Classics advice

[archer]

Hello,

I am a sophomore majoring in history and anthropology. I hope to go to grad school for Byzantine archaeology, and a strong background in Classical languages (especially Greek) will be needed. However, my school only offers Latin I & II (which I will be taking next year) and no Greek at all. I've looked into Post-bac programs for Classical languages, but they all seem to be courses to strengthen and advance the skills of students who have already taken beginning/intermediate courses. Are there master's programs in Classics that will accept students with no language experience and teach them? It seems like my only options are to transfer to a school that has a Classics program or get another bachelor's in Classics after I graduate - and neither option seems particularly appealing to me.

So, I'm looking for a Hail Mary pass - a master's program for Classics that will teach me Greek when I get there, and doesn't expect me to know it to get in. Any advice would be very greatly appreciated.

[Ardea]

I would suggest something else...have you considered studying abroad? A semester or year abroad would give you the opportunity to pick up more Latin and possibly Greek as well, in addition to being an awesome experience. Failing that, I would consult the instructor of Latin at your college and see if you could take upper-level Latin courses as independent studies.

I would also recommend looking into a field school, if you don't have archaeology experience. I particularly recommend a dig in Cyprus I participated in, as it's completely free for participants (including airfare!) and gives a good background in Byzantine art/archaeology.

http://www.davidson.edu/academic/classi ... chool.html

Don't forget to pick up French and German somewhere along the way!

[Inez]

You can also take one of the intensive summer Greek institutes that some of the major programs offer - it's like Greek boot camp, but you will come out knowing Greek and prepared to take classes at another institution for transfer credit. As someone who started Greek late, the language is imperative for acceptance to graduate school and most programs will not even consider your application at all if you have little to no Greek. Good luck!

[staccato]

Look into CUNY's Latin/Greek Institute. They offer intense programs in both Greek and Latin during the summer. Its 10 weeks long and you learn the equivalent of 2 years of the language you pick. Its the quickest way to learn the language if you are starting late and need it for grad school. I plan on doing the basic program in Latin this summer.