Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies

Graduate Program HeadTawny Holm
Program CodeCAMS
Campus(es)University Park
Degrees ConferredDual-Title
The Graduate Faculty

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Students electing this program through participating departments will earn a degree with a dual-title at the Ph.D. level, i.e., Ph.D. in (graduate program name) and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies.

The following graduate program offers a dual-title degree in Classics and Mediterranean Studies: Philosophy.

Dual-title degrees grounded both in CAMS and a given discipline will acknowledge and foster interdisciplinary scholarship. This dual-title degree program will increase the intellectual rigor, breadth, and depth of graduate work in a participating program through immersion in the disciplinary fields covered by the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies: the literatures and languages of ancient Mediterranean societies; their history, social and material cultures, and their reception by other cultures.

This dual-title program will thus provide a context in which students will learn how to synthesize knowledge within and across traditional disciplinary boundaries. In addition, this dual-title degree program will provide qualified students opportunities for instructional training encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to teaching.

The primary advantages of this dual-title program include the intellectual and academic advantages and benefits of interdisciplinary study, as well as the enhancement of the reputation of the departments concerned through an innovative program, leading to recruitment of highly qualified graduate students, and an improved placement of doctoral graduates in highly-competitive humanities fields.

Admission Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

Students must apply and be admitted to their primary graduate program and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the CAMS dual-title degree program. After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the CAMS dual-title program. Doctoral students must apply for enrollment into the dual-title degree program in CAMS prior to taking the qualifying exam in their home department.

Applicants to this dual-title degree program should have a junior/senior cumulative average of at least 3.30 (on a 4.00 scale) and appropriate academic preparation. Preference will be given to those students who have an academic record that demonstrates expertise in a field relevant to ancient Mediterranean studies and proficiency at an intermediate level (e.g., 3 semesters of study) in one or more ancient languages. Where applicable, a minimum GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.00 scale) is requisite for graduate work previously undertaken. Prospective students seeking admission to this dual-title degree program are required to write a statement of purpose that addresses the ways in which their research and professional goals will reflect an interest in interdisciplinary research in the participating program and the disciplines and fields included in CAMS.

Degree Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the primary graduate program in which they are enrolled. In addition, they must satisfy the degree requirements for the dual-title in CAMS, listed below.

This dual-title degree will require CAMS-related course work, normally including additional course work in ancient languages, additional components to the comprehensive examinations, and the completion of a CAMS-related doctoral dissertation. A CAMS graduate supervisory committee, chaired by a CAMS faculty member closely related to the student's field of interest, will supervise the graduate study of each student accepted into this dual-title program until all CAMS-related coursework is completed. Students will be expected to attend and participate actively in the CAMS regularly scheduled colloquia.

Course work

  • 15 credits of CAMS-related coursework at the 400 or 500 level or above. 
  • 3 of these credits will come from CAMS 592.
  • At least 3 credits will come from CAMS 593.

The remainder may come from CAMS courses or courses relevant to the student's research interests, as approved by the student's doctoral adviser and the CAMS program director of graduate studies. Unless exempted by the student’s Ph.D. committee, at least 6 of these credits should be in an ancient language. No more than 6 credits can come from 400-level courses.

Qualifying Examination

Students must meet the Ph.D. qualifying exam requirements specified by the cooperating department. In addition, the student will be required to present a portfolio of work in CAMS to their committee. Such a portfolio would include a statement of the student's interdisciplinary research interests, a program plan, and samples of writing that indicate the student's work in CAMS.

The qualifying examination committee for the dual-title Ph.D. degree must include at least one Graduate Faculty member from the CAMS program. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. Dual-title graduate degree students may require an additional semester to fulfill requirements for both areas of study and, therefore, the qualifying examination may be delayed one semester beyond the normal period allowable.

Ph.D. committee Composition

In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for Ph.D. committees, the Ph.D. committee of a CAMS dual-title Ph.D. student must include at least one member of the CAMS Graduate Faculty. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. If the chair of the Ph.D. committee is not also a member of the Graduate Faculty in CAMS, the member of the committee representing CAMS must be appointed as co-chair. The CAMS representative on the student’s Ph.D. committee will develop questions for and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

English Competency Requirements

The student will fulfill the English Competency requirements specified by the participating program.

Modern Language Reading Proficiency Requirements

Students will be expected to acquire and demonstrate reading proficiency in those modern foreign languages (e.g., but not exclusively, French, German, Italian) appropriate to their research interests, as identified in consultation with the student’s Ph.D. committee.

Dissertation

Students in the dual-title program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that is approved in advance by their Ph.D. committee and reflects their original research and education in both their primary graduate program and CAMS. Upon completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense) to earn the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation must be accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School.

Minor

A graduate minor is available in any approved graduate major or dual-title program. The default requirements for a graduate minor are stated in Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-600 Research Degree Policies and GCAC-700 Professional Degree Policies, depending on the type of degree the student is pursuing:

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of The Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by The Graduate School.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) Course List

Contact

Campus University Park
Graduate Program Head Tawny Lee Holm
Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) or Professor-in-Charge (PIC) Mark Munn
Program Contact

Kristi L Brinker
klb776@psu.edu
(814) 863-6433

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