Classical Studies

[ Major] [ Minor] [ Ph.D. & M.A. Programs] [ Professors] [ Courses]

OFFICE: 3024 Humanities and Social Sciences Building,
Muir College (CAESAR office)
http://historyweb.ucsd.edu/ClassicalStud.html

Classical studies is concerned with the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome—roughly from the time of Homer through the time of St. Augustine—in all of their aspects. This program thus offers undergraduates an opportunity to study the cultures of Greece and Rome through the combined resources of the Departments of History, Literature, Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance, and Philosophy. The study of the ancient Greek and Latin languages themselves serves as the starting point for the broader consideration of specific texts in their literary, intellectual, and historical context. In cooperation with the Judaic Studies Program, moreover, students are provided the opportunity to link the study of ancient Greece and Rome to that of the ancient Near East.

The Major Programs

The Classical Studies Program offers four different degree paths, three within classical studies and one in cooperation with Judaic studies. The majors are Greek, Latin, classics, and Greek and Hebrew. Each consists of a choice of twelve upper-division courses (forty-eight units) approved for the program and listed below. All courses used to meet requirements for a major in classical studies must be taken for a letter grade and be passed with a grade of C– or better.

Graduate courses may be taken by undergraduates with consent of the instructor. The faculty of the program welcomes qualified undergraduates in graduate courses.

Additional courses counting toward a major in classical studies are offered on a year-to-year basis, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. As these often cannot be listed in advance, interested students should consult the program faculty for an up-to-date list.

Greek

LTWL 19A-B-C are prerequisites to the Greek major. Six of the twelve upper-division courses must be LTGK courses numbered 100 and above, but exclusive of LTGK 101. The remaining six courses may be in classical civilization (in English translation), selected from the list of approved courses from history, Lit/World, philosophy, political science, and visual arts, though additional LTGK courses numbered 100 and above (including LTGK 101) are acceptable here. These must be from at least two departments and selected in consultation with the advisor; courses dealing with Greek civilization are strongly preferred.

Latin

LTWL 19A-B-C are prerequisites to the Latin major. Six of the twelve upper-division courses must be LTLA courses numbered 100 and above, but exclusive of LTLA 101 and 102. The remaining six courses may be in classical civilization (in English translation), selected from the list of approved courses from history, Lit/World, philosophy, political science, and visual arts, though additional LTLA courses numbered 100 and above (including LTLA 101 and 102) are acceptable here. These must be from at least two departments and selected in consultation with the advisor; courses dealing with Roman civilization are strongly preferred.

Classics

LTWL 19A-B-C are prerequisites to the classics major. Nine of the twelve upper-division courses must be distributed between LTLA and LTGK courses numbered 100 and above (but exclusive of LTLA 101 and 102 and LTGK 101), six in one literature and three in the other according to the student’s emphasis. The remaining three courses may be in classical civilization (in English translation), selected from the list of approved courses from history, Lit/World, philosophy, political science, and visual arts, though additional LTLA or LTGK courses numbered 100 and above (including LTLA 101 and 102 and LTGK 101) are acceptable here. These must be from at least two departments and selected in consultation with the advisor to reflect the relative emphasis upon the Greek and Latin literatures, but with at least one focusing upon each culture.

Greek and Hebrew

Three courses from LTWL 19A-B-C and Cultural Traditions, Judaic 1A-B, to be selected in consultation with the advisor, are prerequisites to the Greek and Hebrew major. Nine of the twelve upper-division courses must be distributed between LTGK courses numbered 100 and above (but exclusive of LTGK 101) and Judaic Studies 101-102-103 or LTNE courses numbered 100 through 112, six in one literature and three in the other according to the student’s emphasis. The remaining three courses may be in ancient Greek and Judaic civilization (in English translation), selected from the list of courses approved for classical studies and from the list of courses approved for Judaic studies, though additional LTGK courses numbered 100 and above (including LTGK 101) or Judaic Studies 101-102-103 or LTNE courses numbered 100 through 112 are acceptable here. These must be from at least two departments and selected in consultation with the advisor (who is selected in accordance with the student’s emphasis) to reflect the relative emphasis upon the Greek and Hebrew literatures, but with at least one course from each program.

