Classics (M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.)

Course details

The M.Phil. in Classics is designed both for those who are already fully trained in the classical languages and for those who have completed non-language based degrees. The course provides students with an excellent grounding in postgraduate research skills in Classics. It also hones the sort of analytical, written, and verbal communication skills that are highly valued and effective in careers outside the university and education sectors. Since its establishment in the M.Phil. in Classics has attracted students from all over the world. Many have gone on to do doctoral studies in Trinity College and in other universities internationally.

The course has two compulsory elements. The weekly core module Research and Methods runs throughout the year and communicates core research skills and knowledge across the main strands of classical scholarship. All students also write a dissertation of words on an agreed topic, individually supervised by a member of staff. The dissertation offers an opportunity to begin to specialise in a particular strand of scholarship, whether literary, philosophical, historical or archaeological. In addition, students choose four elective modules (or two if they take beginners’ Greek or Latin), which likewise allow them to build specific skills and to follow their individual interests. Recently taught electives include Greek Language; Latin Language; Classics and European Identity; Textual Criticism; Gender and Genre in Augustan Poetry; Greeks and Barbarians; Ancient Drama, Adaptation and Performance; Curiosity and Crisis in the Late Fifth Century: Receptions of the Sophists; The Eternal City: The Archaeology of the City of Rome; Lost in the Labyrinth? 'Reading' Aegean Bronze Age Art; Rulers and Image-making in the Hellenistic World. For students with intermediate and advanced Greek and Latin a range of author- and topic-based modules are available. Students may also apply to take one Directed Reading module outside listed taught modules (within the areas of expertise of staff members) or an approved module from another M.Phil. course. Available options vary from year to year, subject to staffing demands.