Classics (PhD)

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Program Description

The Department of Classics offers graduate programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. In addition to the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium (for which see the Admission section of this bulletin), the department participates in a consortial agreement with the City University of New York and Fordham University, which makes course offerings in classics at all three institutions available to all NYU classics graduate students.

Within New York University, the Department of Classics has close ties to the Center for Ancient Studies, the Onassis Program in Hellenic Studies, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, the Institute of Fine Arts, the Program in Museum Studies, the Program in Religious Studies, the Department of Comparative Literature, the Program in Poetics and Theory, and the Medieval and Renaissance Center. The Aquila Theatre Company, London/New York, is in permanent residence at the Center for Ancient Studies.

The University sponsors excavations at Abydos (Egypt), Aphrodisias (Turkey), Yeronisos Island (Cyprus), and Samothrace (Greece). The department owns collections of coins, inscriptions, and papyri; it maintains a small museum of ancient artifacts and a small library with computing resources. Students also have access to the extraordinary collections of such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the American Numismatic Society, the Morgan Library, and the New York Public Library.

The Classics Department at NYU offers a wide range of courses in Greek and Latin literature, history, archaeology and material culture, and ancient philosophy, and offers the possibility of interdisciplinary study in a variety of areas in which the Department has particular strengths.  These can be areas of focus leading to the doctorate.

Admissions

All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the general application requirements, which include:

• Academic Transcripts
• Test Scores (if required)
• Applicant Statements
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of Recommendation, and
• A non-refundable application fee.

See Classics for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.

Program Requirements

The Classics PhD program consists of four elements: 1) Coursework, 2) Seminar papers (eight in total), 3) Qualifying Exams; and 4) Dissertation. Students accumulate 72 credits of coursework, of which 36 credits must be completed in residence. The following courses (or equivalent substitutes) must be passed: Greek and Latin prose composition; both Greek and Latin Survey (two semesters each, CLASS-GA 1003 and 1005; CLASS-GA 1009 and 1013); one graduate course from each of the following areas: (1) Greek or Roman history and (2) archaeology or ancient art history. Students must further complete a minimum of 2 courses in 5 fields outside Classics to broaden their methodological and interdisciplinary horizon.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Major Requirements
The following courses (or equivalent substitutes) must be passed:
CLASS-GA 1011	Greek Rhetoric and Stylistics	4
CLASS-GA 1012	Latin Rhetoric/Stylistic	4
CLASS-GA 1003	Latin Lit Origins Repub Augustan Movement	4
CLASS-GA 1005	Latin Lit, Imperial Lit:	4
CLASS-GA 1009	Greek Literature	4
CLASS-GA 1013	Greek Literature Survey	4
Additional Courses
Select one course from each of the following areas:		8
1. Graduate course in Greek or Roman history
2. Course in archaeology or ancient art history
Compete at least two courses in fields outside Classics		8
Electives
Other Elective Credits		32
Total Credits		72

Additional Program Requirements

Qualifying Examinations

During the third year, students will complete any remaining coursework and take their qualifying exams, consisting of the following:

1. Four general field exams (written essays) in four of seven fields, chosen by the student, must be taken in Year 3, normally two in the fall and two in the spring. Students failing any exam may retake it during the following exam session. If a student misses the date of an exam, they will have to wait until the next available date, or adapt their field exam choices. The fields are: Greek Literature, Roman Literature, Greek History, Roman History, Greek Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, and Greek and Roman Thought (Religion, Philosophy, Science). Reading lists for each of these examinations will be supplied to the students by the faculty administering the individual exams. Field exam reading lists include primary and secondary literature. The examiners will write questions that may include supporting passages in Greek and Latin drawn from the translation exam or the field exam reading list.
2. A special field exam (oral) geared towards the dissertation topic, based on a reading list that includes both primary and secondary reading developed by the student in consultation with the future dissertation advisor (who should also be the examiner). This exam should lead to the proposal defense and may be taken any time during the third year, or in conjunction with the dissertation proposal defense.

Dissertation Proposal

The student submits a dissertation proposal to a committee consisting of the dissertation advisor and at least two other members of the Classics Department faculty. After review, the student circulates the proposal to the departmental faculty as a whole. An oral presentation must be scheduled before the committee and any interested member of the graduate faculty.

