Master's Degree Requirements

Master's Degree Requirement

Applicants for the Department of Classics Master of Arts program are required to submit the following documents:

  1. Completed Graduate Admission Application
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. Statement of Academic Purpose
  4. Transcripts of all college work
  5. Three letters of recommendation
  6. A sample of written work
  7. All applicants for whom English is not a native/primary language must satisfy one of the following English Language Proficiency criteria in order to be eligible for admission.

The deadline for the admission application is February 1.

Apply to our Graduate Program

Ready to apply? Start your application on Slate, the centralized application portal for graduate admissions at the University of Oregon.

Apply Now


Department of Classics Graduate Advisor

Malcom Wilson
E-mail: mwilson@uoregon.edu
Phone: 541-346-4155
Profile Page


M.A. Reading Lists in Greek and Latin

**The lists below should be completed as much as is possible, but alterations may be made in consultation with the graduate advisor.

Classics M.A. Reading List: Specialization in Latin Language and Literature

In addition to completing the reading list, students should read a good historical overview of Rome (e.g. M. Cary, History of Rome) and a good history of Latin Literature (e.g. Cambridge History of Latin Literature, Conte’s History of Latin Literature). This will aid the student in preparation for the essay portion of the M.A. exam.

  • Apuleius: one book
  • Caesar: De Bello Gallico: one book
  • Catullus: all
  • Cicero: in Catilinam 1 and 2; Somnium Scipionis
  • Horace: Satires: Book 1.1 and 2. 6; Odes 1.9, 1.11, 1.37, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6
  • Juvenal: Satires 1 and 3
  • Livy: Book 21 or Book 22
  • Lucretius: one book
  • Martial: one book
  • Ovid: one book
  • Petronius: Cena Trimalchionis
  • Plautus: one play
  • Propertius: one book
  • Sallust: Conspiracy of Catiline or Jugurthine War
  • Tacitus: one book
  • Terence: one play
  • Tibullus: one book
  • Vergil: Eclogues (complete); Georgics: one book; Aeneid: three books

Classics MA Reading List: Specialization in Greek Language and Literature

In addition to completing the reading list below, students should read a good historical overview of Greece (e.g. J. Bury’s and R. Meiggs’ A History of Greece) and a good history of Greek Literature (e.g. Cambridge History of Greek Literature, A. Lesky’s, A History of Greek Literature). This will aid the student in preparation for the essay portion of the M.A. exam.

  • Aeschylus: one play
  • Apollonius of Rhodes: one book
  • Aristophanes: one play
  • Aristotle: Poetics
  • Callimachus: three hymns
  • Demosthenes: Philippics
  • Euripides: one play
  • Greek Novelist: one book
  • Gorgias: Encomium of Helen
  • Herodotus: one book
  • Hesiod: Theogony or Works and Days
  • Homer: 4 books
  • Isocrates: Against the Sophists
  • Lucian: one book
  • Pindar: three odes
  • Plato: Apology
  • Plutarch, Life of Antony
  • Sophocles: one play
  • Theocritus: 1-7, 10-11, 13, 16, 22, 24
  • Thucydides: one book
  • Xenophon: one book

Students intending to attend a PhD program in Classics should complete the MA in both Greek and Latin and, in order to do so, should complete the reading lists above for both Greek and Latin.


Master of Arts: Language and Literature Degree Requirements

  1. Complete at least 45 credits of graduate course work, which must include one seminar (ARH, HIST, GRK, LAT, or CLAS 507), one course in classical archaeology (CLAS 507), Introduction to Philological Methods (CLAS 611), and at least 9 credits in 600-699 level courses taken in residence.
  2. Complete the general MA requirements stipulated by the UO Division of Graduate Studies.
  3. Students are required to pass six (6) GRK or LAT 511 classes with a mid-B or better.
  4. All graduate students shall study both Greek and Latin in all terms at the level of their competencies.
  5. Pass a translation examination in one modern language, usually French or German. This requirement may be fulfilled with a standardized examination offered by the university or by the successful translation of a significant scholarly text.
  6. Choose one of two plans for completing the Master of Arts degree in Classics with specialization in Greek, Latin, or both:

Plan 1: Write a thesis in one of the fields mentioned above. At least 9 credits of Thesis 503 must be completed and may be counted toward the 45-credit minimum. Satisfactory completion of the thesis includes an oral defense.

Plan 2: Pass a comprehensive examination in two parts: translation and essay. The candidate must, in consultation with his or her advisors, define a reading list for the translation part of the examination.

Additional information and details about the standards may be obtained from the Department of Classics and are included with any letter of admission.

The deadline for the admission application is February 1.


Master of Arts: Classical Archaeology and Material Culture Degree Requirements

This track emphasizes the study of the material culture of the Greek and Roman cultures rather than the study of the languages and literature of the Greek and Roman cultures. The degree provides training for several career paths. With its coursework in material culture, theory, and languages (students must demonstrate competency in either Greek or Latin), this MA track prepares students for PhD work in classical archaeology and in related disciplines.

The archaeology track prepares students not only for careers in classical archaeology but also for careers in related disciplines. The track may be a helpful conduit in preparing students for law school, especially for those interested in Art and Cultural Heritage Law. It can also lead to successful careers in museum work or in professions dealing with public policy and heritage management. For example, training in archaeological methodology makes students attractive employees as archaeologists for the Bureau of Land Management. This track also provides excellent training for those looking to become educators in schools.

