mashasrepublic

Hi everyone, I’m preparing for a PhD in Classical Studies but I will be applying to some Classics programs, too So here is the case (and I will appreciate any help!) I have my 4-year BA in Philosophy and I’m in my first year of a MA in Philosophical Anthropology rn. I study in Russia and we don’t have Classics here, the Russians do ‘Classical Philology’. As I’ve always been more interested in philosophy than in languages, I went for the first. All these years my research papers were on “Ancient Philosophy meets XXth century theories” topics. I had no ‘official and obligatory’ courses in Greek and Latin since my first BA year, that’s why I’ve been learning them by myself (this year I’ve managed to take some “official” (which means they will appear in my report) courses in Greek and Latin this year). Now that I’m preparing for applying for PhD programs next autumn, I’m doing my research on Thucydides’ political philosophy and the role of eros in it, using my own translations as I’m going to use my master thesis as a Writing Samples. But I have some questions that are bothering me: (1) Is it OK to apply for a PhD in Classics after BA in Philosophy and MA in Philosophical Anthropology? To me, it seems pretty normal but I’m not sure if I understand the importance of being “officially” trained in Classics on a BA level. (2) How does one apply for a PhD in both UK and US? As I understand, the applicants get offers and rejections from UK universities in November/December. Then they have a short period of time during which they should either take an offer or reject it (by the way, I couldn’t find how long this period is). But US universities make their decisions and send offers and rejections in February. It means I will have to decide whether I should take an offer from a UK university (or reject it) without knowing if I have some variants in the US. What’s the protocol here? Do people do this (=apply in both countries) at all? (3) As I’ve said, there are no Classics departments in Russia. So I will take my references from (1) my supervisor (he is a scholar in contemporary and ancient philosophy, a member of the International Plato society and wrote a great book on Plato’s political philosophy and its logic, so he looks “Classical-ish” enough), (2) my advisor (a true philosopher, fearless New Yorker who is very into Continental Philosophy (in Russia, continental philosophy < analytic philosophy) but he knows his Greek and Latin), and now I have to decide who I want to take a third reference from. Should I try find some time and fly to UK this spring/summer to attend a conference/summer school so that I can meet someone who would be a scholar in Classics and ask him/her for a reference? Or it’s okay if I take a reference from another scholar in Philosophy? (4) last but not the least: should I write in my personal statement anything about the total absence of degrees in Classics in Russia (as it is why I couldn’t get into a Classics programs - they simply do not exist here!)? Thank you A LOT in advance