The Minor Programs

Classical Studies:

A minor in classical studies consists of seven courses (twenty-eight units) from those listed below, of which at least four must be upper-division. A knowledge of the ancient languages is not required. The minor will normally include LTWL 19A-B-C: the Greco-Roman World, and four other courses from the participating departments. All courses used to meet requirements for the minor in Classical Studies must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C– or better.

Greek:

See Literature: “The Minor in Literature”

Latin:

See Literature: “The Minor in Literature”

Warren College

A Warren College program of concentration in classical studies normally consists of LTWL 19A-B-C and three of the upper-division courses listed below.

Honors in Greek, Latin, and Classics

Honors is intended for the most talented and motivated students majoring in Greek, Latin, classics, or Greek and Hebrew. Requirements for admission to the honors program are:

  1. Junior standing
  2. An overall GPA of 3.5
  3. A GPA in the major of 3.7

Qualified students majoring in Greek, Latin, or classics may apply at the end of their junior year to the program faculty on the basis of 1) a thesis proposal (three to four pages) worked out in advance with a classical studies faculty member and 2) a recommendation from that faculty member. It is strongly advised that the proposal be based upon a class paper or project from a course taken towards completion of the major.

The core of the honors program is an honors thesis. The research and writing of the thesis will be conducted over the winter or fall and winter terms of the senior year. Up to four units of 196 credit to this end may be counted towards the major in place of one of the courses in English translation. A thesis completed by the end of the winter quarter of the senior year will be read and evaluated by the thesis advisor and another member of the program faculty. If the thesis is accepted and the student maintains a 3.7 GPA, departmental honors will be awarded. The level of honors–distinction, high distinction, or highest distinction–will be determined by the program faculty.

Students choosing a major in Greek and Hebrew may complete an honors major as follows: those with an emphasis on Greek must meet the requirements for honors in the Classical Studies Program and work with a thesis advisor from classical studies, but select a second advisor for the thesis from Judaic studies. Those with an emphasis on Hebrew must meet the requirements for honors in the Judaic Studies Program and work with a thesis advisor from Judaic studies, but select a second advisor for the thesis from classical studies.

Transfer Students

UCSD's Program in Classical Studies welcomes transfer students. Students planning to transfer from two-year colleges should try to complete as many of the lower-dvision prerequisites for the major as possible: specifically, a course equivalent in duration and content to UCSD's Literatures of the World 19A-B-C and, if possible, elementary Greek and/or Latin, as appropriate for the planned Classical Studies major. Students with questions about transferring into UCSD's Program in Classical Studies should review the "Admission Information for Transfer Students" on the UCSD Web site (go to http://www.ucsd.edu and choose Prospective Students, then Admissions, then For Transfer Students) and feel free to contact the faculty advisor for the program with any questions.

The University of California Tri-Campus Graduate Program in Classics

UC Tri-campus Graduate Classics Program Faculty
UC Tri-campus Graduate Program in Classics Courses

UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UCSD

What is the UC Tri-Campus Program? This graduate program joins together into a single faculty more than twenty experts in classics and related disciplines from the three southernmost University of California campuses (Irvine, Riverside, and San Diego). It features an innovative curriculum and program of study that address the practical and theoretical questions confronting the humanities and classics in particular as both enter the twenty-first century.

What are the program’s goals? The aim of the Tri-Campus Program is to provide an educational environment for pursuing a graduate career in classics that is closely integrated into the main currents of humanistic and social scientific scholarship. The program’s faculty recognizes that today and in the future teachers of the classics must possess and develop expertise beyond the standard specialties of the traditional classics Ph.D. degree. Classics programs, in both large research universities and small liberal arts colleges, increasingly feel the pressure to break down the boundaries between disciplines.

To achieve these goals, the program and curriculum are designed around five principles:

These five interdisciplinary principles are embodied in the four Core Courses (Classics 200A, 200B, 200C, and 201). Graduate seminars (Classics 220) and reading courses in Greek and Latin authors (Classics 205) round out the program of studies. This curriculum has been in effect at Irvine since 1995, taught by faculty members from all three campuses.

Where do I apply? The Tri-Campus Program uniquely does not belong to a particular campus but to the University of California. Students who are accepted into the program may enroll at any of the three campuses. Because instruction and administrative functions take place on the Irvine campus, students will normally enroll at Irvine. Applications to the Tri-Campus Graduate Program will be reviewed by an admissions committee composed of members from all three campuses.

