MA Degree Requirements
The following are the requirements for the degree. Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies for more information.
During their first semester in the program, students are required to demonstrate their proficiency in reading Latin or Latin and Greek well enough to pursue course work at the graduate level by receiving a grade of “B” or better in a course at either the 400 or 600 level in the relevant language(s). Although students ordinarily advance to the 600 level of language study after receiving a grade of “B” or better in a course at the 400 level, the determination of a student’s level of linguistic proficiency is at the discretion of the individual instructor. All courses to be accepted for degree credit must be approved by the graduate advisor.
All degree candidates are required to take Latin 472/672, The Historical Development of the Latin Language. Students concentrating in both Latin and Greek are also required to take Greek 472/672, The History and Development of the Greek Language.
27 additional credits are required by all students to complete their degree. Students fulfill this requirement by usually taking graduate seminars in Latin and Greek that focus on individual authors and literary genres. In recent years, these courses have included Homer, Greek tragedy and comedy, and Herodotus and Thucydides on the Greek side, and on the Latin side Lucretius, Lucan, Seneca, Catullus and Roman elegy, Ovid, Roman historiography, Roman satire, and Vergil. Students also have the option of taking a limited number of courses outside Latin and Greek to complete this requirement: two if on the Latin track, and one if on the Greek and Latin track. We also recommend students take our course on Latin pedagogy, which pairs students with experienced Latin teacher-mentors and includes units on learning styles, standards for Latin teacher certification, and the incorporation of Greek and Roman culture and gendered perspectives in the classroom.
In 2021, the Department revised the assessments required for the M.A. degree. The new assessments, described briefly below, are designed to test and hone skills developed in the course of the program.
Self-Assessment
Students will be asked to provide a self-assessment about their progress in our MA program at the end of their first year.
Commentary
Students will write a commentary on a passage of Latin (or Greek or Latin if on the dual language track) from a major author. They will have the option of completing this requirement as a final project in one of their graduate seminars.
Research Paper (and Proposal)
It is normal practice that students complete a research paper in each of their graduate courses. Students will be asked to choose one of these papers that best reflects their fields of interest. This field can be, for instance, literature, art and archaeology, gender studies, the reception of the classics, etc.
Once students have chosen a paper, and before they begin to write, they will submit a proposal explaining how they will revise your paper. Students will be asked to further develop their work with additional research.
Research Conference
Students will present their papers in a research conference at the end of their second year. Presentations will be about 20 minutes long (a common length at professional conferences), and will be followed by questions from the audience of faculty, other students, and guests. The conference is intended to promote research skills and also to celebrate the end of the students’ graduate program.
In 2023, the Department of Classics adopted the following statement regarding the mentoring of graduate students in our MA program:
Statement of Expectations for Graduate Student Mentoring
(Last updated 2/3/2023)
I. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Classics acknowledges that mentoring and advising are essential components of graduate education. We have thus established the following mentoring guidelines, with the purpose of providing transparency for both graduate students and faculty regarding what is expected from them in the process. These guidelines, written in consultation with faculty and graduate students in the fall of 2022, should be understood to be a work-in-progress; they will be revised at the start of each academic year in the future as the mentoring needs of the department change.
II. MENTORING IN THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Classics has a unique situation when it comes to mentoring. The nature of our graduate assistantships and MA assessments requires that mentoring be shared among the members of the graduate faculty, for the following reasons:
- Graduate students serve as Graduate Assistants (GAs) for a number of faculty members. This is the reason, for instance, why usually all faculty participate in the orientation session for new graduate assistants.
- Graduate students complete their two major MA assignments, a commentary and research paper, under the supervision of different faculty members. This is because these assignments are based on coursework they did for different graduate seminars. Likewise, all faculty participate in the final MA assignment, which is a research conference, where they give feedback to the students.
The small size of our department allows faculty and graduate students to interact on an almost daily basis. The department traditionally has adopted an open-door policy for students to approach any faculty member for mentoring or consultation regarding not only the GAship and MA requirements and academic progress, but also guidance concerning professional development and future career plans.
In order to provide more support for our MA students, each student will be assigned, at the start of the fall semester, a mentor for the academic year. Mentors will meet with their mentees regularly, at least once a month, to touch base concerning their academic progress in our program and provide guidance regarding research and professional opportunities. We initially plan to assign first-year students to mentors who share some of their research interests, and second-year students to those mentors under whose supervision they will be working on their final MA research project.
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will be the point of contact for mentorship. The DGS will consult with other faculty and with graduate students to assign GA duties and mentors. The DGS will also assist students in choosing mentors they would like to work with, or in changing mentors if the need arises. If the students and the DGS disagree about an arrangement, the Chair of the Department will assist.
