Doctor of Philosophy
Classics | Classics with Historical Emphasis | Classical and Medieval Latin | Classical Archaeology
The department of Classics offers four PhD programs: Classics, Classics with Historical Emphasis, Classical and Medieval Latin, and Classical Archaeology. A minor, consisting of at least 18 graduate credit hours in another department, is permitted in appropriate cases.
General Notes for All Programs
Examinations in any program may be taken earlier than the ordinary time if the student's preparation warrants that. Students interested in this should consult with the director of graduate studies. Also, under certain circumstances the director of graduate studies may authorize postponement of examinations for a student. Students who do not pass an exam normally will be encouraged to re-take it in the following semester.
Progress Toward the Degree
All students should make reasonable progress toward their degrees. The department requires students to complete the MA within two years. Failure to complete the MA within this time will make the student ineligible for financial aid from the department until the semester after the student completes the thesis, the master's degree is awarded by the Graduate School, and the student is readmitted to the PhD program. Students should aim to finish the PhD in another three and a half years, but the department recognizes that a longer period of time may be necessary, and we will do everything we can to assist the student both financially and academically with her or his work.
PhD in Classics
Requirements
1. A minimum of 24 hours of graduate courses beyond the 30 required for the MA These 24 must include six, but not more than six, hours of dissertation credit (994). If a student has taken more than 30 hours of approved courses before the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement. Courses taken in fulfillment of MA requirements may of course also be used to satisfy the requirements described below under headings two through five. It is strongly recommended that all PhD candidates take both Latin and Greek Composition.
2. Nine credit hours in advanced seminars (courses numbered 900 and above). This includes any seminars taken before completion of the MA
3. Three credit hours in a graduate-level archaeology course.
4. A graduate-level course in ancient history in the History department.
5. A reading knowledge of German and of either French or Italian. For the means of satisfying this requirement, see MA requirements.
6. Teaching. All candidates for the PhD are required to gain teaching experience at least equal to that of a course in which they conduct three class-hours weekly for one semester, or until teaching competence is acquired. This requirement may be fulfilled during the regular terms, in summer school, or in outside employment.
7. Written and Oral Examinations. All students take comprehensive written and oral examinations, ordinarily in the fourth year of work, as follows.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Written Examination. This consists of five parts. The first two are four-hour translation exams, one for Greek and one for Latin, with the passages for translation being chosen primarily, but not necessarily only, from the PhD Reading List. The next part is a two-hour written exam on a special field (or, exceptionally, a major author). This field (for example, Greek mythology, Roman religion, Greek philosophy, women in antiquity, etc.) is meant to allow the student to explore a possible dissertation topic, acquire skills or knowledge in a subfield relating to the dissertation, or add an area for other future research or teaching. Students are required to submit to the director of graduate studies by Oct. 1 (for spring exams) or April 15 (for fall exams) a brief report indicating the topic, the faculty supervisor, and the rationale and general approach; they are strongly encouraged to begin thinking about possible specials fields as early as their first year and especially immediately after the completion of their MA The final two parts are four-hour written exams on Greek and on Latin literature. These exams also have the PhD Reading List as their base, but are not limited to it; students are expected to supplement the list by reading in English translation works appropriate to their degree-programs as much as possible. These written exams on literature aim to strike a reasonable balance between literary interpretation and the factual information with which a professional classicist needs to be familiar. Thus students may expect questions that will test their ability to analyze and interpret Greek and Latin texts, but they must also be able to show in their essays a grasp of appropriate information concerning authors, dates, works, and relevant modern scholarship.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Oral Examination. The student’s preparation for the translation and written exams just described will naturally include careful thought about the content of works on the PhD Reading List. Since this is also the best possible way to prepare for the oral exam, the written and oral exams will be closely linked in time; therefore a student who postpones the oral exam beyond the scheduled limit may be required to retake the written exams. (See below for a sample schedule of the six parts of the Comprehensive Examination.) The two-hour oral examination will not be limited to the contents of the two written exams on Greek and Latin literature, but may explore the student’s understanding of the literatures within their historical, cultural, and social contexts, as well as the student’s ability to discuss and interpret major works. The oral exam will ordinarily include some work with texts, and students may be asked to read aloud a selection of Greek or Latin verse. The oral exam will be scheduled within two weeks (or three weeks if there are many students taking the exams) of the successful completion of the written examinations.
A possible schedule might be:
Saturday morning: Latin translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: Latin literature (4 hours)
Thursday afternoon (following week): Special Field (2 hours)
Saturday morning: Greek translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: Greek literature (4 hours)
Then, within two or at most three weeks: Oral examination (2 hours)
Procedure. Translation, literature, and oral examinations will be scheduled each semester. Students are encouraged to take the comprehensive examination in the fall of their fourth year of study (equal to the seventh semester of work). Candidates for the PhD examinations described above will meet with the director of graduate studies at least a semester in advance of the examinations in order to gain an understanding of the goals and boundaries of each examination and to submit for approval any proposed substitutions to the PhD reading list.
