Course Requirements

A minimum of eight courses (32 credits) is required for an MA in Classical Studies. The requirements are as follows:

• CL 563 Greek Prose Composition or CL 530 Latin Prose Composition
• seven additional courses at or above the 500 level offered in the Department of Classical Studies or related departments (with advisor approval).

Students typically concentrate in either Latin or Greek. One course in Greek or Roman art or archaeology is recommended. Students who wish to take more than two courses from related departments must receive approval from the director of graduate studies.

Language Requirements—Modern

Proficiency in German or French must be demonstrated by written examination. With the consent of the department, another language may be substituted.

Comprehensive Examinations

Candidates must demonstrate, by written examination, proficiency in the following:

1. the translation of passages from either Greek or Latin
2. the history of either Greek or Latin literature

At the student’s request and with the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, the history of literature exams may be taken as oral examinations.

Students interested in certification to teach Latin at the high school level should refer to the “Master of Arts in Teaching Latin and Classical Humanities” section immediately following the PhD requirements.

Course Requirements

Students admitted directly to the PhD program without previous graduate study (postbachelor’s PhD) must take a minimum of sixteen courses (64 credits), preferably over a period of five or six semesters. Students entering with an MA or the equivalent in classics may be admitted with advanced standing to the post-master’s PhD Program. Candidates admitted to this program are required to take eight to twelve courses (32–48 credits), preferably over a period of three to four semesters. The exact number of courses required depends on how closely the student’s prior work parallels the PhD course requirements at Boston University.

The PhD course requirements are as follows:

• CAS CL 530 Latin Prose Composition
• CAS CL 563 Greek Prose Composition
• Postbachelor’s PhD students must take an additional 14 courses at or above the 500 level offered by the Department of Classical Studies or related departments (with advisor approval). One course in Greek or Roman art or archaeology is required.
• Post-master’s PhD students must take an additional six to ten courses at or above the 500 level offered by the Department of Classical Studies or related departments (with advisor approval). One course in Greek or Roman art or archaeology is required.

Language Requirements—Modern

Proficiency in German and French must be demonstrated by written examination. With the consent of the department, another language may be substituted for French.

Comprehensive Examinations

Candidates must demonstrate, by written examination, proficiency in the following:

1. the translation of passages from Greek authors
2. the translation of passages from Latin authors
3. the history of Greek literature
4. the history of Latin literature
5. the history of Greece and Rome (Completion of a graduate course in ancient history may also be used to satisfy this requirement.)
6. a special topic or author in an area of study different from that chosen for the doctoral thesis.

At the student’s request and with the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, the special topic/author and the history of literature exams may be taken as oral examinations.

Dissertation Outline/Proposal/Prospectus

Candidates shall select the subject of their dissertation with their advisor. A PhD prospectus is then prepared and presented for departmental approval. The prospectus should be a detailed outline of the subject matter of the dissertation and its methodology, with a bibliography and a clear indication of the dissertation’s originality and contribution to scholarship. Further details of the preparation of the prospectus are contained in the Graduate School procedures for the PhD Dissertation Outline/Proposal/Prospectus, given elsewhere in this bulletin.

Dissertation and Final Oral Exam

The dissertation, on a subject approved by the candidate’s advisor and the department, must demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct original research and creative scholarship. The candidate must offer an oral defense of the dissertation and demonstrate a mastery of the subject with which the research is concerned. The examining committee is composed of at least five Graduate School faculty members selected by the department.

Master of Arts in Teaching Latin and Classical Humanities

Program Overview

The Department of Classical Studies and the School of Education at Boston University offer graduate studies leading to the Master of Arts degree in Secondary Teaching in Latin and Classical Humanities (MAT). The program is designed to prepare candidates for teaching careers in secondary schools, grades 9–12. After completion of this twelve-month program and after successful completion of the Massachusetts Educator Certification Tests (Literacy and Latin), graduates meet Massachusetts’s new teacher certification standards, and, according to the Interstate Certification Compact, may be certified in approximately thirty-eight other states.

Admission

Application and admission are processed through the School of Education. Interested applicants should have a BA degree with a strong background in Latin. Upon application, applicants should have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in the major field of study, and a 2.7 or better in the overall undergraduate course of study (based on a four-point scale). Applicants must take either the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Two letters of recommendation are required, one of which must be from a professor of classics. The program is open to those who are currently teaching Latin and desire MAT certification. Inquiries regarding application and admission should be directed to the School of Education, MAT Coordinator, 605 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215.

