Master of Arts in Greek and Roman Studies (Thesis)

The objective of the program is to provide students with a deeper knowledge of Greek and Roman civilization than they have obtained in their undergraduate degrees, to improve their ability in Greek and Latin as well as in the major modern languages of classical scholarship, and to develop their skills in research, critical thinking, and written expression. This training furnishes students with valuable skills that can be applied to employment in contexts beyond the university, such as museum work, and beyond Classics, such as law, librarianship, teaching at the secondary level, and the business world. This objective is achieved through course work, major research papers, and a thesis (2-year degree) or project (1-year degree), teaching and research assistantships, and excavation and museum fieldwork for archaeologists and others.Timeline for the MA degree with thesis:Year 1: Six half-courses (one-term courses) offered by the Department, of which at least two must be graduate or undergraduate Latin or Greek (permission of the Graduate Advisor is required to take a course at the undergraduate level). A thesis proposal of approximately 5-6 pages (including bibliography), approved by the supervisory committee in June; thesis writing commences thereafter and is ongoing.Modern language exam in French or German or Italian.Year 2:Four half-courses (one-term courses) offered by the Department, of which at least two must be graduate or undergraduate Latin or Greek (permission of the Graduate Advisor is required to take a course at the undergraduate level). Ongoing thesis research and writing to produce a thesis of approximately 80 pages.An oral examination to defend the thesis.

Applicants for the MA Program in Greek & Roman Studies may be admitted as Regular Students if they are graduates with at least Bplus standing of any Honours program taken at McMaster or any other university, which includes: At least 12 units of either Ancient Greek or Latin and at least six units of the other language with an average of at least B in each language. At least 36 additional units of Classical Civilization, Greek, Latin, Ancient History or other courses approved by the Department of Greek & Roman Studies, at least 12 of these units to be in upper-level courses.