The University of Chicago Classics Department offers a doctoral graduate program in Classical Studies; it also collaborates with the University of Chicago’s Division of the Arts & Humanities to allow students in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) to concentrate in Classics.
Two features characterize our graduate program. The first is flexibility to accommodate the interests of a wide range of students who wish to explore the Classics from many different points of view. We offer two PhD tracks, Classical Languages and Literatures (CLL) and the Ancient Mediterranean World (AMW). In addition, students can pursue two Joint Programs, with the Committee on Social Thought and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), but students can explore joint degrees with other departments (e.g., with Middle Eastern Studies and the Divinity School), tailored to their specific interests.
The second notable characteristic of our program is the range of opportunities and resources that we afford to students: one of the best libraries of the country, as well as an intensive program of workshops and lectures, both within and without the department of Classics; funding for travel and research, both archival and archeological; as well as a range of teaching opportunities in Greek, Latin, and Classical Civilization. The fluid relationships between departments allow students to venture beyond the department into other ancient cultures and disciplines.
PhD Program
The first two years of our PhD programs typically comprise course work, including two-quarter surveys of Greek and Latin literature (or training in other ancient languages for the AMW track), two-quarter research seminars, and pedagogy training, as well as additional seminars, language courses, and courses in the skillsand methods deployed in the study of classics, such as papyrology and archaeology. We encourage our students to direct their coursework towards the development of possible dissertation topics, using departmental seminars to explore particular texts or problems in depth and workshops to test their own research ideas and acquaint themselves with the research strategies of faculty members and graduate students inside and outside our department. Students take translation examinations in Greek and Latin during their first two years.
After their coursework and demonstrating ancient language proficiency, in the third and fourth year our PhD students take specialized examinations and work on a dissertation proposal. The exams are configured according to the two tracks: these include a comprehensive exam in primary texts and secondary literature followed by a special field exam (CLL) or three special field exams (AMW), tailored to their research interests. Students then assemble a dissertation committee and draft a dissertation proposal in order to be admitted to candidacy. By this time, students will have demonstrated competence in reading two of the modern languages of classical scholarship—typically German and French—through the University’s Academic Reading Comprehension Assessment (ARCA). Having completed our seminar on pedagogy, they continue their training by holding teaching assistantships and then teaching their own undergraduate classes.
After being admitted to candidacy, our students research, write, and defend their dissertations.
Dual-degree and Joint PhD Programs
The University of Chicago supports the ad-hoc pursuit of joint degrees between any two programs, with the approval of the departments in question. In addition, the Classics Department supports two standing joint PhD programs:
Joint PhD Program in Social Thought and Classics (STC)
The John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought is an interdisciplinary, Ph.D. granting graduate program. Its guiding principle is that the serious study of many academic topics, and of many philosophical, historical, theological and literary works, is best undertaken through a wide and deep acquaintance with the fundamental issues presupposed in all such studies. The program with Classics is designed for students whose study of a particular issue or text from the ancient Greek and Roman world requires a broadly interdisciplinary approach alongside a professional mastery of philological skills. Requirements for the joint program.
Joint PhD Program in Classics and Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS)
The Committee on Theater and Performance Studies supports innovative work at the intersection of theory and practice across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The PhD program in TAPS is designed as an innovative joint degree program that affords students rigorous and comparative work across two disciplines. The joint program with Classics allows students to complement their work on the ancient Greek or Roman world with a program of study in Theater and Performance that encompasses both academic and artistic work. Students extend their experience through the development of performance work, engaging with nationally and internationally renowned artists. They graduate with a joint PhD in Classics and TAPS, preparing them for professional possibilities within and beyond the academy.