Guide to the MA in Classics
All the details of this document are subject to, and supplemented by, the regulations of the Texas Tech University Graduate School, the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, and the current Graduate Catalog, or the catalog under which the student completes the program.
General Description of the Program
The Master of Arts degree in Classics, established in 1974, provides advanced training for current and prospective teachers of Latin in secondary school, and prepares students planning to continue in Ph.D. studies in Classics elsewhere. Areas covered, based on concentrated language study in Latin and Greek, include Literary Criticism, the Classical Tradition, and Archaeology, as well as Ancient Philosophy, History, and Sexuality and Gender. The program features a diverse faculty who are at home in both traditional Classical scholarship and contemporary theoretical approaches.
Two journals are edited here: The American Journal of Philology (Editor: David Larmour; Book Review Associate Editor: Donald Lavigne) and Intertexts (Editor: Laura Beard; Associate Editor: David Larmour). For AJP, the department funds a full-time graduate assistant (a Classics MA student); Intertexts also offers students the opportunity to assist with editorial work.
The Graduate Advisor: Mentors
The Graduate Advisor coordinates the Graduate Program, keeps graduate students' records, advises students regarding degree programs, and assists students in making sure that requirements and deadlines are met. The Graduate Advisor is not the only mentor; students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with all Graduate Faculty members and to choose whom they find appropriate for mentoring. The current Graduate Advisor is David Larmour (david.larmour@ttu.edu ).
The Graduate Faculty
Dr. David Larmour, Horn Professor, Graduate Advisor, and Coordinator of the Classics Division, 261 Foreign Languages Bldg., 806-742-3145, david.larmour@ttu.edu
Greek Poetry, Latin Satire, Literary Theory, Comparative Literature
Dr. Jason Banta, Assistant Professor of Classics, 216 Foreign Languages Bldg., 806-742-3145, ext. 296, jason.banta@ttu.edu
Greek Prose, Narrative Theory, Plutarch
Dr. Donald Lavigne, Associate Professor of Classics, 253 Foreign languages Bldg., 806-742-3145, don.lavigne@ttu.edu
Archaic Greek Poetry, Greek and Latin Epigram, Gender and Critical Theory
Dr. Christopher Witmore, Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology, 222 Foreign Languages Bldg., 806-742-3145, christopher.witmore@ttu.edu
Mediterranean Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, Bronze Age Greece
Dr. Julian Frederick Suppe, Professor of Classics, 203A Foreign Languages Bldg.,
806-742-4355, julian.suppe@ttu.edu
Presocratics, Greek Science and Philosophy, Patristics, Roman Spain
The following professors teach courses at Texas Tech pertinent to Classical Studies:
Howard J. Curzer, Professor of Philosophy, howard.curzer@ttu.edu
Greek Philosophy, Ethics
Clarke E. Cochran, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor, Department of Health Organization Management, clarke.cochran@ttu.edu
Ancient and Medieval Political Philosophy
Timothy Crowley, Assistant Professor of English, timothy.crowley@ttu.edu
Renaissance Literature, Classical Tradition
Gary Forsythe, Associate Professor of History, gary.forsythe@ttu.edu
Greek and Roman History
John Howe, Professor of History, john.howe@ttu.edu
Medieval Studies, Church History
Resources
- The Library. It includes a solid collection of basic classical texts, dictionaries, concordances, atlases, periodical runs, the standard corpora of Latin and Greek inscriptions, and other fundamental research materials in Classics such as Pauly-Wissowa and L'Année Philologique. The Library's Special Collections includes a repository of rare sixteenth and seventeenth century editions of classical authors, among them Aldine editions.
- The Jirgensons Reading Room, a location for study in the Foreign Language Building with a small collection of Latin and Greek authors, Greco-Roman history, and basic Latin and Greek teaching texts.
- The TLG, PHI, and other databases.