8. Dissertation Prospectus. A student should submit a dissertation prospectus as soon as feasible after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the director of graduate studies). This committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) review of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation.
9. Dissertation. For the process of choosing a topic and satisfying all departmental and Graduate School requirements, see "So You Want to Write a Dissertation?," which is available from the department office. Students will need to submit to the Graduate School an “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree” and an “Application for Graduation” before the required deadline. Both of these forms are available online. The deadlines for submission are:
Fall (December graduation) - 2nd Friday in October
Spring (May graduation) - 2nd Friday in February
Summer (August graduation) - 2nd Friday in June
10. The Final Oral Examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee.
PhD in Classics with Historical Emphasis
Requirements
1. A minimum of 24 hours of graduate courses beyond the thirty required for the MA. These 24 must include six, but not more than six, hours of dissertation credit (994). If a student has taken more than 30 of approved courses before the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement. Courses taken in fulfillment of MA requirements may of course also be used to satisfy the requirements described below under headings two through five. It is strongly recommended that all PhD candidates take both Latin and Greek Composition. It is recommended, but not required, that these include courses in the ancient historians, epigraphy (both Greek and Latin), and more than the one required archaeology course.
2. Nine credit hours in advanced seminars (courses numbered 900 and above). This includes any seminars taken before completion of the MA
3. Three credit hours in a graduate-level archaeology course.
4. A graduate-level course in ancient history in the History department.
5. A reading knowledge of both German and of either French or Italian. For the means of satisfying this requirement, see MA requirements.
6. Teaching. All candidates for the PhD are required to gain teaching experience at least equal to that of a course in which they conduct three class-hours weekly for one semester, or until teaching competence is acquired. This requirement may be fulfilled during the regular terms, in summer school, or in outside employment.
7. Written and Oral Examinations. All students take comprehensive written and oral examinations, ordinarily in the fourth year of work, as follows. Written examinations, ordinarily to be taken in the fourth year of work. Note that the particular contents of the examination will be adjusted, as necessary, to be appropriate to the PhD Reading List for the Degree in Classics with Historical Emphasis.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Written Examination. This consists of five parts. The first two are four-hour translation exams, one for Greek and one for Latin, with the passages for translation being chosen primarily, but not necessarily only, from the PhD Reading List. The next part is a two-hour written exam on a special field (or, exceptionally, a major author). This field (for example, Roman mythology, Roman religion, medieval philosophy, women in antiquity, Late Antiquity or the Middle Ages, the transmission and reception of a classical author, genre, or text during the Middle Ages) is meant to allow the student to explore a possible dissertation topic, acquire skills or knowledge in a subfield relating to the dissertation, or add an area for other future research or teaching. Students are required to submit to the director of graduate studies by Oct. 1 (for spring exams) or April 15 (for fall exams) a brief report indicating the topic, the faculty supervisor, and the rationale and general approach; they are strongly encouraged to begin thinking about possible specials fields as early as their first year and especially immediately after the completion of their MA. The final two parts are four-hour written exams on Greek and on Latin literature. These exams also have the PhD Reading List as their base, but are not limited to it; students are expected to supplement the list by reading in English translation works appropriate to their degree-programs as much as possible. These written exams on literature aim to strike a reasonable balance between literary interpretation and the factual information with which a professional classicist needs to be familiar. Thus students may expect questions that will test their ability to analyze and to interpret Greek and Latin texts, but they must also be able to show in their essays a grasp of appropriate information concerning authors, dates, works, and relevant modern scholarship.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Oral Examination. The student’s preparation for the translation and written exams just described will naturally include careful thought about the contents of works on the Reading List. Since this is also the best possible way to prepare for the oral exam, the written and oral exams will be closely linked in time; therefore a student who postpones the oral exam beyond the scheduled limit may be required to retake the written exams. (See below for a sample schedule of the six parts of the Comprehensive Examination.) The two-hour oral examination will not be limited to the contents of the two written exams on Greek and Latin literature, but may explore the student’s understanding of the literatures within their historical, cultural, and social contexts, as well as the student’s ability to discuss and interpret major works. The oral exam will ordinarily include some work with texts, and students may be asked to read aloud a selection of Greek or Latin verse. The oral exam will be scheduled within two weeks (or three weeks if there are many students taking the exams) of the successful completion of the written examinations.
