V. EMPHASIS IN ANCIENT HISTORY

Matter in Section V pertains only to those students emphasizing ancient history.

Basic Requirements

The degree requires 33 units of graduate-level work (5XX), distributed as follows:

1. All entering graduate students must enroll in CLAS 510A, the basic proseminar in philological, archaeological, and pedagogical methods.

2. 30 units must be taken from CLAS/HIST (i.e., cross-listed as CLAS), GRK, LAT courses at the 5xx level (including CLAS 510A and at least 6 units of CLAS 596).             

3. 3 units--and no more than 3 units--of CLAS 910 must be counted toward the basic 33 units.

Before enrolling in a CLAS 596 seminar, students must have demonstrated research proficiency in a modern foreign language, following the procedures specified below.

Before earning permission to undertake the M.A. thesis, students must pass the Modern Language, Qualifying, and Comprehensive Examinations.

GRK and LAT (Classical Language) Requirements

As in the case of the archaeology emphasis, students concentrating in ancient history are required to demonstrate 5xx level competence in one language and 4xx level competence in the other. They will do so by earning a B or higher in either GRK 530 (Greek Historians) or LAT 526 (Roman Historians), and must also demonstrate 4xx competence in the other language by receiving a B or higher in GRK 430 or LAT 426. Students with insufficient training in the languages must enroll, as required in writing at the time of admission, in GRK/LAT 1XX or 2XX or LAT 400, and earn a grade of B or higher; they may not audit these courses or take them pass/fail.

Modern Language

This requirement is identical for students emphasizing ancient history, archaeology, philology, or pedagogy. Research proficiency in French, German, or Italian is required for the M.A. degree. Modern language examinations will be administered by the Department of Classics and will follow a uniform format. Students will be given a passage from a scholarly work in the field of classical studies and asked to translate it within one hour. Dictionaries are allowed.

Students can also satisfy the requirement by completing German 500 with a grade of B or higher (and thus need not take the departmental exam). Students who do not fulfill the modern language examination requirement by the end of the first year of study will not be allowed to continue to take graduate courses in the program and will be ineligible for financial support.

Qualifying Examination

For the Qualifying Examination in Greek and Roman History, see Appendix F. The examination will be given once each semester, in the sixth week. It will be administered only in the fall and spring semesters, not at any time during the summer.

Grading of the Qualifying Examination

Grading is on the basis of High Pass, Pass, and No Pass. At least two members of the Department of Classics faculty will grade the examinations; in the event of a disagreement about an examination, the Director of Graduate Studies will ask a third faculty member to arbitrate.  The exams will be graded and the results reported to students within two weeks of the examination date.

If failed, the exam may be retaken in the sixth week of the following semester. Students must pass the examination by their third semester of residence after they have begun taking courses for graduate credit in the history emphasis. Students who do not pass the Qualifying Exam within the prescribed timeline may not continue in the M.A.program.

Comprehensive Examinations

Comprehensive Examinations are normally taken in the semester immediately after the Qualifying Examination has been passed. They will be administered only in the fall and spring semesters, not at any time during the summer. Students must have previously passed the Modern Language and Qualifying Examinations in order to attempt the Comprehensive Examination.   

It is the students’ responsibility, prior to taking the Comprehensive Examination, to prepare a Master's Degree Program of Study form, known as the "degree check," to submit it to the Director of Graduate Studies for his or her signature, and to see that it is routed to the Graduate School with the assistance of the departmental Administrative Assistant.

The Comprehensive Examinations are three in number. They will be administered over a period of three days (unless a weekend intervenes), during sessions of three hours each. The sequence and emphases of the examinations may be determined by the student in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. The nature of the examinations is as follows:

• Students should inform the Director of Graduate Studies of their intention to take the exams, preferably in the semester before the Comprehensive Examinations are to be taken, but no later than the end of the first week of the examination semester. At that time students will consult with the Director of Graduate Studies regarding eight possible topics for the exams in both Greek and Roman history. Both sets of the eight topics must conform to the following guidelines:
  
  (1) TWO must treat a historian and his extant works, i.e. the historian and his approach to historiography;
  (2)  THREE must diachronically treat a theme or institution;
  (3)  TWO must focus on a specific historical event;
  (4)  ONE additional topic must somehow engage an auxiliary discipline, i.e. archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, papyrology.
  
  
• The Director of Graduate Studies will refer students to faculty members in accordance with their expertise regarding specific topics. Students planning to take the exam must then submit a written schedule of preparation for each particular topic, including dates of submission of preliminary and revised bibliographies, to the faculty members serving as consultants for the exam. Students must also supply the Director of Graduate Studies with a list of these topics and copies of the preparation schedule for each examination, preferably in the semester before the Comprehensive Examination is to be taken, but no later than the end of the first week of the semester in which the examinations are to be taken. Using both relevant primary and secondary sources, students will prepare the eight topics for each examination. Students must also inform the Director of Graduate Studies of their choice for the third component of the Comprehensive Examinations (see No. 3 immediately below) and follow the relevant procedure to prepare for that exam.
  
  1. One examination will be devoted to Greek history (3 hours). The Director of Graduate Studies, after further consultation with students and involved faculty members, will compose an exam consisting of five essay questions based on the eight agreed upon topics.
  2. One examination will be devoted to Roman history (3 hours). The Director of Graduate Studies, after further consultation with students and involved faculty members, will compose an exam consisting of five essay questions based on the eight agreed upon topics.
  3. One Examination of the student’s choosing is to be taken in one of the following areas (3 hours): Greek archaeology, Roman archaeology, Greek literature, Roman literature. For the nature of these examinations, see the relevant sections of this guide for the emphases in Classical Archaeology and Classical Philology.
  

Grading of the Comprehensive Examinations

Grading is on the basis of High Pass, Pass, and No Pass.

The student must obtain at least a "Pass" in each section of the examination. Failure to pass one part of the exam will necessitate the retaking of the failed portion of the exam in that same semester at a time (normally within two weeks of the failed exam) to be determined in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who fail two or all three parts of the examination will retake the entire Comprehensive Examination in the sixth week of the following semester. A second failure on any part of the Comprehensive Examination will result in the student’s termination from the graduate program. At least two faculty members, normally one from the Department of History and one from the Department of Classics, will grade the examinations; in the event of a disagreement about an examination, the Director of Graduate Studies will ask a third faculty member to arbitrate. The exams will be graded and the results reported to students within two weeks of the examination date.

Next: Emphasis in Latin Pedagogy

INDEX

Preliminary Remarks

Sections:

Appendices:

1. Worksheet: Classical Archaeology Emphasis
2. Worksheet: Classical Philology Emphasis
3. Reading List: Comprehensive Examination (Archaeology)
4. Reading List: Qualifying Examinations (Philology)
5. Short Literary Identifications (Philology)
6. Ancient History Comprehensive Examination
7. Ph.D. Students Wanting the M.A. (Archaeology)
8. Ph.D. Students Wanting the M.A. (Philology)
9. Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students in Residence
10. Thesis Worksheet
11. Worksheet: Ancient History Emphasis
12. Worksheet: Latin Pedagogy Emphasis
13. Style Sheet for Graduate Seminar Papers and Theses
14. Guide for Course Handouts and PowerPoint Presentations
15. Check List for Submitting a Final Paper

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Last modified: 18 January, 2008