Batavi

If you'd like to earn money writing, continue with your studies, get the MA or PhD you want, and become a professional author. They earn 'some' money, but I reckon you're 'safer' off trying to become a full time academic and getting things published like that. Of course, you can try do the two together.....

I'm doing Ancient History so for applications I often fall in between Classics and History departments. I'd suggest you keep yourself open to studying in Classics departments as well (for an MA) - Notre Dame has a fantastic religious/classical/late antiquity MA programme which is fully funded. Take a look at it - The Late antiquity programme offers you the chance to improve your languages without having too high minimum requirements and is highly specialized in religion/theology.

I think what lapyx was trying to get at, was if you're going to study this field/area, what degree title (Ancient Hist, Classics, Archaeology, etc) will give you a better chance of obtaining that TT position. I'm not certain, but I have a feeling that "classics" (languages) is the most popular TT position. That being said, I don't think it really matters what your official degree title is, so long as you meet the job requirements and expectations. I know a professor who has a degree in Classical literature, but has an official appointment as Prof of Roman archaeology, and has never received any official training as an archaeologist, AND also tends to publish nearly all of his work under the ancient history category. Lapyx - don't restrict your studies or understanding of the ancient world to the broad labels that are used, simply because one label may or may not get you a TT position. Your publications, knowledge and abilities are all that will matter.

There has already been a post about this somewhere in this forum but not exactly sure where.... I'm also interested in late Roman Republican/early Imperial warfare, and there are tons of scholars who are also interested in this. What I suggest you do is, is look at the authors of the subject matter that you are interested in and then just search where they work/teach, etc. That way you can trace and find scholars who share similar interests.

I would recommend you take at least two years before applying for a PhD programme - be it to terminal MA programmes with funding or to postbacs. I would not recommend a 1 year postbac because it seems that your language knowledge is extremely lacking (not to be too harsh). I would recommend you take a look at the UCLA postbac programme which lasts 2 years. I think that trying to do what you need in 1 year or less is going to be too much. I'm not sure what the language requirements for classical philology are (or how many programmes offer it) but for classics at least 4yrs and 3/4 yrs of the two ancient languages are an absolute minimum. And then you also need as much knowledge of German, French and/or Italian as possible. Maybe you could also take French or German during your current programme. If you have some of the basic grammar, it will speed up your studies later on and will certainly look better than nothing. As for the letters, I suggest you find 2-3 professors that you have a good rapport with and talk to them a bit about your goal and your plans and options and then once you leave your institution, stay in touch with them and of course mention that you'd appreciate a letter of recommendation once you start applying for PhD programmes. You'll probably also need some reference letters for a postbac programme, so whoever you ask will already have written what you can ask for later applications should you require it (although its better to get more recent letters). It is not possible to get letters in person, keep them and send them off later - as this defeats the whole purpose of a letter of recommendation.

There are deadlines. For the majority of PhD programmes it is Dec 15th. Or at least it was this past round. It may change by a couple of days. But the latest deadlines are mid Jan - double check these dates later of course.. All transcripts (BA, MA, etc) are subject to the requirements of the programme. Look these up as they differ for each uni and also contradict each other (ex. department website informs that photocopies will do whilst grad school website requires official ones..) And finally - someone might know this better than me, but i'm pretty sure you will have to repeat years. You will need to meet all their comp exam reqs and course reqs before being approved for the final stage of the programme - thesis writing.

First of all application fees differ from each university but expect around 50-100USD per application. This of course, does not include the cost of sending transcripts, materials, etc that the application will reply. Also make sure to take the GRE - which will set you back some more money - you'll only be able to take that in London at specific times so check that information early. PhDs in the states last longer because it usually combines the studies with an MA which you can get on the way. The programmes tend to focus more on teaching/TA'ing (teacher assistant) and doing coursework with your final work being your dissertation/thesis. PhDs in Europe are essentially shorter because you only write. Tuition will vary but usually if you are accepted into a PhD programme, you will receive some financial support package to help with full/partial tuition and/or living costs. The big schools offer a full tuition waver and some extra funding. As for the prep time of applications - your writing sample will take the most time and then your personal statement. They will be generally the same but you have to tailor them to each specific programme. As said before, you'll also have to take the GRE exam and some (i don't think many) places will require some financial proof/immigration documents done. Congrats on your oxford acceptance. I will probably see you there soon since I'm starting in October there as well but doing MPhil Roman HIst. Are you classics, arch, or ancient hist?

I agree with this. I just got accepted to Oxford MPhil Ancient History and intend to stay there right through till the end of my doctoral degree. After that, I'm well aware that I will have to take some sort of an instructor position before applying to a tenured track position - which is perfectly fine with me. But whether you do 3 years PhD programme and then work 3 years full time or do 6 years with a balance between the two - you will be judged on the same things for positions you apply to. Your degree (where you earned it) will get your application looked at, then a balance between top research and publications, your ability to teach, and perhaps your ability to acquire funding and network knowledge. So, at the end of the day, its all about how you sell yourself to possible employers.

Post this in the Classics forum. I was wasn't sure either where to post ancient history stuff, but seems like you'll have a better chance there. As for theology - I don't know any programmes whatsoever. I know Notre Dame has an emphasis on Early Christianity and perhaps a theology programme as well. Also - what are you going to do your masters in? A second masters in the same subject?

LIKE!

I'd think it may actually help you as well - it shows that you've taken your time during the MA not only to better prepare yourself for a PhD but also shows real growth in maturity in terms of numbers, rather than only qualitative (writing sample).

I'm going to Oxford - MPhil Greek and/or Roman History. But I'm pretty certain that it will be only Roman History. Provisional supervisor: Mr. Nicholas Purcell. I'm really hoping that I get to stay with him as a supervisor. He's just absolutely amazing! Summer - I have an extra long summer since I'm moving from the N. American system to the British system - meaning I end pretty early (last exam in April) and then only start classes October 10th. I'm certain I'll travel a bit and I'm still looking for an excavation to go on - one which won't ask me to pay lots to do manual labour. If they want my free labour, they can't expect me to pay much Other than that, I'm going to brush up on my Latin, French and German. And maybe, if I manage to do that and still have time, I'll pick up my Greek textbook and take a look at what I hate so much

I'm going to oxford next term so I may not know much, but from the way that I understand it (and remember) is that during your application you put your college preference. You also select which scholarships you'd apply for. Some are college specific, so in your application you can override your college choice for a scholarship. However, they only inform you about funding through scholarships once you've been admitted by the university and then placed into a college. Other than that, there is no automatic funding. You compete for the very little funding there is. That's all I know, so somebody can correct me.

Well, going to a PhD fully funded is certainly going to be financially more appealing than oxford. And i'm sure that if you got into oxford you must have pretty good offers already. Wait until you find out which college you are assigned and who knows, you might be one of the lucky few who got some scholarship (there are some that cover 100% tuition).

I'm actually an EU citizen and still 'officially' residing in an EU country - so I'll be paying the local fees. To my knowledge, there is almost no funding to be gotten at Oxford. If you happen to be one of the lucky few who does get a scholarship, it will be tied together with your college acceptance letter. At least that's what I understood from the email they sent. Do you think you're going to attend?