interest in classics and request for suggestions (postbac, master, etc)

[miszoe]

hi, everyone. I'm from China and I did my undergrads at a small LAC in the US. While my major was art history (not ancient art), I was interested in classics and took two years of Latin and two years of Greek plus one ancient history course back then. My undergrads has a strong classics department and I got lots of 4.0 for those courses. 

Then I completed my masters studies at Ox-Bridge in art history and entered a phd program in the same subject at Princeton. Two years into my program, I fond that my interest in art history wasn't that strong and for a couple of reasons I left my program. 

I have worked for sometime but still feel like going back to academia, if just for the sake of reading more and writing more papers. Also my interest in classics (not art history) have rekindled. My favorite classes have always been the classics ones when i was an undergrad. I love close reading in ancient languages and learning about critical theories, but I am not sure which subfield of classics i'm most interested in. I also have no preference for latin or greek. 

SO my question is could anyone offer me suggestions as to what I should reasonably do with my interest?

Would it be a good idea to consider a post-bac program at places like Colombia or Penn? And then, if i‘m lucky enough, earn a second masters and eventually try to get into a phd program? If I am not going to get into a phd program, i guess i will also be fine with another masters degree and feel satisfied that I‘ve spent my time on worthwhile things. 

I am in my late 20s and am worried if age would be a problem. Also I guess the fact that I was once accepted into a humanities phd program but didn't finish it would hurt my application if one day I finish my master's and apply for a phd program. I've heard something about the current job market and am wondering if my non-elite lac background would cause a serious disadvantage to me? (That didn't seem to be a problem when i was in my art history phd program though). 

As for the financial issues, I am not from a rich family but I got scholarships and fundings throughout my undergrads, masters and phd years so I didn't spend much. I am thinking about saving money right now and support myself if I enter a postbac program. But I have no idea how to proceed later should i enter a masters program and am not that hopeful about getting scholarships in classics.  : p 

Another possibility for me is just to keep my interest by reading whatever I could get my hands on in my country, be satisfied with my current job, save money and come back to study classics in an academic environment decades later, say during my mid-50s or later, for pure interest.  I wonder if anyone, maybe not anyone here, is planning on doing that, too. 

Any suggestion or question is welcome!

 

 

[Marcus_Aurelius]

Seems like you might be best served by a funded MA program in Classics, if your still have (or can regain) the familiarity with the languages you acquired in undergrad. Otherwise a post-bac might be the only way, indeed. Age and previous PhD program experience don't seem like problems, as long; you can address in statement of purpose why you left the previous program (incl. that you realized your true passion is Classics).

[ClassicsCandidate]

On 12/18/2020 at 5:43 AM, miszoe said:

hi, everyone. I'm from China and I did my undergrads at a small LAC in the US. While my major was art history (not ancient art), I was interested in classics and took two years of Latin and two years of Greek plus one ancient history course back then. My undergrads has a strong classics department and I got lots of 4.0 for those courses. 

Then I completed my masters studies at Ox-Bridge in art history and entered a phd program in the same subject at Princeton. Two years into my program, I fond that my interest in art history wasn't that strong and for a couple of reasons I left my program. 

I have worked for sometime but still feel like going back to academia, if just for the sake of reading more and writing more papers. Also my interest in classics (not art history) have rekindled. My favorite classes have always been the classics ones when i was an undergrad. I love close reading in ancient languages and learning about critical theories, but I am not sure which subfield of classics i'm most interested in. I also have no preference for latin or greek. 

SO my question is could anyone offer me suggestions as to what I should reasonably do with my interest?

Would it be a good idea to consider a post-bac program at places like Colombia or Penn? And then, if i‘m lucky enough, earn a second masters and eventually try to get into a phd program? If I am not going to get into a phd program, i guess i will also be fine with another masters degree and feel satisfied that I‘ve spent my time on worthwhile things. 

I am in my late 20s and am worried if age would be a problem. Also I guess the fact that I was once accepted into a humanities phd program but didn't finish it would hurt my application if one day I finish my master's and apply for a phd program. I've heard something about the current job market and am wondering if my non-elite lac background would cause a serious disadvantage to me? (That didn't seem to be a problem when i was in my art history phd program though). 

