Department of Greek and Latin

Professors	William E. Klingshirn, Director of the Center for the Study of Early Christianity; John F. Petruccione
Professor Emeritus	Frank A. C. Mantello
Associate Professors	Sarah Brown Ferrario, Chair; William J. McCarthy, Director of Graduate Studies
Assistant Professor	Fabio Pagani, Director of Undergraduate Studies
Adjunct Assistant Professors	Sr. Maria Kiely, O.S.B.

Department of Greek and Latin Website

The Department of Greek and Latin offers four graduate degrees: the M.A. degree in Greek and Latin, the M.A. degree in Greek, the M.A. degree in Latin, and the Ph.D. degree in Greek and Latin. It also offers three graduate-level Certificates, in Greek, in Latin, and in Greek and Latin. The M.A. degree in Greek and Latin may be pursued in sequence with the Ph.D. as an "M.A.-Ph.D." program. Detailed information about all these programs is available at the department's website.

Programs at the master's level emphasize the study of classical Greek and/or Latin literature, but may also include approved coursework in history, art and architecture, patristics, post-classical Greek and Latin, Semitic and Egyptian languages and literatures, epigraphy, papyrology, palaeography, theology, philosophy, and other disciplines. M.A. programs do not require a thesis, but degree candidates must submit two substantial research papers for review by the faculty. In the doctoral program there is a special emphasis on the late antique period and on post-classical Greek and Latin, and a general requirement that Ph.D. dissertations focus on a patristic, late antique, or medieval Greek or Latin topic.

This emphasis at the doctoral level reflects the department's reputation as a center for the study of Christian Greek and Latin, which is exemplified by two series of published dissertations it has sponsored over the years--Patristic Studies and Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin Language and Literature--and by The Fathers of the Church, a well-known series of English translations published by The Catholic University of America Press and long associated with this department. This unique heritage in the study of late antiquity and the medieval period, which is shared by other departments and programs at the university, has also been responsible for the development of a number of projects undertaken by the university press, notably Studies in Christian Antiquity; Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide; and the Catalogus translationum et commentariorum, a series devoted to the medieval and Renaissance Latin translations of ancient Greek authors and to the Latin commentaries on ancient Greek and Latin authors up to the year 1600. The most recent initiative is The Library of Early Christianity, a series of texts with facing-page translations published by The Catholic University of America Press, whose Editorial Director is a member of the department's faculty.

The department's Certificate programs (in Greek, in Latin, and in Greek and Latin) are special graduate-level qualifications available to post-baccalaureate, graduate, or continuing-education students. They provide concentrated opportunities for intensive instruction in classical and/or post-classical Greek and Latin and for the acquisition of linguistic skills required for advanced studies and research in Classics and a wide variety of fields in the humanities. Admission is open to applicants with a completed bachelor's degree (in any field), and there is no need to submit GRE scores or to have had any prior experience in Greek or Latin. Each Certificate program consists of 15 credit hours (five courses) of language study at the advanced level and can be completed in less than one calendar year if a student enters with intermediate-level language work already completed. Those without this linguistic background can satisfy prerequisites (elementary and/or intermediate-level language courses) during the summer before the selected Certificate program begins.

The university's John K. Mullen of Denver Memorial Library houses excellent resources for graduate students, including medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and diplomata and 10,000 volumes from the renowned Clementine Library assembled by Gian Francesco Albani (Pope Clement XI, 1700-1721) and his family. The department also maintains a growing library of its own within its suite, as well as a small collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. Teaching collections of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins are held in the University Archives. The university's membership in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area ensures that students may take courses for credit at participating institutions and have access to their libraries.

Students who wish to become candidates for the department's M.A. programs in Greek and Latin, in Greek, or in Latin should ordinarily have taken one or both of the classical languages as their programs of concentration in college or should have acquired equivalent training before beginning graduate work. Students wishing to be admitted as candidates for the Ph.D. degree should ordinarily have completed a master's degree program in Classics (at this university or elsewhere), and should be primarily interested in studying patristics, late antiquity, or medieval Greek or Latin against the background of ancient Greek and Roman literature and culture. Deficiencies in training for graduate work, in either Greek or Latin, must be made up before students will be eligible for admission to courses conferring graduate credit. Transfer of graduate credits earned at other accredited institutions is permitted in accordance with the university's regulations. Graduate or Certificate students who receive a grade of C in any course are subject to review by the faculty of the department. Those who receive a grade of F or a second grade of C are subject to dismissal. Courses may be repeated only at the discretion of the Chair.

Candidates for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees must take written comprehensive examinations based upon departmental reading lists. A reading knowledge of French and German is strongly recommended from the beginning of graduate studies. Competence in either of these languages is required for the M.A. degrees in Greek and Latin, in Greek, and in Latin; documentation of a reading knowledge of the other, and of any additional relevant languages, is required prior to the three-part comprehensive examination for advancement to doctoral candidacy. For students in the combined M.A.-Ph.D. program, advancement from the M.A. to the Ph.D. requires departmental and school approval of the Application for a Higher Degree. Approval is based on acceptable performance on the M.A. comprehensive examinations and a departmental commitment to mentorship of the student through the Ph.D. exam process, and (presuming advancement to doctoral candidacy) into the dissertation phase.

In any semester in which a graduate student is registered for any comprehensive exams at any level, the student must take one of the following actions in order to remain in good academic standing: 1) take an exam (which may be a preliminary sight-translation or modern language exam); 2) submit a formal proposal for a major field or minor field examination for consideration by the full faculty. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the department Chair.

Program Requirements

Program: M.A. in Greek and Latin	Semester Hours
GR 511: Greek Prose Composition	3
LAT 511: Latin Prose Composition	3
GR 655: Survey of Greek Literature	3
LAT 655: Survey of Latin Literature	3
Six other approved courses	18
Total	30
Modern language examination (French or German)
Comprehensive examinations
Submission of two approved research papers

Program: M.A. in Greek	Semester Hours
GR 511: Greek Prose Composition	3
GR 655: Survey of Greek Literature	3
Eight other approved courses	24
Total	30
Modern language examination (French or German)
Comprehensive examinations
Submission of two approved research papers

Program: M.A. in Latin	Semester Hours
LAT 511: Latin Prose Composition	3
LAT 655: Survey of Latin Literature	3
Eight other approved courses	24
Total	30
Modern language examination (French or German)
Comprehensive examinations
Submission of two approved research papers

Ph.D. in Greek and Latin	Semester Hours
M.A. degree program in Greek and Latin (or the equivalent)	30
CLAS 572: Mediterranean World of Late Antiquity	3
Three courses in Greek texts	9
Three courses in Latin texts	9
One other approved course	3
Total	54
Modern language examination (German or French and any other relevant languages)
Comprehensive examinations
Doctoral dissertation