Master of Philosophy in Greek and/or Roman History

Differences from 2021/22 to 2023/24

  • 1. Every candidate must follow, for at least six terms, a course of instruction in Greek and/or Roman History.

  • 2. Syllabus. Candidates must offer (1) an option from List A, (2) an option from List B, (3) an option from either of Lists B and C, (4) a dissertation as described in D below, and (5) either the “Greece and the East” or the “Rome and the West” seminar as described in E below. 
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  • Not all options may be available in any given year.
  • 23. Candidates maymust satisfytake one of the Examinersseminars in notList moreE thanin threetheir first year and may offer up to two further options in the first year of their course.

  • 4. 3.

    • (a) InAll options, including the casedissertation, require the approval of optionsthe incandidate's languages,supervisor Scheduleand Athe below,Graduate candidatesStudies will be examined by written examination. Candidates taking options A (iii)-(vi) may bring a dictionaryCommittee for theirAncient use in the examinationHistory. Any candidate taking either of options A (i) or A (ii) whose native language is not English may bring a bilingual (native language-English) dictionary for use in the examination.

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    • (b)5.  For options in topics and techniques, Schedules B and C below, unlessUnless otherwise stated below,  candidatesoptions under Lists B, C and E will be requiredassessed toby pre-submit two presubmitted essays of not more than 5,000 words in length, which between them display knowledge of more than a narrow range of the topic covered by the course.

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    • (c) Supervisors or others are  For the Graduate Seminars, Schedule E below, candidates will be requiredpermitted to pre-submitgive onebibliographical essayhelp with and to discuss drafts of notessays.
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    • 6.  moreCandidates thanoffering 5,000options words,from basedLists onB aor presentationC in their first year must upload their essays to the Seminar,University andapproved oneonline essayassessment platform by noon on the Wednesday of notWeek more6 thanof 5,000Trinity words,Term basedin the first year of the course. Candidates offering options from Lists B or in C in their second year must upload their essays to the University approved online assessment platform by noon on otherthe workWednesday doneof Week 1 of Trinity Term in connectionthe withsecond year of the Seminarcourse.

       
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    • (d)7.  The word limits for presubmitted essays and for dissertations exclude the bibliography and certain other categories of material as adumbrateddescribed  in the MSt/MPhil course handbook, which is to be consulted for further guidance.

    • (e) Supervisors or others are permitted to give bibliographical help with and to discuss drafts of essays.

  • 48. Oral Examination. Candidates are required to present themselves for oral examination if summoned by the examiners.

  • 59. If it is the opinion of the examiners that the work done by a candidate, while not of sufficient merit to qualify for the degree of M.Phil., is nevertheless of sufficient merit to qualify for the degree of Master of Studies in Greek and/or Roman History, the candidate shall be given the option of resitting the M.Phil. (as provided under the appropriate regulation) or of being granted leave to supplicate for the degree of Master of Studies.

    A

  • 6. Syllabus

    Candidates must offer (1) an option from A below, (2) an option from B below (3) an option from B or C below, (4) a dissertation as described in D below, and must take, in the first year of their course, (5) one of the Graduate Seminars in Ancient History as described in E belowfollowing. TheThey optionmust fromoffer either A must be (i) or A (ii), unless a candidate isindividually dispensed from this requirement by the Graduate Studies Committee forin Ancient History.

  • Not

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  • Each alloption will be assessed in one written paper.
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  • Any candidate taking options A (i)-(ii) whose first language is not English may bring a bilingual (first language-English) dictionary for use in the examination. Candidates taking options A (iii)-(vi) may bring a dictionary (language of examination – English) for their use in the examination.
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  • Candidates will not normally be availableallowed to be examined in anytheir givenfirst yearlanguage or which they have previously studied in taught courses for more than two years.

    A

     
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    • (i) Intermediate Greek, as prescribed for the Master of Studies in Greek and/or Roman History. Paper A(ii)

    • (ii) Intermediate Latin, as prescribed for the Master of Studies in Greek and/or Roman History, Paper A(iv).

    • (iii) French

    • (iv) German

    • (v) Italian

    • (vi) Any other language which the candidate has satisfied the Graduate Studies Committee for Ancient History is relevant to their other papers including any dissertationpart of the work which they propose to submit. 

    B

    • (i) Greek Numismatics

    • (ii) Roman Numismatics

    • (iii) Greek Epigraphy

    • (iv) The Epigraphy of the Roman World

    • (v) Documentary Papyrology. Candidates taking this option will produce an edition of a documentary papyrus and one essay of not more than 5,000 words in length. These should be submitted in accordance with the arrangements set out in 2(e) above.