As for the financial issues, I am not from a rich family but I got scholarships and fundings throughout my undergrads, masters and phd years so I didn't spend much. I am thinking about saving money right now and support myself if I enter a postbac program. But I have no idea how to proceed later should i enter a masters program and am not that hopeful about getting scholarships in classics.  : p 

Another possibility for me is just to keep my interest by reading whatever I could get my hands on in my country, be satisfied with my current job, save money and come back to study classics in an academic environment decades later, say during my mid-50s or later, for pure interest.  I wonder if anyone, maybe not anyone here, is planning on doing that, too. 

Any suggestion or question is welcome!

 

 

Hello, there! 

Well, I am in my 30s and just finished my MA in Classical Studies and applied to a good chunk of PhD programs; your age shouldn't be a problem. I had a couple of people in my MA program with me who were older, too - there was a lawyer in his 40s, an individual who was in his 60s and ended up doing his PhD and coming back to the same MA program to teach when he finished. Most programs have sections in their applications for a personal statement to explain why you changed routes/what brought you to that field vs. your previous field. I have Classics degrees but another BA and MA that are not quite relevant but adjacent (like your art history) fields. I agree with @Marcus_Aurelius that you should touch on it in your SoP. 

A lot of MAs are now being funded. Texas Tech U, Rutgers, and Villanova are the ones I know of off the top of my head that have possibilities of funding for their MA programs. I think a postbacc or intensive language program before the MA might be good, but I think if you have some background in it and you explain you want to go for the MA to increase your language knowledge, I think you'll be fine. I looked into doing the University of Georgia PostBacc at first because it was available as an online program, but I got into Villanova with a Tuition Scholarship, so I did that and withdrew my UGA app. There's also Bridge MAs and similar programs if you want to go all the way through a PhD program (e.g., the Bridge MA at the University of Michigan or the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at Princeton). 

My alternative plans for an all-rejection pile for this cycle is to get a job either teaching or in museums (or both, providing I can manage either, possibly obtaining an M.Ed. in the meantime with a teaching certification) before I try again for another application cycle. I don't think I'll get all rejections, but want to have a couple of plans in place just in case (since I already have an MA, I'd try for adjuncting roles, too). If you end up waiting to do another MA, I don't think it'd be bad to save up to do it or even do it slowly while working. I knew someone who went to Villanova who worked full time but only took one course per semester (Fall, Spring, Summer), so that they could pay for it out of pocket (also, at VU, teachers get a 20% tuition discount and a 40% discount if you're a Catholic school teacher, so a lot of the students were teachers). I think there are a lot of avenues you can take and they really depend on what direction you feel is best for you. I decided to apply to my PhD applications this year because it had been my plan to take 2020-2021 off and apply for the following year.

If you have any questions about Villanova's process, MA program, or anything related to that, feel free to ask me here or message me! Best of luck with figuring it all out and Happy New Year! 

[Sappho618]

Hi I’m almost in the same boat as you. I’m a Chinese and not from a rich family as well. If I were you, I feel like the best option would be going to a fully funded master. Post bac is totally not worth it. I think with your background it’s not hard to get offer from funded MA programs. Two years of Ancient Greek and Latin is enough for classics master program. I have three years of Latin and one year of Greek, and I took a few classes in ancient history and archaeology. I get accepted by both funded MA programs I applied to, Texas tech and Florida State. I know u of Arizona, Texas tech, tufts, u of Kansas.....many universities have fully funded MA. All those universities have strong classics department. Please let me know if you need any help. I can definitely help you with the application process and suggestions of graduate programs.  
 

And you can explore which subfield (literature, languages, ancient history etc.) you really want to study during your master years, although you probably need to write down your research interests in your SOP. You don’t have to do what you write in your SOP. And with your art history background I think it might be interesting to study in classical archaeology. Age and financial background definitely won’t be a problem. I feel like with your background you should be able to get into a fully funded MA program
 

[lycorislit]

Hi, just saw your message. I'm Chinese too, and I'm in my 30's. My prior degrees are not in classics, because I needed a job to secure my visa and food. Glad to see people from my home country having similar interests!

