MA in Classics
The master's program in classics at Tufts is designed for students who wish to go beyond the bachelor's level to attain a broader and deeper knowledge of the classics for one or more of the following purposes: teaching, further graduate study, digital technology, or publishing. With its strong language component and faculty strength in literature, history, archaeology, and digital humanities, this program particularly suits those who want either to consolidate and improve their language, research, and teaching skills in preparation for a PhD degree at another institution or to teach classics at the secondary level.
Below are requirements and policies for three possible tracks to the MA in Classics degree:
- MA in Classics: Students in this program usually have an undergraduate degree in Classical Studies or a related discipline. Typically a two or three year program.
- MA in Classics 5th year: Designed for Tufts students with an undergraduate degree in Classics and a high level of experience in Greek and Latin.
- MA in Classics with Integrated Post-bacc: A three-year program designed for students wishing to pursue a graduate degree in classics, but who started classics late in their undergraduate career or did not have the opportunity to master Greek and Latin and other areas of classics.
Office of Graduate Admissions
We invite you to learn more about this program.
MA in Classics
Program Requirements and Policies
10 courses (30 credits)
LANGUAGES
During the Master’s program, each student will have to take a total of (at least) 4 Language courses:
- Two 100 level courses in Latin (Latin 120 does count as a 100-level course)
- Two 100 level courses in Greek (Greek 111, 112, 113 do not count as a 100 level course)
Nota Bene: The student may choose to take THREE 100-level courses in one Language and ONE 100-level course in the other
LANGUAGE EXAM
The student can select to take their language exam in either Latin or Greek. Prior to the language exam, the student will take either Latin 132 or Greek 131. If the student chooses the Latin exam, they will have to take Latin 132, if the student wishes to take the Greek exam, they will have to take Greek 131
The other SIX (100-level courses) courses may be chosen among courses classified as follows: LAT, GRK, CLS, ARCH, HIST, REL, DH, PHIL.
THESIS or QPS
Before graduating, the student is required to defend a thesis or 2 qualifying papers (QPS).
Timeline for the Thesis
Sept. 15. Prospectus and Bibliography presented to the entire thesis committee
Dec. 1. Chapter 1 presented to the entire thesis committee. A grade of A- or above will allow the student to complete the thesis. A vote below A- will require to turn the thesis into a QP.
The student will be asked to meet bimonthly with the advisors until the defense
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
Before graduating the student will pass a comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam will comprise:
- Ids (from list given to students)
- Commentary on one Latin and one Greek passage
- Essay question
To prepare for the Comprehensive the student will need to read the Reading List (see below)
MODERN LANGUAGE
Before graduating, the student will need to pass modern Language exam (Usually French, German, or Italian. Other languages will be accepted in consultation with the advisor. Among them, a student’s native language)
READING LIST
| In the Original | |
| Aeschylus | Eumenides |
| Christian Scripture | John 1-3 |
| Euripides | Bacchae |
| Herodotus | Hist. 1.1-13, 1.29-33, 1.46-56, 1.79-89, 1.107-140, 1.141, 1.152-3, 1.204-216 |
| Hesiod | Theogony; Works and Days |
| Homer | Iliad 22, Odyssey 9 |
| Lucian | True History, Book 1 |
| Lysias | On the Murder of Erastosthenes |
| Plato | Apology |
| Sappho | 1, 16, 31 + the 2 new poems |
| Sophocles | Ajax |
| Thucydides | Selections from narrative and speeches |
| Apuleius | Metamorphoses, 4.28.1-4.35; 5.26; 6.9-6.24 |
| Catullus | Carmina, 1-16, 23, 29, 64, 68, 85, 86, 88, 93, 99, 101, 116 |
| Cicero | In Catilinam 1 |
| Horace | Satires 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, Odes 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 1.22, 1.37, 1.38 |
| Juvenal | Satire 3 |
| Livy | Ab Urbe Condita Libri, 22.37-61 |
| Lucan | Pharsalia, Book 1 |
| Lucretius | De Rerum Natura, 1.1-369; 2.216-224; 251-271; 3.1-30, 136-160; 4.1058-1169; 5.772-836; 6.1138-1286 |
| Petronius | Satyricon, 12-15, 26-33, 41-49, 61-64, 71-78, 111-112 |
| Plautus | Casina |
| Pliny | Letters, 1.1, 3.21, 5.9, 6.16, 6.20, 9.6, 10.96-97 |
| Ovid | Amores 1 |
| Vergil | Aeneid 1 |
| In Translation | |
| Aristophanes | Frogs, Clouds |
| Aristotle | Poetics |
| Demosthenes | On the Crown |
| Euripides | Medea, Bacchae |
| Herodotus | Histories, 1, 3.61-89, 4.42-45, 4.59-82, 4.118-142, 5.30-38, 5.49-54, 5.97-107,6.1-20, 6.42-43, 6.94-117, 7, 8.1-110, 9.122 |
| Homer | Iliad and Odyssey |
| Longus | Daphnis and Chloe |
| Pindar | Olympian Ode 1, Pythian Ode 10 |
| Plato | Apology, Symposium |
| Plutarch | On the Daimonion of Socrates |
| Sophocles | Oedipus Tyrannus, Antigone, Ajax |
| Thucydides | History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.1-1.23, 1.56-1.88, 1.139-1.146; 2.34-2.65; 3.36-3.50, 3.69-3.85; 5.13-5.26, 5.84-5.116; 6.8-6.41; 7.1-7.18, 7.42-7.59, 7.72-7.87 |
| Cicero | In Catilinam 1-4 |
| Horace | Satires 1, Odes 1, Ars Poetica |
| Juvenal | Satires |
| Lucretius | De Rerum Natura, 1, 2, 3, 4 (1058-1287), 5 (772-1457), 6 (1-42; 1090-1286) |
| Livy | Ab Urbe Condita Libri, 1-5, 21-22, 30 |
| Ovid | Metamorphoses |
| Propertius | Book 1 |
| Quintilian | Institutio Oratoria, 10 |
| Seneca | Medea, Thyestes, Apocolocyntosis |
| Tacitus | Annales |
| Terence | Heautontimorumenos, Andria |
| Vergil | Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid |
Students preparing for Comprehensive should be familiar with the following textbooks:
Latin Literature—Gian-Biagio Conte—Latin Literature: A History. John Hopkins University Press 1999
Greek Literature--Tim Whitmarsh’s book, Ancient Greek Literature. Cambridge Polity Press, 2004. Cambridge History of Classical Literature; Oliver Taplin -Literature in the Greek World. OUP 2001
Greek History - Ian Morris and Barry B. Powell, The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society . Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2006
Roman History -- Boatwright, Mary, T. et al. A Brief History of the Romans. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (2nd Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2013.