably not quite proficient enough to hit a Master's exam out of the park, but it might be something to shoot for. Unless, of course, someone out there can say for certain that it cannot be done. It would be interesting to find out if anyone has ever actually been able to get into a graduate program solely on the strength of their independent study.

bellum paxque
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Post by bellum paxque »

Surely competence in the languages plus a distinguished undergraduate record, in whatever field it might be, would be enough to secure a position in a reasonable graduate program? Of course, I'm taking the old fashioned way - postbaccalaureate study - to round up some enthusiastic professors willing to write recommendations.

-david

Antonius
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Post by Antonius »

bellum paxque wrote:Surely competence in the languages plus a distinguished undergraduate record, in whatever field it might be, would be enough to secure a position in a reasonable graduate program? Of course, I'm taking the old fashioned way - postbaccalaureate study - to round up some enthusiastic professors willing to write recommendations.

-david
Ahhh, yes. Letters of recommendation. Kinda hard for an autodidact to produce, although I'm sure my wife would happily attest to the time spent scanning Horace when I should have been mowing the lawn. Yes, if I had the wherewithal, I would certainly take the path you've chosen, but the time being I may just have to content myself being an armchair classicist until my circumstances put me within easier reach of actual courses.

bellum paxque
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Post by bellum paxque »

Perhaps you could come to an agreement with a classics professor in the closest city - assuming there's one within reach - to sit in on classes for a few weeks. If you can demonstrate your ability and enthusiasm, the professor might be willing to help you in other ways. As many have noted - and as my experience has shown - classicists are generally speaking very eager to advise those beginning a study of the subject. If nothing else, you may find someone to meet with to talk about Horace's bizarre syntax and unexpected use of the genitive.

-David

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ND SJC

Post by edblouin »

I know that St. John's college usually has a Latin or Greek intensive course during the summer but I'm sure that you're looking for more than just the basics. Try Notre Dame's classics dept. They have quite an extensive summer program that might help.

jceb

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