III. KEY VALUES and GOALS
● Respect. Both mentors and mentees should respect each other’s time, research, experience, and professional goals. Mentors are an important source of advice and guidance, but it is also important that they respect the mentees’ independence, experience, and autonomy. This is particularly important regarding issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
● Communication. The mentor and mentee should have continuous discussions about their expectations so that these are always clear. It is also important to maintain ongoing communication between mentors and mentees, including clear timelines for feedback.
● Professional behavior. All parties will be professional in their interactions with each other.
● Community. An important part of graduate student advising and mentoring is fostering a community regarding research and teaching, which includes but also goes beyond the graduate seminars and the courses for which the students do GA duties, to include talks, lectures, colloquia, orientation sessions, and other research- and teaching-oriented events.
IV. GUIDELINES
The following guidelines are meant to facilitate a productive mentor-mentee relationship.
A. FACULTY
1. Clear, timely, and ongoing communication: make sure to respond in a timely and consistent manner to graduate students when answering emails and providing oral or written feedback on their coursework, research, and teaching. Faculty should have a conversation with students regarding what counts as a timely response. Likewise, have frequent conversations about coursework, teaching, department environment, and professional opportunities in general.
2. Get to know your student’s goals, as well as educational experiences and preferences on mentoring. Graduate students in our department for the most part have been traditionally interested in two professional tracks – teaching careers and ongoing graduate study in Classics – but note that some have gone on to other fields.
3. Treat students with respect. Graduate students should be treated as junior scholars in the profession. Mentors are an important source of advice and guidance, but it is also important that they respect the mentees’ independence and autonomy.
4. Understand challenges related to diversity. Students from underrepresented groups face a number of additional challenges in graduate school and in the academy more generally. Faculty should actively seek to understand these experiences by availing themselves of university resources, such as the ones made available by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
5. Understand challenges related to Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) accommodations as well. Alert your mentee that they can request such accommodations from ADS.
6. Share your experiences. Discuss your own career trajectory and research projects and how you have overcome barriers or challenges. Share information about faculty duties beyond research and teaching, such as professional service, applying for fellowships, and participating in professional conferences.
7. Be aware of university policies and resources. Faculty should have a basic knowledge of the program requirements and the resources that are made available by the university to students.
● Information on the requirements can be found on the ELMS website for the Classics MA Assessment, and on this website (see above).
● Some useful university resources include the Graduate School Policies, the Counseling Center, and the Teaching & Learning Transformation Center.
● Note that the Graduate School also provides Professional and Career Development Services.
8. Provide GAs with clear understanding about the expectations of their work as teaching assistants. In the orientation period in the fall semester, or in the first week of class in the spring semester, meet with your GAs to go over and fill out the Graduate School’s Statement of Mutual Expectations for Graduate Assistants and Supervisors.
9. Reflect on mentoring. Stay sensitive to the power imbalance in the advisor-student relationship. It is helpful for faculty to reflect on their own experiences with their mentors and what works for them as a mentor. Consider these questions: What kind of mentoring did you receive, and what did you find most (or least) useful about it? What mentoring activities helped you to progress to your degree? What mentorship activities were most useful in preparing you for academia?
B. GRADUATE STUDENTS
1. Clear, timely, and ongoing communication: make sure to respond in a timely and consistent manner to faculty and mentors. Likewise, take the initiative and keep in touch with your mentors, particularly when it comes to your regular meetings during the semester. If you need recommendation letters or similar modes of support from your mentors, make sure you contact them as early as you can – preferably more than a month before the deadline – so they have sufficient time to provide you that support.
2. Approach the mentoring relationship as a professional.
3. Treat faculty with respect. Just as mentors have a responsibility to treat their mentees with respect, students must also interact with them in a respectful and professional manner. Make sure to respect your mentor’s time in particular.
4. Respond to feedback in a constructive manner. It is essential that students recognize that mentors are offering constructive criticism to improve their work. Students should welcome such feedback with an open mind.
5. Be engaged. Attend the talks, lectures, workshops, colloquia, orientation sessions, etc. that are organized by the department. These events are an integral part of the mentoring process: they are organized in part to expose students to different ways of doing research in different fields; they also allow students to meet, converse with, and learn from scholars in other institutions, which may provide opportunities for networking. Orientation sessions and GA meetings are also designed for you to interact with more senior students, who can also share their experiences and offer feedback on teaching.
6. Remember that you can choose different faculty mentors to guide your work on each of the MA requirements. Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies as well as your prospective mentors to make a decision. If you want to switch mentors, consult with the DGS, who will assist you in finding a new one. If the student and the DGS disagree about an arrangement, consult with the Chair of the Department.
7. Make use of your mentorship network. The opportunity to have several mentors allows you to access a group of people whose varied research and professional experiences can be of help for your academic and professional career.
8. Students should recognize that they are ultimately responsible for their progress in the program. Mentors play an important role in facilitating that progress and development, but responsibility ultimately lies with the mentees to ensure that they are identifying and seeking out the support they need.