The Classics Graduate Studies Committee
The Classics MA Program functions with the support of a Graduate Studies Committee, whose purpose is to provide advice regarding the conduct of the program. The Committee is composed of the members of the Classics Graduate Faculty plus one student representative, elected each fall semester by the Classics graduate students currently in progress toward a degree. The representative chosen should be available for meetings on campus during each semester.
Career Development
Career Development is a very important component of the Classics MA. Students are given extensive training in pedagogical techniques, as assistants in their first year, and as instructors in their second. We also offer two formal Pedagogy courses (in Language and Culture) as well as mentoring by faculty and instructors. By the time they leave the program, graduates are normally qualified to teach a variety of courses in Classical Culture and Language. For students who wish to pursue a PhD in Classics or a related discipline, we offer personalized mentoring in research methods, conference presentations, and study abroad. Most students present at least one paper at a scholaraly conference (recently, CAMWS, CASUS, ASOR, etc.), while some participate in programs at the American Academy in Rome or in archaeological excavations. At least once a year, a graduate class concludes with a symposium presenting the students' research papers to the CMLL faculty and a distinguished respondent from another institution. We host a yearly workshop informing students of all the necessary steps for applying to doctoral programs.
Admission
Admission to the Classics M.A. degree program presupposes an undergraduate major's proficiency in either Latin or Greek, or as close to the equivalent as possible. Proficiency in the other of the two classical languages is needed for completion of the degree. Applicants wishing to specialize in ARCHAEOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE may be considered with lower levels of language proficiency and should contact Dr. Christopher Witmore ( Christopher.witmore@ttu.edu ). Applicants wishing to specialize in the CLASSICAL TRADITION will be considered from a range of academic backgrounds, with or without the language proficiency described above, and should contact the Graduate Advisor directly ( david.larmour@ttu.edu ).
Study can be pursued with a concentration in one of three areas or a combination thereof: Archaeology, Philology, Classical Culture. A degree plan for each student will be set in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. Students who wish to study Philology should have significant experience in Greek or Latin, preferably both. Students for Archaeology or Classical Culture should have significant background in Archaeology and/or Classical Culture; knowledge of Greek and/or Latin is desirable, but not necessary. In all cases, admission decisions and the formation of a degree plan will be based on a holistic review of the candidate’s dossier. There is broad scope to create a program of study suited to students’ needs.
Tuition and Fees
Current tuition and fee costs are listed in the Graduate Catalog. Graduate students who hold a Teaching Assistantship or a Part Time Instructorship are entitled to pay only in-state tuition, as well as to a remission of most fees. University tuition and fees are subject to change and for an up-to-date assessment, applicants should contact Liz Hildebrand, the Departmental Advisor (806-742-3145 x 227, liz.hildebrand@ttu.edu).
Financial Support
- Teaching Assistantships are the principal form of financial support for graduate students. As of 2009, the ordinary stipend for assistantships per academic year is around $10,000, rising to $11,500 for second year students.
- Competitive fellowships are available in the amount of $3000 per annum.
- Students pursuing the MA by DISTANCE LEARNING or those specializing in THE CLASSICAL TRADITION are not at this time eligible for funding through TA'ships.
The Program
1. Basic framework. The program extends over two years. There are two options: 36 hours minimum of regular courses (9 hours per semester) , or 30 hours minimum of regular courses plus 6 hours minimum of thesis hours. [PLEASE NOTE: For the DISTANCE LEARNING and THE CLASSICAL TRADITION options, plans will be tailored individually: please contact the Graduate Advisor directly, david.larmour@ttu.edu ]
Early in a student's first semester, a Degree Program will be compiled and submitted to the Graduate School, listing the courses to be taken as part of the student's program. This Degree Program is subject to revision as necessary.
The ordinary pattern of core course offerings in a Degree Program is as follows:
| Fall A |
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Fall B |
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| Spring A |
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Spring B |
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Notes:
- The third course in Fall A and Fall B will be determined by student needs and the specialties of available faculty.
- One of the Latin courses in every two-year cycle will be in Prose Composition.
