Undergraduate Degrees

Graduate Degrees

Courses of Instruction

Taper Hall of Humanities 224
(213) 740-3676

Chair: Thomas N. Habinek, Ph.D.

Faculty

Professors: Anthony J. Boyle, M.A. (Cantabr.); Richard Caldwell, Ph.D.; Page duBois, Ph.D.; Thomas N. Habinek, Ph.D.; John Pollini, Ph.D. (Fine Arts); Amy Richlin, Ph.D.*; William G. Thalmann, Ph.D.

Associate Professors: Carolyn Dewald, Ph.D.*; Vincent Farenga, Ph.D.; Frank Lewis, Ph.D. (Philosophy); Roger Woodard, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Emerita: Jane Cody, Ph.D.

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

The curriculum of the Classics Department is designed to transmit a knowledge and an appreciation of the civilizations of the Greeks and the Romans - their languages and literatures, myths, philosophies and political thought - as well as to develop an understanding of the ways in which the

classical heritage has manifested itself in later ages. Approximately one half of the department's classes are taught in English; these have to do with broad areas of civilization, including classical culture and literature. The remainder are courses in language and literature taught from the original Greek and Latin texts.

The Classics Department offers four undergraduate majors: Greek, Latin, classics (a combination of Greek and Latin) and classical civilization, a major which combines the study of languages with a spectrum of classes in ancient civilization. All the majors are designed as interdisciplinary programs.

Undergraduate Degrees

Each classics major, with the advisement of a faculty committee, designs a program suited to his or her individual needs. This program must include 24-32 upper division units in the Classics Department or related fields according to the basic requirements indicated below.

Classics Department Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

At least six upper division courses, including three in one language and one in the other above Greek and Latin III, are required.

Greek Department Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

At least six upper division courses, including four courses in Greek above Greek III, are required.

Latin Department Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

At least six upper division courses, including four courses in Latin above Latin III, are required.

Classical Civilization Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

At least six upper division courses, including at least one course in Greek or Latin above Greek or Latin III, and five additional courses chosen from classics and allied departments, such as history, philosophy, fine arts and comparative literature, are required.

Department Minor Requirements

Classics Minor

For the lower division, Greek III and Latin III are required. For the upper division, at least three language courses, including two in one language above Greek and Latin III, one classical civilization course and one optional course, are required.

Greek Minor

For the lower division, Greek III is required. For the upper division, at least two language courses above Greek III, one classical civilization course (Greek culture), and one optional course, are required.

Latin Minor

For the lower division, Latin III is required. For the upper division, at least two language courses above Latin III, one classical civilization course (Roman culture), and one optional course, are required.

Classical Civilization Minor

For the lower division, Greek or Latin III is required. For the upper division, at least one language course above Greek or Latin III, three courses in translation, chosen in consultation with the undergraduate advisor from classics and allied departments, such as history, philosophy, and comparative literature, are required.

Honors Program

Candidates for the B.A. in Classics, Classical Civilization, Latin or Greek can receive an honors degree by meeting these requirements: a 3.5 GPA in department courses at the time of graduation; completion of an honors research project under the guidance of a faculty member (classics, Latin or Greek 495x). Admission to the program is granted by the departmental undergraduate advisor in the spring semester of the student's junior year.

Graduate Degrees

The graduate program in classics offers both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees. The M.A. program is designed for those who wish to continue their work in classics in preparation for teaching on the secondary level, while the Ph.D. program provides a strong background for college teaching and continuing scholarship.

Admission Requirements

Prerequisites

An applicant for admission will normally have an undergraduate major in classics, but programs may be arranged for promising students who do not.

Criteria

The student should have an undergraduate record satisfactory to the department. At least three letters of recommendation from the student's undergraduate teachers should be sent to the chair of the department. All applicants are required to take the verbal and quantitative general tests of the Graduate Record Examinations.

Degree Requirements

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to Requirements for Graduation and the Graduate School for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Master of Arts in Classics

Work toward the M.A. consists of six four-unit courses (24 units) and a thesis and oral defense, or the M.A. comprehensive examination. Two of the survey seminars are required and five of the six courses must be taken in the Department of Classics. Under the guidance of a faculty committee, the student elects those courses appropriate to individual areas of special interest and previous academic preparation.

Doctor of Philosophy in Classics

The course of study for the doctoral student is 60 units of course work consisting of: the four survey seminars (16 units), and 44 units of course work, both within and outside the department, which are related to the student's general preparation and field of interest, and which are selected under the guidance of a faculty committee.

When the student has completed two of the survey seminars in Greek or Latin literature, a final examination, which constitutes a screening examination, is administered. These examinations include passages for translation from Greek or Latin and questions on the history of Greek and Roman literature and thought.

By the end of the second year, under the guidance of a faculty committee, the student selects two special authors and two special fields, one of which should be an historical period. The student should have passed departmental examinations in both German and French or Italian and the second screening examination based on work in the second two survey seminars.

In the third year the student should complete the qualifying examinations, which consist of separate inquiries into the student's knowledge of special authors and fields.

Under the Johns Hopkins-USC Exchange Program in Classics, graduate students at either university may spend one or two semesters at the other school. USC students must obtain a cross-registration form from the Resource Sharing Coordinator in the USC Graduate School, Grace Ford Salvatori Hall 315, obtain signed approval and return the forms to the Graduate School. Students then enroll in USC 700o Off-Campus Studies, CR/NC, through the USC Office of the Dean of Academic Records and Registrar. At the conclusion of the semester(s), the Johns Hopkins instructors will report the student's grades to the USC Graduate School Resource Sharing Coordinator. Credit (CR) will be granted only for work completed with a grade of B or higher. The student's transcript will show that the courses were taken at Johns Hopkins and also record the names of the courses.

NEXT SECTION