Bryn Mawr College

Requirements

Details on the requirements for specific degrees are available under the following headings:

• Greek Language
• Greek & Greek Studies
• Latin & Roman Studies
• Classical Languages (Greek & Latin)
• General Requirements for all degrees

All graduate degrees offered by the Department of Classics have the following requirements:

For the MA

• a minimum of six seminars

• reading proficiency in Greek or Latin at MA level

• Greek and Latin language exams for the MA and PhD are set three times in each year, on uniform dates: the Friday before classes start in each semester; and the Friday after spring break (see Greek and Language Exam Dates).

  We strongly recommend that new students take a diagnostic examination in at least one language as soon as they arrive at Bryn Mawr.

• reading proficiency in either German, French or Italian (department offers regular tutoring in German)
  • modern language exams are set two times in each year, on uniform dates: the Friday before fall and spring break (see Modern Language Exam Dates). Every exam is read by two faculty members in the student’s department or a related discipline. If these two faculty members find the examination satisfactory, it is submitted to the Graduate Office for distribution to a third reader in the appropriate language department. Language faculty read these examinations twice in each academic year
• MA paper
  • This should represent independent research, and will normally be of 40-60 pages in length. The MA paper is the most demanding of the requirements for the degree and provides the best introduction to sustained scholarly work. It differs from those written for seminars in that it is entirely on a topic of the student's own choosing and is an opportunity to move from first thoughts to a finished piece of scholarship through expansion, refinement and revision of ideas and materials. Some M.A. paper topics are "discovered" during seminars; others come independently. Some may prepare the way for the dissertation; others are self-contained. To arrive at either result the student works closely with an advisor, who oversees the project and offers advice and encouragement.
    
• oral examination of one hour in the field of the MA paper

For the PhD

• minimum of 12 seminars [which includes those taken at MA level]. These must include at least one Gsem.

• reading proficiency in Greek and Latin at PhD level

  • Greek and Latin language exams for the MA and PhD are set three times in each year, on uniform dates: the Friday before classes start in each semester; and the Friday after spring break.

     

    We strongly recommend that new students take a diagnostic examination in at least one language as soon as they arrive at Bryn Mawr.

• reading proficiency in German (Department offers regular tutoring in German)
• reading proficiency in Italian or French
  • Every exam is read by two faculty members in the student’s department or a related discipline. If these two faculty members find the examination satisfactory, it is submitted to the Graduate Office for distribution to a third reader in the appropriate language department. Language faculty read these examinations twice in each academic year.
• preliminary examinations consisting of four written papers followed by an oral examination
• completion of the PhD dissertation
• oral defense of the PhD dissertation

Greek and Latin Language Exam Dates

In 2011-2012 the distribution dates for the Greek and Latin exams will be:

Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2011

Students and departments will be notified promptly of the results.

Modern Language Exam Dates

In 2011-2012 the distribution dates  for the modern language exams will be:

Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, February 24, 2012

Students and departments will be notified promptly of the results.