I fully understand your concern for age, as it matters in some industries and in some places. But I think it doesn't matter that much here in the US, in academia (maybe in pure mathematics it matters, haha). The posts above gave sufficient evidence. I can give you my own evidence. I started learning the ancient languages not long ago in one of my local colleges, and I got PhD admission offers this year. I didn't have the two years of latin/Greek each as you are now. I spent my MA (not in classics) figuring out what I want to do and then did the language classes / seminars as much as possible.

Well, you certainly can choose to save for the future and do something in your 50's or later. But life is unpredictable. For me, I simply want to make sure, if I got hit by a car by accident and went to another unknown realm, I would not regret at the moment I left this world. I would suggest taking some time to think about what you want for your life and how much you want it, and then just start trying.

Once you are determined, you can sort out other constraints like finance. As posts above say, there's funded MAs. I do think MAs are better than post-Bac, as it will give you sufficient time to explore, and at the same time you can find some depth. 

Good luck with your future planning and studying! 

[缱绻Outis]

Hello dude, another one from China here. I am 24 and currently studying at BU in my 4th year as undergrad. I have applied to several MA programs in Classics, Tufts for example. And like @Sappho618 said, they do offer scholarship. 

As far as I know, the goal of most MA programs and postbacs is improving your language skills, which ultimately helps for PhD level studies. The faculty here told me that the MA program at BU merely focuses on language. In order to get the degree, there is one particular exam on sight readings. And I believe this would be the same for postbacs, because I am currently taking Greek class with grad students who had postbac experiences. They are definitely confident and excellent at grammars, vocabs, etc. 

In terms of finance and age, I cannot offer good advice. Anyways, good luck! 

[Sappho618]

On 3/14/2021 at 4:33 AM, lycorislit said:

Hi, just saw your message. I'm Chinese too, and I'm in my 30's. My prior degrees are not in classics, because I needed a job to secure my visa and food. Glad to see people from my home country having similar interests!

I fully understand your concern for age, as it matters in some industries and in some places. But I think it doesn't matter that much here in the US, in academia (maybe in pure mathematics it matters, haha). The posts above gave sufficient evidence. I can give you my own evidence. I started learning the ancient languages not long ago in one of my local colleges, and I got PhD admission offers this year. I didn't have the two years of latin/Greek each as you are now. I spent my MA (not in classics) figuring out what I want to do and then did the language classes / seminars as much as possible.

Well, you certainly can choose to save for the future and do something in your 50's or later. But life is unpredictable. For me, I simply want to make sure, if I got hit by a car by accident and went to another unknown realm, I would not regret at the moment I left this world. I would suggest taking some time to think about what you want for your life and how much you want it, and then just start trying.

Once you are determined, you can sort out other constraints like finance. As posts above say, there's funded MAs. I do think MAs are better than post-Bac, as it will give you sufficient time to explore, and at the same time you can find some depth. 

Good luck with your future planning and studying! 

 

On 3/14/2021 at 7:16 AM, 缱绻Outis said:

Hello dude, another one from China here. I am 24 and currently studying at BU in my 4th year as undergrad. I have applied to several MA programs in Classics, Tufts for example. And like @Sappho618 said, they do offer scholarship. 

As far as I know, the goal of most MA programs and postbacs is improving your language skills, which ultimately helps for PhD level studies. The faculty here told me that the MA program at BU merely focuses on language. In order to get the degree, there is one particular exam on sight readings. And I believe this would be the same for postbacs, because I am currently taking Greek class with grad students who had postbac experiences. They are definitely confident and excellent at grammars, vocabs, etc. 

In terms of finance and age, I cannot offer good advice. Anyways, good luck! 

I agree with both of you and it’s so nice to see there are so many other Chinese students out there studying classics. I hope you two get into the programs you want. It calms down my constant worry of choosing a wrong major and ending up alone. MA is better than postbac considering of funding and what you can learn. And some programs just focus on improving your languages such as New Mexico. I think it’s a good idea to email your professors or advisor  ask for a list of good MA programs. I know it sounds kinda terrifying, but I’m sure they won’t mind and are glad to help.