- Specific topics in courses, ordinarily specifying authors, genres, or theoretical approaches, will be chosen with a view to the needs of the current graduate students and the specialties of the faculty.
- In each fall, students enroll in a one-hour course on the pedagogical methods required for teaching Classics at the college level. Each student takes one course in teaching Classical Language and one in teaching Classical Culture (Myth etc.); these courses are offered on a continual rotation, so every student has taken both by the time of graduation. These classes help to prepare Teaching Assistants and Graduate Part-time Instructors for teaching their classes in the Classics Program.
- Teaching Assistants' and Part Time Instructors' first priority will be to enroll in these courses. After these courses have achieved their minimum enrollment, flexibility will allow for students to take courses offered by faculty in other areas (e.g. Ancient History, Ancient Philosophy).
- Any member of the graduate faculty may direct a thesis. The thesis committee ordinarily consists of the Director and two other members, chosen by the student in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. The course pattern of a thesis student will be adjusted according to the student's needs and future plans.
2. Option combining the MA degree with teacher certification. Those who wish to may earn the degree in combination with secondary school certification in Latin in a five-semester plan plus one summer course. This alternative involves a 12-hour education minor, which would replace 12 of the hours listed in the 2-year program above, plus three additional education hours and one semester of practice teaching administered out of the College of Education. For further information consult Jim Holland (jim.holland@ttu.edu).
3. The M.A. language requirement. The Graduate School requires sophomore proficiency in a second language for completion of the Classics MA degree. Classics graduate students meet and surpass this requirement by taking courses in both Latin and Greek in their degree program.
4. Exams. All students will have a Comprehensive Oral Exam in their final semester. A thesis is generally required for students in Archaeology or Classical Culture. Students in Philology are required to take CLAS 5305 (Aims and Methods of Classical Scholarship) and LAT 5360 (Prose Composition); they will also have a Language Proficiency Exam in their final semester.
The Language Proficiency Exam
In April 2001, the Classics Graduate Faculty instituted a Language Proficiency examination requirement in Latin and Greek, to be fulfilled near the beginning of each student's last (usually the fourth) semester. In exceptional cases, a student may be permitted to take the exam near the end of the third semester. The purpose of the requirement is to enable the student to demonstrate and document achievement in mastery of the languages. This is one of the requirements for completion of the MA degree.
The guidelines for administering the requirement are as follows:
- A test of three passages will be made up for each student, two in the primary language, one in the secondary language. (Each student may designate either Latin or Greek as the primary language.) The passages will be unseen, chosen from the authors which each student has read either in class or on the Reading List. S tudents will be given ample time to complete the tests (THREE HOURS), since we are not gauging speed. Approximate length of each passage: 15-20 lines (occasionally shorter or longer passages have been assigned).
- There will be one passage in prose and one passage in poetry in each language.
- Passing two of the three parts of the test will constitute fulfillment of the requirement. To achieve a grade of HIGH PASS, the student must have a HIGH PASS score on all three passages submitted.
- The test will be administered early enough in the semester to provide time for the student to retake a part or parts of the test if necessary.
The Reading List and the Final Oral Exam
Toward the end of a candidate's final semester a comprehensive oral examination is administered by a committee, ordinarily consisting of three faculty members, and composed in consultation between the graduate advisor and the candidate. This exam gives the candidate an opportunity to show what she or he has achieved and lasts for approximately 75 minutes. Beginning with areas of greatest familiarity to the candidate and proceeding outward, the exam covers the courses the candidate has taken, the thesis if there is one, and the reading list of recommended primary and secondary sources. The candidate will supply the committee in advance with a list of courses taken, briefly indicating the contents of those courses. In testing the candidate over the reading list, the committee will look for evidence of an overall grasp of the main periods in Greek and Latin literature and ancient Greek and Roman history and culture. Students will receive either a HIGH PASS, PASS, or FAIL.
