The University of California Tri-Campus Graduate Program in Classics

UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego

Michele Salzman, Chair, Joint Executive Committee

NOTE: Admission to the program is not available at this time. Contact the Department for information.

NOTE: Admission to the program is not available at this time. Contact the Department for information.

All entering students are admitted into the Ph.D. program. With the exception of those granted advanced standing because they hold the M.A. in Classics from another institution, entering students may be awarded an M.A. along the way.

NOTE: Admission to the program is not available at this time. Contact the Department for information. 

The requirements for the Ph.D. are three years (nine quarters) of course work. Minimum course requirements are four quarters of CLASSIC 200A, CLASSIC 200B, CLASSIC 200C; 12 quarters of CLASSIC 220; two external graduate seminars, from departments or programs outside of Classics. These may be taken from the offerings of any of the three campuses. Students may take up to two quarters of enhanced upper-division Greek or Latin courses (enrolled as 280s) in place of CLASSIC 220s with permission of the Graduate Advisor if remedial work is required in Greek or Latin. Where appropriate, in the third year of course work, a second CLASSIC 200A, CLASSIC 200B, or CLASSIC 200C, may be substituted for a CLASSIC 220. CLASSIC 280, Independent Study (supervised research), may be substituted for CLASSIC 220s only with the permission of the Graduate Advisor.

Up to 12 equivalent graduate-level courses completed elsewhere may be substituted for Tri-Campus Program courses with approval of the Joint Executive Committee. CLASSIC 280 may be used, normally in the fourth year, to provide time to work on the Greek and Latin reading lists and to prepare for Qualifying Examinations, but these courses do not count toward the required 18 courses.

Students are encouraged to take courses and seminars in relevant areas outside the program at any of the three campuses. At this stage, and during the fourth year of study, students are expected to have read extensively in the primary texts, in literary history and theory, and in ancient history. In addition, experience in supervised teaching and/or research activity is normally required. In order to qualify as a candidate for the Ph.D. and enter the dissertation stage, a student must pass a set of five written qualifying examinations, including Greek translation and Latin translation; Greek history and Roman history; history of Greek and Roman literature. Once these examinations have been passed, a student must submit a substantial dissertation prospectus, comparable to a research paper in scope and detail, and pass an oral examination administered by the candidacy committee.

Ph.D. students must also demonstrate reading proficiency in one modern research language (normally German and French or Italian) by the end of their second year either through appropriate course work or by examination. Proficiency in a second modern research language is expected by the end of the third year. The normative time for advancement to candidacy is four years. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years, and the maximum time permitted is eight years.