    • (vi) Roman Law

      (vii) AnyOne of options theB1-4 followingand papersB7 on the B list ofin the M.St. in Greek and/or Latin Languages and Literature:, B1-4; B7subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee in Ancient History and the Graduate Studies Committee in Classical Languages and Literature.  Presubmitted essays offered under this option will be subject to the normal regulations for the submission of presubmitted essays in the M.Phil. in Greek and/or Roman History.

      (viii) AnyAn of the papersoption from Schedule B of the M.St. in Classical Archaeology, subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee in Ancient History and the Graduate Studies Committee in Archaeology.  Presubmitted essays offered under this option will be subject to the normal regulations for the submission of presubmitted essays in the M.Phil. in Greek and/or Roman History.

      (ix) Any other subject approved by the Graduate Studies Committee for Ancient History.

    C

    • (i) Greek history to c.650 BCE

    • (ii)Options on historical topics. A Greeklist historyof toavailable c.650-479options BCE

    • (iii)will Greek history to c.479-336 BCE

    • (iv) Athenian democracyappear in the ClassicalHandbook age

    • (v)issued Alexanderin andWeek his successors 336-301 BCE

    • (vi) The Hellenistic world 301-c .100 BCE

    • (vii) The Achaemenid Empire
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    • (viii) Pre-Roman Italy.
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    • (ix) Carthage and the Punic Mediterranean
    • (x) Rome and the Mediterranean world 241-146 BCE

    • (xi) Roman history 146-46 BCE

    • (xii) Cicero

    • (xiii) Roman history 46 bce -54 CE

    • (xiv) Roman history 54-138 CE

    • (xv) Roman history 138-312 CE

    • (xvi) The ecology, agriculture and settlement history0 of the ancientMichaelmas MediterraneanTerm world

      preceding the examination. 
    • (xvii)Note: The economyoption ofon the pre-Roman Mediterranean
    • (xviii) The economy of the Roman Empire

    • (xix) The provinces of the Roman Empire

    • (xx) Greek and/or Roman religion

    • (xxi) Gender and sexuality in the Greek and/or Roman world

    • (xxii) Varieties of enslavement and unfreedom in ancient Mediterranean
  •            (xxiii) Community movements, Mediterranean colonizations and colonialisms
    • (xxiv) Greek and/or Latin historiography

    • (xxv) The Church in the Roman Empire from the beginnings to 312 CE.

      (xxvi) The world of Augustine

      (xxvii) The City of Rome. This course is run in collaboration with the British School at Rome, and involves attendance at the residential course organised by the School annually in Rome; only those accepted by the School may take the option.

       Candidates wishing to offer this option should normally do so in their first year for timetabling reasons. 
    • (xxviii)In Writingaddition to the options set out in the Handbook, candidates may offer an option on any other historical topic relating to the Ancient Greek and Roman historyWorld afterof Antiquity

    • (xxix)their Any otherchoice, subject approvedto bythe approval of the Graduate Studies Committee forin Ancient History

     
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  • D

  • A dissertation of not more than 25,000 words on a subject to be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee for Ancient History.

  • E

  • Graduate Seminars

    • (i) Greece and the East

    • (ii) Rome and the West

  • These working seminars, organised by members of the faculty in areas of current interest to them, run fortnightly in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms. The topics of the Seminars will vary from time to time. Details are announced in the Graduate handbook for the Degrees of M.St. and M.Phil. in Greek and/or Roman History.

  • 7. All options, including the dissertation, require the approval of the candidate's supervisor and the Graduate Studies Committee for Ancient History, having regard to the candidate's previous experience, the range covered by the chosen options, and the availability of teaching and examining resources. Options under B (vii), (viii), (ix) and C (xxii) in disciplines other than Ancient History require the approval of both the Graduate Studies Committee for Ancient History and the Graduate Studies Committee responsible for the discipline concerned. The options must be submitted for approval not later than the Friday of Week 5 of Michaelmas Term in the candidate's first academic year. Candidates will not normally be allowed to be examined in languages of which they are native speakers or which they have previously studied in taught courses for more than two years.

  • 8.

    • (a) Each essay offered under Schedule E, Graduate Seminars must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform by noon on the Wednesday of Week 6 of Trinity Term in the first year of the course.

      (b) Candidates may, if they wish, submit two essays on options from Schedules B or C by noon on the Wednesday of Week 6 of Trinity Term in the first year of the course. Otherwise, candidates must submit all essays on options from Schedules B and C by noon on the Wednesday of Week 1 of Trinity Term in the final year of the course. An electronic copy of all such essays must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform.

      (c) The dissertation (Schedule D) must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform by noon on the Wednesday of Week 6 of Trinity Term in the final year of the course.  

    • E

    • Candidates will be required to attend and participate in one of the following graduate seminars, and to submit two presubmitted essays on topics relating to the seminar. 

      • (i) Greece and the East

      • (ii) Rome and the West

    Each essay must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform by noon on the Wednesday of Week 6 of Trinity Term in the first year of the course. 

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