post bac vs second bachelor

[SequorElior]

Hello,

I am South Korean who wants to study classical studies and to pursue Ph.D of it. 

Unfortunately, I studied Ancient Greek and Latin just for 2 semesters each of them during my undergraduate time. (I already have B.A.)(The universities in Korea do not offer bachelor for classics, because they do not offer major of classics at undergraduate level)

Of course, in order to be a successful Ph.D candidate, I have to study ancient languages much more.

However, I cannot find how I might be able to do that, except but self-learning. 

 

Therefore I have to select one of two possible ways.

 

1. Applying for post bachelor programs in USA, in order to use this program as a springboard to M.A / Ph.D

 

2. Applying for undergraduate as second bachelor student, not in USA but in UK or Germany, and applying for Ph.D after second graduation of bachelor 

 

I think each of it has it's own pros and cons. 

 

Q1. Is it possible that I can successfully become got into post bachelor program for classics, only just with the record of 2 semesters of Ancient Greek and Latin?

(one semester of them was held in Germany, not in South Korea) How do you think of it?

 

I think, if I cannot get post bachelor program, then it would be much better to start from the very first step, so to speak to enroll undergraduate again as second bachelor.

And I think if I cannot enroll decent graduate school even though I would have finished post bachelor program very well, then it would be much better to get second bachelor instead.

How do you think of it? Is it madness? 

 

Q2. Are there any other options, which I can choose instead of those 2 of them above?  If you have any other suggestions, then I will be extremely happy to know them. 

 

 

Sincerely I need your advice and help. I will wait your reply. Thank you. I hope all of you have a nice weekend.

 

 

 

 

[Marcus_Aurelius]

Are funded Master's programs in America an option? There are a few, like Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Georgia, and Kansas (not sure about others). Your language skills might be a bit under the mark for those, but you could explain in statement of purpose why you were only able to advance as far as you have, which I imagine admissions committees for MAs would be sympathetic to. 

A B.Phil. in UK also might be an option, though could be expensive.

A second BA seems perhaps a bit over-the-top, but you certainly could pursue that if you wanted.

Post-bac programs don't tend to be competitive but are sometimes pricey. Some of them are cheaper than others, though.

Here's a list of all Classics grad programs in America, and then you can check websites for details, funding, etc.: https://classicalstudies.org/education/graduate-programs-north-america

Good luck!

EDIT: This reddit thread also has some limited info, including some funded MAs I didn't know about: https://www.reddit.com/r/classics/comments/dlhqlo/funded_masters_programs/

Edited December 1, 2020 by Marcus_Aurelius

[SequorElior]

Thank you very much! And I am planning to have online courses for ancient languages also. I hope that post bsc programs ard not so competitive(as you said!) even in terms of my case also!

 

Thank you for your suggestion of terminal MA programs. I have one more question about this issue. How about those classics MA programs? : University of Chicago MAPH classics(two-year language option), Brandeis classics MA, Boston University classics MA, Boston classicw College M.A

Except but Brandeis those 3 universities do offer half funding(so to speak 1 year funding). May I ask you about your opinion or any recommendation among them, including the MA progrmas which you suggested?

I hope that you are always safe under this time of pamdemics.

 

 

[Marcus_Aurelius]

I really have no direct experience with Classics MA programs, so hopefully others can address specific programs. I will, say, though, the standard advice on this site, that one should never pay for a Humanities MA unless one is independently wealthy (and even then maybe not). U Chicago's MAPH is notorious for being expensive. And for the others, if a program is two years, even paying for one year is going to be crazy expensive, relative to the value. 

I think you should absolutely do what you want, but I strongly urge you to ask yourself whether the time and money pursuing a PhD program in Classics is the best way to achieve your goals. It'll be tough to get there, especially with some programs potentially reducing admissions in the short term. It's possible, but it may or may not be worth it to you.

Good luck, no matter what!

[SequorElior]

On 12/4/2020 at 3:08 PM, Marcus_Aurelius said:

I really have no direct experience with Classics MA programs, so hopefully others can address specific programs. I will, say, though, the standard advice on this site, that one should never pay for a Humanities MA unless one is independently wealthy (and even then maybe not). U Chicago's MAPH is notorious for being expensive. And for the others, if a program is two years, even paying for one year is going to be crazy expensive, relative to the value. 

I think you should absolutely do what you want, but I strongly urge you to ask yourself whether the time and money pursuing a PhD program in Classics is the best way to achieve your goals. It'll be tough to get there, especially with some programs potentially reducing admissions in the short term. It's possible, but it may or may not be worth it to you.

Good luck, no matter what!

Oh, what you said is totally right. I have forgotten the most important thing. I believe that if I seek my way constantly then it will show what is the most appropriate choice for me. But anyway, thank you!