If a candidate has written a thesis, there will be a separate Thesis Defense, administered by the members of the Thesis Committee. This will last approximately one hour.
Checklist of Primary Sources
All of the works on the Checklist below are to be read at least in translation. Students will cover several of these texts in the original in their courses, but should undertake to read at least some of the list in the original languages, in preparation for the Language Proficiency Exam.
GREEK
- Homer: Iliad
- Homer, Odyssey
- Homeric Hymn to Demeter
- Homeric Hymn to Hermes
- Hesiod, Theogony
- Lyric Poetry: Selections by D. A. Campbell, Greek Lyric Poetry, or M. L. West, Oxford World's Classics
- Herodotus, Books 1, 7, 8, 9
- Thucydides, Books 1, 2, 5
- Aeschylus, Oresteia
- Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
- Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
- Sophocles, Antigone
- Sophocles, Oedipus Coloneus
- Euripides, Medea
- Euripides, Bacchae
- Euripides, Hippolytus
- Aristophanes, Frogs
- Aristophanes, Lysistrata
- Aristophanes, Clouds
- Plato, Apology
- Plato, Crito
- Plato, Phaedo
- Plato, Republic, Books 5 and 10
- Aristotle, Poetics
- Plutarch, Alexander and Caesar
- Polybius, Book 6
LATIN
- Plautus, Miles Gloriosus
- Terence, Adelphoe
- Lucretius, De rerum natura, Books 1, 4
- Catullus, complete
- Sallust, Bellum Catilinae
- Caesar, Bellum Gallicum Book 1
- Caesar, Bellum Civile Book 1
- Vergil, Eclogues
- Vergil, Aeneid
- Horace, Odes (complete; incl. Carmen Saeculare)
- Horace, Satires 1
- Horace, Epistles 1
- Ovid, Metamorphoses
- Ovid, Ars Amatoria
- Cicero, In Catilinam 1-4
- Cicero, Philippics 2
- Cicero, De Officiis
- Livy, Books 1-5, 20-22
- Petronius, Satyricon
- Seneca, Medea
- Pliny the Younger: Epp. 6.16, 20; 10.96, 97
- Tacitus, Annales 1, 13, 14, 15
- Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 10
- Juvenal, Satires 3
Recommended Secondary Sources
Greek Literature
- Easterling, P.E., and B.M.W. Knox, ed. Greek Literature . New York : Cambridge University Press, 1985. PA3052 .G73 19
Latin Literature
- Conte, G.B. Latin Literature: A History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
Greek History & Culture
- Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. 1999. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History. N.Y.: Oxford Univ. Press. (General)
- Finley, M.I. 1981. Early Greece: The Bronze and Archaic Ages . N.Y.: Norton.
- Ehrenberg, Victor. 1968. From Solon to Socrates . London: Methuen. DF77 .E35
- F. W. Walbank. 1982. The Hellenistic World . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
Roman History & Culture
- Ward, Allen M., Fritz M. Heichelheim, and Cedric A. Yeo. 1999. A History of the Roman People . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (General)
- Crawford, Michael H. 1982. The Roman Republic . Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. DG231 .C72 1982
- Wells, Colin. 1984. The Roman Empire . Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.
After You Leave
Texas Tech University has a Career Center where students can assemble a permanent dossier to be used in applying for positions.
We have a 100% placement rate for M.A. degree holders seeking positions in secondary education.
ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NONDEGREE STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE LUBBOCK COMMUNITY: Persons possessing a bachelors degree or higher may take undergraduate language courses as a Nondegree Student. Admission is simple: Obtain an application at www.ttu.edu/gradschool, apply for admission as a Post Graduate (PRGD) Nondegree Student, pay the $50 application fee, and submit transcripts of all previous college level study. When admitted enroll in the appropriate language course. Once admitted you may register indefinitely in undergraduate TTU courses. For more information contact the CMLL Academic Program Advisor, Liz Hildebrand, liz.hildebrand@ttu.edu, 200 Foreign Languages Building, 806-742-4055.