I am hoping to apply to the MA program for ancient philology at the polis institute in Jerusalem. I’m hoping to continue afterward with a PHD program for classics somewhere state side. I read that Polis awards the MA degree via the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome).
Thoughts?
Does anyone have any experience of the institute? Any info would be great.
I have a BS in computer science so I’m worried I might not get accepted because they will want a BA for admission. Anyone start a MA from a BS? Do colleges usually allow that?
The past three years the Polis Institute founder and dean, Christophe Rico, was at the Greek meeting in Lexington. He is a very kind and knowledgeable man. Needless to say, he speaks Greek fluently.
I have heard only good things about the Polis Institute. My one caveat would be whether, in their estimation, you have a sufficient foundation in the languages to succeed in the MA. If not, they might ask you to do some propaedeutic work before you start.
According to the Polis website:
“Our classes are taught entirely in the target language: the only language spoken, written, or read is the one being taught.”
No-one with such a background would gain admission to a Classics PhD program, and for good reason.
The reason is that much of the knowledge requisite for embarking on a PhD depends on other skills and attainments, and the time spent attempting to acquire oral and aural fluency in ancient Greek and Latin (rarely with much success) is time that can be more fruitfully spent on the development of other competencies, by means of study.
But this risks diverting us from the bottom line here, which is that a Polis program is wholly inadequate and inappropriate preparation for a PhD. Even the most avid proponent of the Polis method would have to admit that. (But then why should anyone want a PhD?)
Excellent. Thank you MWH. I kinda figured it was too good to be true.
I was hoping to use the Polis institute as a way of fulfilling the 2 to 3 years needed in Greek and Latin to start a PHD with a master’s rolled into it. But you’re most likely right. I’m gonna have to go back and get a BA in classics to get into the field.
Also the Polis degree is awarded by the Pontifical University of the holy cross in Rome. So I imagine the degree would elicit eye rolls by the admissions at any university…at best.
I know of several people who have been lacking in one of the languages who were accepted into a Classics MA/Ph.D. after completing the CUNY summer intensives.
Just figured I would do a follow up post on my experience with attending Polis.
Needless to say I really should have listened to MWH back in 2020:
The reason is that much of the knowledge requisite for embarking on a PhD depends on other skills and attainments, and the time spent attempting to acquire oral and aural fluency in ancient Greek and Latin (rarely with much success) is time that can be more fruitfully spent on the development of other competencies, by means of study.
The Polis institute was a huge let down and the staff are something to be avoided. Lets just say being affiliated with Opus Dei doesn’t help their case.
I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Quite a disagreeable, disrespectful, waste of time.
Well first of all, if you’re not Catholic and a member of Opus Dei you’re at best tolerated and usually ignored.
Secondly the form of Greek spoken there is very watered down. Its basically a koine of koine and the vocabulary is not very well agreed on. For instance it can take around 10 minutes just to tell someone to turn on the heater because no one agrees on the word for heater. Also I found myself having completed up to the third level of Greek in Polis (there are 8 levels), not knowing how to say “where is the bathroom”. I mean if you’re gonna make a con-lang(constructed language) then at least teach the basics and agree on your terms.
Thirdly, I was quite far along in my Greek Studies as I had been actively learning for like 8 years previously and can read Plato and Xenophon pretty easily. That being said it was very very slow going and frustrating for many of the beginning students trying to learn a language like Greek with a communicative method. After the second level of Greek you’re still learning the first declension and haven’t even touched the Aorist yet.
Lastly, some of the teachers are rather rude and have a Catholic mentality when it comes to scholastic matters. On the other hand there are some very very nice teachers there but unfortunately the other ones just ruin the vibe of the place.
In general, I don’t think learning to speak Greek as a “con-lang” similar to Klingon is gonna get someone closer to understanding the complicated sentence structure left in the Greek Corpus. You might have some luck with the new testament though but you can get very good at the NT in about 6 months of committed study so that is not saying much. And that is the crux of the matter. If you’re not a devout Christian, Polis is not the place for you.
It would take way more comprehensive input than is available for Ancient Greek to get to a point where you could fluently understand a high koine author like Josephus or Plutarch.
Thanks for posting this. I have been considering finding a way to participate in the Polis Institute’s online Greek classes (I do admire the 1st Polis Greek textbook and the audio that accompanies it). This helps me set my expectations.
I am spending a lot of time and energy reading Homer. I greatly respect the idea that actively using the language opens up a deeper understanding than those of us who only read it can access. Yet I then always ask myself - given that I prioritize Homer (now) and the tragedians (soon) - whether I would actually gain much deeper access to “my” texts by fighting my way into some limited proficiency in spoken Koine; after all, Homer was something that native speakers struggled with greatly in Koine times. Your experience deepens my skepticism on that front.