Where is the Tri-Campus Program located? UC Irvine is located five miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, fifty miles south of metropolitan Los Angeles, forty-five miles southwest of UC Riverside and seventy-four miles north of UCSD. In addition to its beaches, mountains, and deserts, Southern California offers excellent cultural amenities such as museums, theater, dance, opera, and music.

What are the requirements for admission? Applicants to the program should have a B.A. or equivalent in classics or classical civilization, which normally means that you have had at least three years of one classical language and two of the other. Majors in other disciplines (e.g., comparative literature, history, philosophy, or interdisciplinary fields such as women’s studies) are welcome, provided they have sufficient background in Greek and Latin. All applicants must submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores and must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or the equivalent. If you have completed an M.A. in classics at another institution, you may be admitted with advanced standing and may have the course requirements reduced from the normal three years to two or one. The level of course reduction will be determined by progress evaluation exams administered in the spring quarter of each year.

The Role of the Joint Executive Committee

The Tri-Campus Program is administered by a joint executive committee (JEC), which consists of six representatives, two from each campus, serving staggered, two-year terms. The JEC’s responsibilities include: reviewing graduate applications and admitting students to the program; overseeing the formation of examination and dissertation committees; reviewing and deciding on student petitions; making policy decisions concerning the program, including changes in the program’s requirements and procedures; and interpreting the program’s requirements and procedures. The JEC elects from its members a chair to serve a three-year term. It is the chair’s responsibility to manage budgetary issues, schedule and set the agenda for quarterly JEC meetings, identify faculty to teach graduate courses, and generally look after the smooth operation of the program.

The Role of the Graduate advisor

The graduate advisor is a faculty member responsible for supervising graduate study in the department and monitoring the academic progress of graduate students. The graduate advisor coordinates the various elements of the academic program and advises students and other faculty members about program requirements and university policies. The graduate advisor keeps records for each student and for the whole program, ensures that each student meets all requirements and makes satisfactory progress toward attainment of the degree, and is instrumental in the nomination of students for fellowship support and assistantship appointments. The graduate advisor also provides general help to students as they attempt to negotiate the academic and administrative hurdles on their way to completion of their degrees. The graduate advisor is an ex-officio member of the Tri-Campus JEC for the duration of his or her tenure, normally two years.

Election of Student Representative

Graduate students elect a representative who attends JEC meetings as a regular voting member. Graduate students are also invited to attend meetings as observers and to participate where appropriate. The voting rights and attendance of the graduate student representative are circumscribed by the requirements of confidentiality.

The Ph.D. and the M.A. Programs

A student’s career may be thought of as covering three stages: course work, preparation for qualifying exams, and candidacy (dissertation). For Ph. D. students the normative limits for completion of the program are four years to advancement to candidacy, two years to final approval of the dissertation, and a maximum of seven years in total. Students are only admitted into the Ph.D. program. Entering students who do not already hold a master's degree in Classics from another institution will be required to complete M.A. requirements while pursuing the Ph.D.

Course Work for the M.A.

The M.A. degree in classics may be awarded either upon completing the Ph.D. course requirements and passing the written Ph.D. examinations or upon completing the M.A. course requirements and master’s paper and passing the M.A. translation examinations and general exam. The latter path to the M.A. is intended for Ph.D. students who decide to leave the program before completing the requirements for a Ph.D.
M.A. students must successfully complete a minimum of twelve approved, seminar-level courses. The twelve courses must be distributed as follows:

A Sample M.A. Program

FALL

WINTER

SPRING

YEAR 1

    

200A (200C)

Classics 220

200B (201)

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics220

Classics 399

Classics 399

Classics 399

YEAR 2

    

200C (200A)

Classics 220

201 (200B)

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 290

Classics 399

Classics 399

Classics 399

 

 

M.A. Exams

Course Work for the Ph.D.

Ph.D. students must successfully complete a minimum of eighteen approved, seminar-level courses. The eighteen courses must be distributed as follows:

Classics 280 may be used, normally in the fourth year, to provide time to work on the Greek and Latin reading lists and to prepare for qualifying exams, but these courses do not count towards the required eighteen courses. Ph.D. students must meet with the graduate advisor early every fall quarter to discuss their progress through the curriculum and their plans for the coming academic year. A student who accumulates more than one outstanding grade of incomplete is considered to be at risk.