Learning Objectives (L.O.):

  1. Students will acquire a broad understanding of the sites and material culture of the ancient world. The historical Greek and Roman cultures will be emphasized, but other cultures studied may include Egyptian, Near Eastern, Mycenaean, and Minoan.
  2. Students will examine the material culture of the classical world with the understanding that behind the tangible material products of these cultures are social, political, religious, and political contexts that interact with the material culture in important ways.
  3. Students will see the Mediterranean region as a place where different cultures interacted. As such, theoretical studies that seek to explain particular cultures’ emulation of, and resistance to, external cultures will be examined.
  4. Students will develop an understanding of research methods in Classical Archaeology and will develop familiarity with the major scholarly journals and scholarly online sources.
  5. Students will be able to work with Greek and/or Latin, as well as with one modern foreign language commonly used in scholarship (German, French, or Italian).
  6. For those students who are interested in becoming field archaeologists, summer field experience will be a priority. Students will enroll in Classics 609 (Practicum in Field Archaeology) and, during excavation season(s), will acquire practical knowledge of the methodology of field studies, in particular that of stratigraphic excavation and site survey. The recording of data—with SU/locus sheets, photography, planning, Harris Matrices, and the writing of excavation reports—will also be stressed.

Requirements:

  1. Complete at least 45 credits of graduate course work, which must include:

    1. Introduction to Philological Methods (Classics 611)
    2. At least 8 credits in Classics 507 courses when Classics 507 is devoted to a topic in archaeology and material culture (Classics 507 is to be repeated with change in topic).
    3. At least 4 credits in a 500 level art history course (to be chosen from Art History 507 [when on relevant topics; see note under course listing below], 510, 521).
    4. At least 4 credits in a 500 level anthropology course (to be chosen from Anthropology 546, 548, 571). Students are encouraged to take multiple classes from the anthropology department since classical archaeology, as a discipline, is now steeped in interdisciplinary work with anthropology.
    5. At least 9 credits in 600-699 level courses taken in residence (in addition to the mandatory Classics 611, these may be chosen from Classics 607, 609, Anthropology 681, 685, 688, 689, Art History 611, History 612).
  2. Complete the general MA requirements stipulated by the UO Division of Graduate Studies.
  3. Pass with a grade of mid-B or better two courses in Greek or Latin authors at the 511 level. The language not chosen for the 511 level (Greek or Latin) must be completed through the level of 303.
  4. Pass a translation examination in one modern language (German, French, or Italian). This requirement may be fulfilled with a standardized examination offered by the university or by the successful translation of a significant scholarly text related to the student’s scholarly discipline. The second manner of test will be administered within the Classics department.
  5. Write a thesis. At least 9 credits of Thesis 503 must be completed and may be counted toward the 45-credit minimum. Satisfactory completion of the thesis includes an oral defense.

Students in this track will not have the study of language and literature, differing from the Languages and Literatures MA track. Additional information may be obtained from the Department of Classics.

Course options within classics:

  • Classics 503: Thesis
  • Classics 507: Various seminars on topics related to Classical Archaeology and Material Culture. These include Classics 507: Archaeology of Iron Age Italy (1000-300 BCE); Classics 507: The Etruscans; Classics 507: Pompeii.
  • Classics 601: Research
  • Classics 605: Reading and Conference
  • Classics 607: Topics in Classical Archaeology
  • Classics 609: Practicum: Field Excavation

External Courses:

  • Anthropology 546: Practical Archeobotany
    • Satisfies L.O. 6 by training students in recognizing botanical remains found in excavations.
  • Anthropology 548: Gender and Archaeology
    • Satisfies L.O. 2 and 3 by providing various theoretical approaches in dealing with material culture and gender.
  • Anthropology 571: Zooarchaeology
    • Satisfies L.O. 6 by training students in recognizing faunal remains found in excavations.
  • Anthropology 681: Archaeology and Anthropology
    • Satisfies L.O. 2 by giving the students a strong foundation in theoretical approaches to the study of material culture.
  • Anthropology 685: Professional Writing
  • Anthropology 688: Social Theory I
    • Satisfies L.O. 3 by providing an introduction about crucial topics in social theory that apply to the ancient Mediterranean world (post-colonialism, power, difference).
  • Anthropology 689: Social Theory II
    • Satisfies L.O. 3 by continuing an introduction about crucial topics in social theory that apply to the ancient Mediterranean world (post-colonialism, power, difference).
  • Art History 507 (Seminar) or 510 (Experimental Course); to be taken if the course is related to ancient Mediterranean art and/or archaeology (recent offerings include: the Parthenon Frieze; Gender, Ethnicity, and Status in Greek and Roman Art and Architecture
    • Satisfies L.O. 1 by focusing on sites, monuments, and material culture specific to the ancient Mediterranean world.
  • Art History 521: Ancient Mediterranean Art: Classical Greek Art
    • Satisfies L.O. 1 by focusing on sites, monuments, and material culture specific to the ancient Mediterranean world.
  • Art History 611: Graduate Studies in Art History
    • Satisfies L.O. 2 by providing the student with theoretical tools for “reading” the material culture (including art) of the ancient Mediterranean world.
  • History 512: Ancient Greece
  • History 514: Ancient Rome
  • History 612: Historical Methods and Writings