Programs by Campus
Bloomington
Classical Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Departmental E-Mail: classics [at] indiana [dot] edu
Departmental URL: www.indiana.edu/classics
(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin. Requirements may or may not be reflected identically in departmental URLs.)
Curriculum
Degrees Offered
Master of Arts, Master of Arts for Teachers, and Doctor of Philosophy
Special Departmental Requirements
(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)
Placement Examination
All newly admitted students will be required to take a translation examination in Latin and/or Greek for the purpose of placement. This examination will be given in the week preceding initial registration. It is the student’s responsibility to arrive on campus in time to take this examination. No student will be permitted to enroll for courses until the results of this placement examination are delivered to the director of graduate studies.
Master of Arts Degree
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate major in Latin or Greek or the equivalent. Graduate Record Examination General Test required.
Course Requirements
A minimum of 30 credit hours of Latin, Greek, or classics courses, of which at least 22 credit hours must be in Latin or Greek. One course involving the writing of a term paper.
Final Examination
Sight translation examination (two hours) in Latin or Greek. Written examination (two hours) on the history of Greek or Latin literature.
Language Requirement
Reading proficiency in one language: French, German, or another approved modern language, or (for students majoring in Latin) classical Greek. The requirement in classical Greek may be satisfied by completing G500-G650. (The latter courses may not be taken for credit by doctoral students majoring in the Department of Classical Studies.) A grade of B or better in G650 fulfills the reading-knowledge requirement in classical Greek.
Master of Arts for Teachers Degree
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate major in Latin or Greek or the equivalent. Graduate Record Examination General Test required.
Course Requirements
The total for the M.A.T. degree is 60 credit hours, of which 24 are in classes designated by the School of Education and 10 in Supervised Student Teaching. Of the remaining 26 hours, 20 are in courses involving Greek and/or Latin language and literature, and 6 in classical civilization and culture.
Final Examination
Sight translation examination (two hours) in Latin. Written examination (two hours) on the history of Latin literature.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Admission Requirements
As a prerequisite for admission, a student must (1) have completed at least 24 credit hours of graduate work in classical studies; (2) show proficiency in one modern foreign language; (3) show evidence of scholarly potential as indicated by the submission of a term paper or revised version of a term paper to the Ph.D. admission committee of the department; (4) supply two letters of reference; and (5) take the Graduate Record Examination General Test.
Course Requirements
A total of 90 credit hours, including dissertation (maximum of 28 credit hours). Fifty-three (53) credit hours must consist of the 20 credit hours of core requirements (C501, C502, G536, G537, L536, and L537) and 33 additional credit hours of Latin and Greek reading and seminar courses. The remaining credit hours are distributed among the courses in the minor program.
Minor
A total of 12 to 15 credit hours of course work, to be planned in consultation with the director of graduate studies. Minor programs aim to broaden the student’s knowledge in some aspect of classical studies outside the core curriculum. A minor may be taken in a single department (e.g., fine arts, comparative literature, history); in that case, the student should also consult with the director of graduate studies in that department. An interdepartmental minor (examples include “ancient studies” and “mythology studies”) combines course work in other departments with appropriate courses in classical studies.
Another possibility is an interdepartmental minor in “related fields,” with courses selected from comparative literature, fine arts, folklore, history, history and philosophy of science, linguistics, medieval studies, philosophy, religious studies, Renaissance studies, or any other appropriate department or school (e.g., law or music); the aim of this “related fields” minor is to introduce the student to methodologies and approaches other than the philological, which may be applied to the study of the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.
Language Requirements
Reading proficiency in French and German; substitution for French of one other modern language will be considered on petition. This requirement must be completed before the qualifying examinations may be taken.
Qualifying Examinations
Translation examinations (three hours each) based on reading lists in Greek and in Latin. Students should have passed the reading list translation examinations in both Latin and Greek by the end of the third year (if they were admitted to the M.A. program) or by the end of the second year (if they were admitted to the Ph.D. program with an M.A. degree). Qualifying examinations are also required on the history of Greek and Latin literature (three hours each) and on a major author (three hours) chosen by the student. Students should have passed all three of the qualifying examinations by the end of the fourth year (if they were admitted to the M.A. program) or by the end of the second year (if they were admitted to the Ph.D. program with an M.A. degree). An examination on the outside minor may be required by the department of the outside minor.
Final Examination
Oral, primarily a defense of the dissertation.
Ph.D. Minor in Greek or Latin
Prospective minors should obtain a copy of “Graduate Minors in Latin and Greek” from the administrative secretary in Ballantine Hall 547 and plan their course work in advance with the director of graduate studies (Department of Classical Studies).