Faculty teaching graduate courses will submit to the graduate advisor for student files a brief written evaluation for each student, commenting on the student’s performance and noting whether the student wrote a seminar paper for the course. The graduate advisor will lead the JEC in an annual review of all active graduate students in the program at the JEC’s spring meeting.

A Sample Ph.D. Program

FALL

WINTER

SPRING

YEAR 1

    

200A (200C)

Classics 220

200B (201)

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 399

Classics 399

Classics 399

YEAR 2

    

200C (200A)

Classics 220

201 (200B)

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 399

Classics 399

Classics 399

YEAR 3

    

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 220

Classics 399

Classics 399

Classics 220

Seminar (External)

Seminar (External)

Classics 399

YEAR 4

    

Classics 280

Classics 280

Classics 280

Qualifying Exams

Qualifying Exams

Qualifying Exams

YEAR 5

    

Classics 299

Classics 299

Classics 299

Dissertation
Writing

Dissertation Writing

Dissertation
Writing

YEAR 6

    

Classics 299

Classics 299

Classics 299

Dissertation
Writing

Dissertation
Writing

Dissertation
Defense

Examinations

Diagnostic Exams: Immediately upon entering the program, the student takes diagnostic translation examinations in both Greek and Latin to establish his or her level of competency and to determine where effort should be directed. In the second year of course work, students will take as diagnostic exams the Latin and Greek translation exams administered as part of the qualifying exam battery.

Exams for the M.A.

  1. Foreign Language Requirement: Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of German, French, Italian, or an equivalent research language either through appropriate course work or by examination.
  2. Translation Exams: Each student must pass a set of translation examinations in Greek and in Latin administered by the master’s committee (two hours each).

The JEC in consultation with the graduate advisor and the student recommends to the graduate dean a three-member master’s committee composed of program faculty from at least two campuses to set and evaluate the translation exams and to evaluate the master’s paper. Normally this committee is established in the quarter preceding completion of the master’s paper.

Exams for the Ph.D.

  1. Foreign Language Requirements: Ph.D. students must demonstrate reading proficiency in one modern research language (normally German and French or Italian) by the end of their second year either through appropriate course work or by examination. Proficiency in a second modern research language is expected by the end of the third year.
  2. Ph.D. Qualifying Exams: In order to advance to candidacy for the Ph.D. and enter the dissertation stage, a student must pass a set of seven qualifying exams. The translation exams, history exams, and history of the literatures exam are administered and evaluated on a regular schedule over the academic year by examination boards composed of one faculty member from each campus and appointed for that purpose by the JEC at the graduate advisor’s recommendation. The JEC, in consultation with the graduate advisor and the student, recommends to the graduate dean a five-member candidacy committee composed of four program faculty (from at least two campuses) and one outside member holding tenure on one of the participating campuses (i.e., not a member of the program faculty) to organize and administer the special-area exam and the oral exam taken by the candidate after successful completion of the other exams. All committee members for both candidacy and doctoral committees should normally be voting members of the Academic Senate of the Irvine, Riverside, or San Diego divisions. Any exceptions must hold a Ph.D., be qualified for a UC faculty appointment, and be supported by a memo of justification and a CV submitted by the graduate advisor to the graduate dean for approval at least two weeks prior to an exam. The qualifying examinations include written examinations and a final oral examination:

    a. Greek and Latin translation (three hours each)

    b. Greek and Roman history (two hours each)

    c. History of Greek and Roman literature (three hours)

    d. A "special area" that can be fulfilled by either an extensive research paper or a three-hour written exam

    e. Oral examination to be administered by the candidacy committee and taken only after the other exams have been passed (two hours: one hour general knowledge and one hour special-area exam paper or research paper)

These exams are based on the Tri-Campus Reading Lists and should be completed by the end of the fourth year. The exams on Greek and Roman history are based on up to six books each, three prescribed on the reading list for this exam and up to three agreed to by the student and graduate advisor. The exam on the history of Greek and Roman literature is based on the Greek and Latin Reading Lists and the books prescribed on the reading list for this exam. Students are expected to read, in the original, all works on the Greek and Latin Reading Lists, whether or not they have appeared in courses. (Students may negotiate with the graduate advisor substitutions on the Greek and Latin Reading Lists comprising up to twenty percent of their total length in order to accommodate the particular interests of the individual student.) Upon successful completion of the written examinations the oral exam will be scheduled. Students failing segments of the qualifying exams may normally retake those sections only once after the interval of one quarter or the summer break, as the case may be. Students may retake segments of the qualifying exams more than once only at the discretion of the JEC. A grade of "pass" in all examinations is required for admission to candidacy.