A possible schedule might be:
Saturday morning: Latin translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: Latin literature (4 hours)
Thursday afternoon (following week): Special Field (2 hours)
Saturday morning: Greek translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: Greek literature (4 hours)
Then, within two or at most three weeks: Oral examination (2 hours)
Procedure. Translation, literature, and oral examinations will be scheduled each semester. Students are encouraged to take the comprehensive examination in the fall of their fourth year of study (equal to the seventh semester of work). Candidates for the PhD examinations described above will meet with the director of graduate studies at least a semester in advance of the examinations in order to gain an understanding of the goals and boundaries of each examination and to submit for approval any proposed substitutions to the reading list.
8. Dissertation Prospectus. A student should submit a dissertation prospectus as soon as feasible after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the director of graduate studies). This committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) review of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation.
9. Dissertation. For the process of choosing a topic and satisfying all departmental and Graduate School requirements, see "So You Want to Write a Dissertation?" which is available from the department office. Students will need to submit to the Graduate School an “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree” and an “Application for Graduation” before the required deadline. Both forms are available online. The deadlines for submission are:
Fall (December graduation) - 2nd Friday in October
Spring (May graduation) - 2nd Friday in February
Summer (August graduation) - 2nd Friday in June
10. The Final Oral Examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee.
PhD in Classical and Medieval Latin
Requirements
1. A minimum of 24 hours of graduate courses beyond the 30 required for the MA. These 24 must include six, but not more than six, hours of dissertation credit (994). If a student has taken more than 30 hours of approved courses before the MA, the excess hours will count toward this requirement. Courses taken in fulfillment of MA requirements may of course also be used to satisfy the requirements described below under headings 2 through 5.
2. Nine credit hours in advanced seminars (courses numbered 900 and above). This includes any seminars taken before completion of the MA
3. Specific course requirements as follows (some or all of these, of course, may have been taken before the completion of the MA).
a. Latin 530, Latin 770, and Latin 723.
b. Two courses in medieval subjects at UNC or Duke chosen from an area of medieval studies in one of the following departments: Art, English, German, History, Music, Philosophy, Religion, or Romance Languages.
c. Two graduate level courses in Classical Latin.
4. A graduate-level course in ancient or medieval history in the department of History, in addition to any course chosen from the list in (3) above.
5. A reading knowledge of both German and either French or Italian. For the means of satisfying this requirement, see MA requirements.
6. Teaching. All candidates for the PhD are required to gain teaching experience at least equal to that of a course in which they conduct three class-hours weekly for one semester, or until teaching competence is acquired. This requirement may be fulfilled during the regular terms, in summer school, or in outside employment.
7. Written and Oral Examinations. All students take comprehensive written and oral examinations, ordinarily in the fourth year of work, as follows. Written examinations, ordinarily to be taken in the fourth year of work. Note that the particular contents of the examination will be adjusted, as necessary, to be appropriate to the Reading List for the Degree in Classical and Medieval Latin.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Written Examination. This consists of five parts. The first two are four-hour translation exams, one for classical and one for medieval Latin, with the passages for translation being chosen primarily, but not necessarily only, from the PhD Reading Lists. The next part is a two-hour written exam on a special field (or, exceptionally, a major author). This field (for example, Roman mythology, Roman religion, medieval philosophy, women in antiquity, Late Antiquity or the Middle Ages, the transmission and reception of a classical author, genre, or text during the Middle Ages) is meant to allow the student to explore a possible dissertation topic, acquire skills or knowledge in a subfield relating to the dissertation, or add an area for other future research or teaching. Students are required to submit to the director of graduate studies by Oct. 1 (for spring exams) or April 15 (for fall exams) a brief report indicating the topic, the faculty supervisor, and the rationale and general approach; they are strongly encouraged to begin thinking about possible specials fields as early as their first year and especially immediately after the completion of their MA The final two parts are four-hour written exams on classical and medieval Latin literature. These exams also have the PhD Reading Lists as their base, but are not limited to them; students are expected to supplement the lists by reading in English translation works appropriate to their degree-programs as much as possible. These written exams on literature aim to strike a reasonable balance between literary interpretation and the factual information with which a professional classicist and medievalist needs to be familiar. Thus students may expect questions that will test their ability to analyze and to interpret Latin texts, but they must also be able to show in their essays a grasp of appropriate information concerning authors, dates, works, and relevant modern scholarship.
Explanation of the Comprehensive Oral Examination. The student’s preparation for the translation and written exams just described will naturally include careful thought about the contents of works on the PhD Reading List. Since this is also the best possible way to prepare for the oral exam, the written and oral exams will be closely linked in time; therefore a student who postpones the oral exam beyond the scheduled limit may be required to retake the written exams. (See below for a sample schedule of the six parts of the Comprehensive Examination.) The two-hour oral examination will not be limited to the contents of the two written exams on Latin literature, but may explore the student’s understanding of the literature within their historical, cultural, and social contexts, as well as the student’s ability to discuss and interpret major works. The oral exam will ordinarily include some work with texts, and students may be asked to read aloud a selection of Latin verse. The oral exam will be scheduled within two weeks (or three weeks if there are many students taking the exams) of the successful completion of the written examinations.