The dissertation proposal has the following components: an abstract (100-200 words); a prose proposal (25-45 pages excluding the bibliography) which contains:

1. a definition of problem,
2. a review of earlier scholarship (including methodological approaches),
3. contribution of the dissertation to field, and
4. a work plan (including special requirements, such as archival research or travel); a chapter outline (one page); and a bibliography (at least two pages).

Dissertation Writing and Research

In the fourth year, students conduct dissertation writing and research. Normally one chapter should be completed within six months of the proposal defense.

During the fifth year, students will continue with dissertation writing and research in preparation for the defense of the dissertation. The dissertation must demonstrate a sound methodology and must provide a scholarly study of a special field, making an original contribution to that field.

Dissertation Defense

When the dissertation is completed and has been approved by the dissertation advisor and one other reader, who is selected (usually) from the faculty of the Classics Department by the candidate and his or her dissertation advisor, an oral defense is scheduled. The defense takes place before a committee of at least five faculty members; the dissertation advisor and the reader chosen by the advisor and the candidate must be among these five. One person chosen from the faculty of another university may read the dissertation and serve as the fifth person on the defense committee.

Departmental Approval

All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.

Additional Program Information

Each student will complete at least 8 research papers (min. 5000 words) in connection with the chosen graduate seminars. Students must also pass two modern language examinations chosen from German (mandatory) and French or Italian before taking their qualifying exams.

Translation diagnostics will be done in the summer before the first term or at the latest upon arrival. A faculty advisor evaluates and discusses the results with the student. During the first year, students will be engaged in course work, typically four courses, including one Literature survey in Greek or Latin, which are offered in alternate years. A weekly sight reading class (without credit) is required for those with low language skills as identified in the diagnostic. Students must pass the Greek and Latin translation examinations based on the current reading list, given in May before the end of term. Students may opt to take these exams in their second year. Students failing an exam may retake it the following September. Students may also take one or more modern language examinations in their first year.

In the second year, students will continue with coursework, including the second literature survey. If not taken in the first year, students must pass their two modern language examinations. Students will also take the Greek and Latin translation examinations if not passed in the first year.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid

1st Semester/Term		Credits
CLASS-GA 1003	Latin Lit Origins Repub Augustan Movement	4
Course in Greek or Roman History		4
Course in Archaeology or Ancient Art		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
2nd Semester/Term
CLASS-GA 1005	Latin Lit, Imperial Lit:	4
CLASS-GA 1012	Latin Rhetoric/Stylistic	4
Major Requirement		4
Interdisciplinary Electives		4
	Credits	16
3rd Semester/Term
CLASS-GA 1009	Greek Literature	4
Elective Course		4
Interdisciplinary Electives		4
	Credits	12
4th Semester/Term
CLASS-GA 1011	Greek Rhetoric and Stylistics	4
CLASS-GA 1013	Greek Literature Survey	4
Elective Course		4
	Credits	12
5th Semester/Term
Dissertation Proposal Seminar		4
	Credits	4
6th Semester/Term
Classics Electives		12
	Credits	12
	Total Credits	72

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation (MAINT-GA 4747) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have achieved the following skills and abilities:

1. First and foremost, since the academic discipline of Classics concentrates on the ancient world of the Greeks and Roman and those they intersected with, it is essential that the two languages, Greek and Latin, be mastered in all their aspects, including some knowledge of their shared Indo European history and the stylistic details of both prose and poetry.
2. The skills of reading texts written on vases, stones (epigraphy), papyri (papyrology), and parchment (paleography) must be attained, in order to control the texts to the greatest extent possible.
3. Ability to attain a critical facility in assessing the ideas, arguments, and themes of ancient literary, dramatic, historical, technical, and philosophical texts. Additionally a working knowledge of the theoretical methodologies available to analyse ancient cultures.
4. Familiarity with material culture as found in art (vases, statuary), architecture, city planning, agricultural practices; students are also encouraged to partake in archeological excavations, where further acquaintance with household items and other material remains is achieved.

The ultimate goal of PhD students is continually to advance the scholarship in the field, beginning with the dissertation and continuing throughout their scholarly lives. On the solid philological basis described above, we foster broader scholarly and intellectual skills that allow for tightly argued theoretical overviews of any of the areas of study within Classics, such as literature, history, philosophy, art, and religion. Additionally we recognize that a Classics PhD also offers students the education and training to become highly productive members of the public arts and humanities fields including, museums, archives, cultural organization leadership, and linguistic technical fields.

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University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

Graduate School of Arts and Science Policies

Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page.