Thesis and Defense for the M.A.

The master’s paper comprises a substantial piece of original research. It should exceed the breadth and depth expected for a seminar paper, which can provide a good foundation for the master’s paper. The master’s paper must be submitted to members of the master’s committee three weeks in advance of the general exam.
If the master’s paper is found to be of passing quality by the committee, the student may take the general exam, a one-hour oral exam covering the broader implications of the master’s paper and the classical world generally.

Thesis and Defense for the Ph.D.

When the student has advanced to candidacy, the JEC—in consultation with the candidate, the graduate advisor, and the proposed chair of the doctoral committee—will recommend to the Dean of the Graduate Division a doctoral committee composed of at least three program faculty (from at least two of the three campuses) and one outside member who holds tenure at one of the participating campuses. The doctoral committee will serve as the examination committee for the thesis defense. Within the first quarter after completion of the qualifying exams and all other prerequisites, the candidate will submit a dissertation proposal for discussion and evaluation to the doctoral committee.

A public oral defense of the dissertation will be scheduled upon its submission to the doctoral committee. Members of the committee must be supplied with a copy of the dissertation at least three weeks before the exam date.

The Emphasis in Comparative Literature

Course Work

For the emphasis in comparative literature, students must take at least five graduate courses in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. One course should be Criticism 222A or C, or Comparative Literature 200. At least three of the courses should have a Comparative Literature designation. One of the courses could be Humanities 270 (Critical Theory). Classics students can devote the required outside seminars to this emphasis and may, with the graduate advisor’s approval, make appropriate substitutions of courses.

Qualifying Exams

One topic on the Ph.D. qualifying examination must be on a comparative literature topic and should be prepared with a professor from the Comparative Literature Program who would serve as a member of the student’s exam committee. The student should be able to demonstrate some expertise in comparative critical methodologies as well as knowledge of a literature and tradition other than classics. Normally classics students will fulfill this requirement by selecting the research-paper option for the oral-exam stage of the qualifying examinations.

Dissertation

One member of the student’s doctoral committee must be from the Program in Comparative Literature.
Students must submit an application for the emphasis to the graduate advisor in classics , and the department will track the students’ progress and fulfillment of the emphasis requirements. Upon graduation, students will receive a letter from the graduate advisor certifying completion of the emphasis.

Attendance at Colloquia and other Departmental Activities

Seminars, colloquia, and other activities of interest to classics graduate students are organized regularly by the Tri-Campus Graduate Program. Since these activities are considered part of the student’s professional training, all students are required to attend them. Students are also urged to acquaint themselves with colloquia offered in other fields.

Support for Graduate Students

A variety of fellowships and teaching assistantships is available to classics graduate students on a competitive basis. They include Chancellor's Fellowships, Regents' Fellowships, and Dissertation Fellowships, as well as the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae Fellowship. Several teaching and research assistantships are also available, and provide a stipend in addition to tuition and fees. Some fourth- and fifth-year teaching assistantships are held at UC Riverside and UCSD. Continuation of support is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. Support from various sources is normally extended to students in good standing for up to six years.

Resources of the Tri-Campus Program

The Department of Classics at UC Irvine, which is the administrative center of the Tri-Campus Program, is housed in pleasant quarters in Humanities Office Building 2. Tri-Campus graduate students avail themselves of

For further information and an online application to the program, please see the Tri-Campus Program’s Web site at http://www.hnet.uci.edu/classics/tricampus/.

Andrew Zissos
Program Graduate Advisor
Department of Classics
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2000
(949) 824-6735
E-mail: tricampus-classics@uci.edu
Fax: (949) 824-1966