A possible schedule might be:
Saturday morning: classical Latin translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: classical Latin literature (4 hours)
Thursday afternoon (following week): Special Field (2 hours)
Saturday morning: medieval Latin translation (4 hours)
Sunday afternoon: medieval Latin literature (4 hours)
Then, within two or at most three weeks: Oral examination (2 hours)
Procedure. Translation, literature, and oral examinations will be scheduled each semester. Students are encouraged to take the comprehensive examination in the fall of their fourth year of study (equal to the seventh semester of work). Candidates for the PhD examinations described above will meet with the director of graduate studies at least a semester in advance of the examinations in order to gain an understanding of the goal and boundaries of each examination and to submit for approval any proposed substitutions to the reading list.
8. Dissertation Prospectus. A student should submit a dissertation prospectus as soon as feasible after successful completion of the comprehensive examination. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the director of graduate studies). This committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) review of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation.
9. Dissertation. For the process of choosing a topic and satisfying all departmental and Graduate School requirements, see "So You Want to Write a Dissertation?" which is available from the department office. Students will need to submit to the Graduate School an “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree” and an “Application for Graduation” before the required deadline. Both of these forms are available online. The deadlines for submission are:
Fall (December graduation) - 2nd Friday in October
Spring (May graduation) - 2nd Friday in February
Summer (August graduation) - 2nd Friday in June
10. The Final Oral Examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee.
PhD in Classical Archaeology
Requirements
1. A minimum of 30 hours of graduate-level course work beyond the 30 required for the MA. These hours must include six, but not more than six, hours of dissertation credit (994), and the remaining 24 hours must be in 400-level courses or higher. Approved courses taken before the completion of the MA in excess of the 30 hours required for that degree may be counted toward this requirement.
a. Five courses (15 hours) in archaeology, with a minimum of two courses (6 hours) at the seminar level.
b. One graduate-level course (3 hours) in ancient history in the History department in addition to the one taken at the MA level.
c. One graduate course (3 hours) in Greek or Latin.
d. One graduate-level course (3 hours) outside of Classical Archaeology in an area relevant to the student's interests (e.g. Greek or Latin epigraphy, papyrology, Greek or Latin, ancient history, anthropology).
e. Six hours, but no more than six hours, dissertation credit.
2. A reading knowledge of a second modern language (see item 2 under the MA requirements). If German was not used to satisfy the MA requirement, it needs to be used to satisfy this requirement.
3. Teaching. All candidates for the PhD are required to gain teaching experience at least equal to that of a course in which they conduct three class-hours weekly for one semester, or until teaching competence is acquired. This requirement may be fulfilled during the regular terms, in summer school, or in outside employment.
4. Written examinations. The following four examinations will ordinarily be taken in February in the fourth year of work. The student should consult the chair of the Archaeology Committee at least one term before the examinations are to be taken. Three three-hour examinations will be in fields and areas determined by the student in consultation with one or more faculty members, while a fourth three-hour exam consists of visual analysis. It is strongly recommended that at least two of the first three examinations listed below (a-c) be in the area(s) of the planned dissertation topic.
The examinations will be distributed as follows:
a. One three-hour examination consisting of two essays on topics in Greek archaeology in the agreed-upon areas (Neolithic to Byzantine).
b. One three-hour examination consisting of two essays on topics in pre-Roman and Roman archaeology in the agreed-upon areas (Neolithic to Late Roman/Early Medieval).
c. One three-hour examination consisting of two essays focusing on a special topic in archaeology.
d. Three hours of visual analysis of six pictures of objects or works of architecture. The purpose of this examination is to test the student’s abilities to analyze and discuss a wide range of material culture.
6. The PhD preliminary oral examination/Dissertation Prospectus. Within two weeks after successful completion of the comprehensive examinations in February, a student should submit to the planned members of the dissertation committee a provisional title and a 250-500 word abstract of the prospectus. The prospectus itself would then be presented for defense by the end of April in the same semester. The prospectus should be carefully developed in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee (the members of which are appointed, in consultation with the student, by the director of graduate studies). This committee will then meet with the student for a brief (roughly an hour) review of the prospectus. Upon approval of it the student is launched upon the task of writing the dissertation.
7. Dissertation. For the process of choosing a topic and satisfying all departmental and Graduate School requirements, see "So You Want to Write a Dissertation?" which is available from the department office. Students will need to submit to the Graduate School an “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree” and an “Application for Graduation” before the required deadline. Both of these forms are available online. The deadlines for submission are:
Fall (December graduation) - 2nd Friday in October
Spring (May graduation) - 2nd Friday in February
Summer (August graduation) - 2nd Friday in June
8. The Final Oral Examination. A one-hour oral defense of the completed dissertation, conducted by the dissertation committee.