Program Requirements

A minimum of ten courses are required to complete the program. The Department of Classical Studies requires candidates to complete the following:

• two Latin courses at or above the 500 level
• one course in Roman history
• one course from the related fields of archaeology, art history, mythology, philosophy, or religion
• a written examination testing proficiency in Latin translation
• a written examination testing proficiency in the history of Latin literature
• a written examination testing proficiency in ancient Greek, or one semester of ancient Greek at the university level

Contact Professor Patricia Larash for more information regarding these requirements.

Specific information concerning courses required in the School of Education can be obtained by consulting the School of Education bulletin. Fieldwork and student teaching in Boston-area schools will be arranged through the School of Education.

Contact the School of Education for more information regarding these courses.

Special Programs and Facilities

Institute for the Classical Tradition

Boston University is the home of the Institute for the Classical Tradition, which fosters research and teaching in the field of the influence of Greek and Roman antiquity on other cultures. The institute is the base of the International Society for the Classical Tradition and of the encyclopedic Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt (ANRW). The institute also publishes the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT).

Journals

Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, The International Journal of the Classical Tradition, The Journal of Field Archaeology, and The American Journal of Archaeology are edited at Boston University.

Graduate School Consortium

Qualified students may enroll for courses at participating universities in the Boston Area Graduate School Consortium. Participating colleges are Brandeis University, Boston College, and Tufts University. Arrangements may be made on an individual basis with other institutions in the area.

Arrowsmith/Lindsay Library

The department maintains a reading-room library that includes a collection of texts from the estate of Professor William Arrowsmith. The collection is made up of Greek and Latin texts, basic reference works, and a variety of related materials. The remainder of the classical collection is housed in the University’s Mugar Library.

Computer Resources

The department has Macintosh computer systems designated for graduate research. These systems support several word processing programs for ancient languages and the following databases are available: the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae database of Greek texts; the PHI database of Latin texts; and the DYABOLA catalog of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome. From the department computers, students also have access to online library catalogs, and electronic research sites, email, and the Internet through the University Computer Network.

Museum of Fine Arts

Qualified students may apply for admission to courses of study at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. For further information, consult the Director of Graduate Studies of the Department of Classical Studies.

Courses

Consult the Class Schedule for an updated listing of courses offered 2010/2011.

• GRS CL 699 Teaching College Classical Studies I

Classical Civilization

• CAS CL 560 Studies in Ancient Greek History: The Athenian Empire
• GRS CL 705 Topics in Mythology
• GRS CL 710 The Classical Tradition in Modern Literature
• GRS CL 717 Greek and Roman Religion

Greek Language and Literature

• CAS CL 502 Studies in Ancient Greek and Roman Literature
• CAS CL 561 Survey of Greek Literature I
• CAS CL 562 Survey of Greek Literature II
• CAS CL 563 Greek Prose Composition
• GRS CL 724  Greek Drama
• GRS CL 761 Greek Orators
• GRS CL 762 Sophocles
• GRS CL 763 Hellenistic Poetry
• GRS CL 767 Ancient Greek Epic: Homer
• GRS CL 773 Euripides
• GRS CL 791 Greek Seminar
• GRS CL 792 Studies in Greek Comedy: Aristophanes
• GRS CL 794 Thucydides
• GRS CL 795 Early Greek Prose

Latin Language and Literature

• CAS CL 520 Studies in Latin Literature: Epistolography
• CAS CL 521 Survey of Latin Literature I
• CAS CL 522 Survey of Latin Literature II
• CAS CL 525 Studies in the Augustan Age
• CAS CL 530 Latin Prose Composition
• GRS CL 720 Latin Seminar
• GRS CL 730 Roman Novel
• GRS CL 731 Studies in Latin Epic Poetry
• GRS CL 733 Ovid and His Influence
• GRS CL 738 Studies in Cicero
• GRS CL 751 Studies in the Augustan Age
• GRS CL 993 Proseminar I
• GRS CL 994 Proseminar II

Reading Courses in Latin and Ancient Greek

• GRS CL 621 Reading Latin for Graduate Students
• GRS CL 665 Reading Ancient Greek for Graduate Students