Matter in Section III pertains only to those students emphasizing Ancient History.

Basic Requirements

The degree requires 33 units of graduate-level work, distributed as follows:

1. 1. All entering graduate students must enroll in CLAS 510A, 3 units, the basic proseminar in philological, archaeological, and pedagogical methods.
2. 21 units must be taken from CLAS/HIST (i.e., cross-listed as CLAS), GRK, or LAT courses at the 5xx level.
3. 6 units of CLAS 596, the Classics graduate seminar, preferably, or HIST 695 or 696, the History graduate seminar
4. No more than 3 units of graduate-level independent study credit may be counted toward the degree.
5. 3 units-and no more than 3 units-of CLAS 910, thesis writing, must be counted toward the basic 33 units.

Before enrolling in CLAS 596, students must have demonstrated reading 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
Students concentrating in Ancient History must demonstrate 5xx-level competency in one ancient language by earning a B or higher in either GRK 530 (Greek Historians) or LAT 526 (Roman Historians), or in an approved equivalent. They must also demonstrate 4xx competency in the other language by receiving a B or higher in GRK 430 or LAT 426, or in an approved equivalent. Students with insufficient training in the languages must enroll, as required in writing at the time of admission, in GRK or 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
Students in all four emphases must demonstrate reading proficiency in French, German, or Italian. Modern language examinations are administered by the department at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, and at the end of the spring semester, according to a uniform format: students must translate a passage from a scholarly work in the field of classical studies within one hour. Dictionaries are allowed.

Students may satisfy this 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 their second semester of graduate residence will not be allowed to continue in the program until the requirement is fulfilled, and will be ineligible for financial aid or any other form of departmental support.

Qualifying Examination
For the qualifying examination in Greek and Roman History, see Appendix E. 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. Two Classics faculty will grade the examination; in the event of a disagreement about the examination, the Director of Graduate Studies will ask a third faculty member to arbitrate.  The exam 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 may take the Qualifying Examination up to three times, and they must pass the examination by their third semester of residence after they have begun taking courses for graduate credit in the Ancient History emphasis. Students who do not pass the Qualifying Examination within the prescribed timeline may not continue in the M.A. program.

Comprehensive Examinations
Comprehensive Examinations are normally taken in the semester after the Qualifying Examination has been passed. They are 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 student's responsibility, prior to taking the Comprehensive Examinations, 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 make sure that it is routed to the Graduate School with the assistance of the departmental Graduate Secretary.

The Comprehensive Examinations are three in number and are administered over a period of three successive days, during sessions of three hours each. All examinations of the same type will be scheduled at the same time; i.e., all Greek History exams at the same time, all Roman Archaeology exams at the same time, etc. No separate times will be scheduled for individual exams.

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.

• Students in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies will determine the emphases of the examinations. They will identify eight possible topics for each of the exams in Greek and Roman history. The Director of Graduate Studies will refer students to faculty members in accordance with their expertise regarding specific topics.
• Each set of eight topics must include representation from each one ofthe following areas:
  1. a historian and his extant works, i.e. the historian and his approach to historiography;
  2. diachronic treatment of a theme or institution;
  3. a specific historical event;
  4. engagement with an auxiliary discipline, i.e. archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, papyrology.
• Students planning to take the exam must submit to the faculty members serving as consultants for the exam a written schedule of preparation for each particular topic, including dates for submission of preliminary and revised bibliographies. 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 Examinations are 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 consultation with the student and involved faculty members, will compose an exam consisting of six essay questions based on the eight prepared topics; students will choose to write on any five of these.
2. One examination will be devoted to Roman history (3 hours). The Director of Graduate Studies, after consultation with the student and involved faculty members, will compose an exam consisting of six essay questions based on the eight prepared topics; students will choose to write on any five of these.
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 the M.A. Guidelines for the Master of Arts in Classics for the Emphasis in Classical Archaeology and Emphasis in Classical Philology.

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

High Pass: A superior response on at least 2 of 3 individual comprehensive exams

Pass: An overall satisfactory response

No Pass: Falls below minimum expectations

The examinations in Greek and Roman history will be graded by two faculty members, one of whom may be from the Department of History. In the case of a disagreement about the exam, the Director of Graduate Studies will ask a third faculty member to arbitrate. The third exam will be graded by two archaeology or philology faculty, as appropriate; 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.

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 must 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.

Next: Emphasis in Classical Archaeology (includes information on all M.A. examinations)