PhD in Classics

All PhD degrees require:

• The completion of 18 credits of coursework at the 500-level.
• Subject-specific comprehensive exams.
• Demonstrated competence in two modern languages.
• Completion of a research dissertation meeting the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements.

Details for these requirements are below.

Students in the CLAS PHD must meet additional requirements:

• Pass an unprepared translation exam in Latin and Greek.
• Satisfy the archaeology coursework requirement if not fulfilled by previous study.

At the Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, we envisage that those who complete this program will be able to enter the job market with confidence in their ability to teach:

• Greek and Roman history.
• An additional field complementary to their major field (determined by you early in the program).
• Either Greek or Latin at an advanced level, with graduate-level proficiency in the other.

We believe this program will make graduates attractive to history departments and those teaching classics.

All PhD degrees require:

• The completion of 18 credits of coursework at the 500-level.
• Subject-specific comprehensive exams.
• Demonstrated competence in two modern languages.
• Completion of a research dissertation meeting the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements.

Details for these requirements are below.

Students in the CLAS PHD (Ancient History) must meet additional requirements:

• Pass an unprepared translation exam in Latin and Greek.
• Satisfy the archaeology coursework requirement if not fulfilled by previous study.

All PhD degrees require:

• The completion of 18 credits of coursework at the 500-level.
• Subject-specific comprehensive exams.
• Demonstrated competence in two modern languages.
• Completion of a research dissertation meeting the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements.
• Some PhD streams have additional requirements.

Details for these requirements are below.

You must complete 18 credits of coursework before writing your comprehensive exams.

• If required, you should complete most of your coursework in Year 1, with additional coursework in Year 2
• Up to 6 credits may come from the graduate offerings of another department
• Additionally, you must maintain continuous registration in LATN 649, GREK 649, or RELG 649 (zero credits), the doctoral dissertation

You may choose courses freely, and we strongly encourage you to do so in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or your supervisor. You should consult the Graduate Program Advisor to ensure you meet all program requirements.

Students in the programs specified below must meet additional coursework requirements.

Archaeology requirement

In addition to the above, students in the PhD in Classics and the PhD in Classics (Ancient History) must have completed:

• Before the end of their second year of study, at least six credits of undergraduate study (at the 300 level or above) in classical art or archaeology, such as AMNE 376 and 377 or their equivalent (minimum grade: B-/68%).
  • Courses taken to satisfy this requirement do not count toward the 18 credits of coursework required by the program. This requirement may be met by coursework completed before admission.

Second field requirement

Students in the PhD in Classics (Ancient History) must additionally complete the “Second Field” requirements:

• Candidates must show proficiency through coursework in a marketable second field.
  • This competence shall be demonstrated by the successful completion, during the first two years of their program, of 6 additional credits at the graduate level and is completed in lieu of one written comprehensive examination.
  • Given the department’s strengths and those of the Department of History, the following fields are suggested: religious studies, Near Eastern studies, Medieval history, European history, Canadian history, and Asian history.

You are required to attain minimal reading knowledge of at least two foreign modern languages in addition to English. Doctoral students who have demonstrated competence in an approved modern language as a requirement of a previous degree only test in one additional language, with the approval of the graduate program.

Available choices are French, German, Italian, and Spanish. You will select the language(s) in consultation with your supervisor and/or the Director of Graduate Studies. The selected language(s) will be reported to the Graduate Program Advisor.

Competence in a language can be established by any of four means:

• Being a native speaker of the language.
• The successful completion of an examination administered by the department’s Graduate Committee or (when available) by another department.
• The successful completion of 6 credits (one year) in the language. This is may be fulfilled with any paired language courses (e.g. GERM 100 and 110, ITAL 101 and 102, SPAN 101 and 102, SPAN 206 and 207, FREN 101 and 102, FREN 342 and 343). These two courses must be taken for academic credit while registered in the graduate program, must meet minimum grades for G&PS, and do not count towards the credits required for the degree.
• The completion of a modern language requirement as part of another graduate degree.

In exceptional circumstances, when an intended dissertation project requires access to a significant body of scholarship in another language, doctoral students may substitute that language for one of the two required languages with the approval of the graduate program. The selected language must be relevant as a language of scholarship key to the student’s intended program of research.

In consultation with your supervisor and/or the Director of Graduate Studies, we strongly urge you to consider early on in their program how you will fulfill the language requirements and further your career development.

The modern language requirement must be satisfied before you complete your comprehensive examinations.

Reading lists constitute the best way to prepare you with the general background of the field, by reading seminal primary and secondary works. Familiarity with these lists is examined by written comprehensive examinations or comps. Comprehensive exams are written in the first two weeks of April in the second year of study.

Lists for translation exams represent a prescribed set of primary texts in the original language. These works represent a canon of original authors (literary, historical, and philosophical) that draws from many genres and periods. The process results in an identifiable and useful body of knowledge that is objectively examinable and fills the gaps in the candidate’s reading of central authors.

Lists for essay exams consist of 50-60 recent and substantial contributions to the relevant field and are intended to familiarize the student with a core of scholarship and an understanding of major scholarly approaches.

While some works on these lists may be covered as part of the student's coursework, there is no expectation that they will be: students should have the ability to work through all of the texts on their own, in addition to coursework. Students lacking overview courses in their chosen fields are advised to speak to the Graduate Program Advisor about auditing or enrolling in relevant undergraduate courses.

Reading lists are the same across the cohort and are not tailored to individuals; the content may vary from year to year. In consultation with their prospective supervisor, students identify the subjects on which they wish to write by 15 April of their first year and report this to the Graduate Program Advisor. Lists for the following academic year are available from 1 July.

Students in the PhD Classics and the PhD Classics (Ancient History) write translation exams in Greek and Latin. All doctoral candidates should prepare the works on page 1 of the list, and the list of additional texts specific to their stream (either Classics or Ancient History). Students in the Ancient History stream write only one translation exam of either Greek or Latin. Students must attempt six of eight possible passages (four verse, four prose), for a total of six answers.

Students in the PhD in Classics (Classical Archaeology) choose two lists on which to be examined from the following:

Within two weeks of sitting the written comprehensive exams, all PhD students complete an oral examination (2 hours) consisting of questions on the material in each written comps.