MA Progression

Master's Program

All students are advised of the following progression requirements, and of the policy of the School of Graduate and Post Doctoral Studies (SGPS) regarding "Incompletes". These additional guidelines are intended to provide students with an understanding of what is expected of them during their graduate career, both their course loads and the rate of completion of their course work.

All students are responsible for abiding by the regulations laid down by SGPS in the graduate calendar and on the SGPS web site (see http://grad.uwo.ca). Click on Graduate Calendar, Section 6.

Program and Progression Requirements

An M.A. normally takes five terms.

Course Load

Students in the M.A. program must complete 6.5 Full Course Equivalents (FCE) during their five terms of residency, normally taking three courses (3.0 FCE) in each of the two academic years (September-May) and an independent research project (0.5 FCE) from May-August of the first year. These are normally graduate courses, but where students are lacking the prerequisite background to pursue a course of study at the graduate level, up to 1.0 FCE at the undergraduate level in Greek, and/or Latin (and in exceptional circumstances, Classical Studies) courses can be allowed over the two years (5 terms) of the M.A by application to and approval from the Graduate Affairs Committee.

Core Course Requirement

CS 9000 is a special survey course for all grduate students in the Department, to be taken in the student's first year of enrollment. This "Core Course" is focused on the basic research methodologies of the discipline, introducting students to the major scholarly approaches and questions of the discipline of Classics as well as to give students a broad perspective on the discipline as a whole, through the examination of selected texts and evidence from archaeological and material culture. Students are exposed to the standard scholarly literature for and critical approaches to four major genres: Archaeology and Material Culture, Greek Literature, History and Historiography, Latin Literature.

Proseminars

Every two weeks there will normally be a one-hour proseminar for all students. The workshops are designed to help students develop skills for a career inside or outside academia. Topics will vary from year to year, but include: writing an abstract; writing a grant proposal; applications to PhD programs; working with research tools (TLL/TLG); textual criticism; introduction to resources in ancillary disciplines; developing research skills. Students are expected to attend all the proseminars that are applicable to their career path, but need not attend proseminars they have attended in previous years. Students should notify the Graduate Chair if they have to miss a proseminar.

Departmental Research Seminars and Guest Lectures

In the intervening weeks, there will also be public lectures given by internal and external colleagues. To accommodate the latter, the schedule may occasionally need to be adjusted. These lectures are a valuable part of graduate training. They introduce students to current work of scholars in various subfields of Classics, adding breadth to the program.  Additionally, external speaker visits provide students with opportunities to make contacts with scholars at other institutions.  Our department values a collegial atmosphere in which both students and faculty demonstrate interest in the work of our internal and external colleagues in all subfields of Classics.  Attending departmental events and participating in the discussion following the presentations promotes collegiality in the department and improves the reputation of our graduate programs.

All graduate students are expected to attend the departmental research seminars and guest lectures, and should notify the Graduate Chair if they have to miss an event.

Auditing Courses

Some students may be advised to audit undergraduate courses in which case they will be expected to attend a minimum of 80% of these classes.

Modern Language Requirement

Classics is an international discipline with important work published in most modern European languages, often unavailable in English translation. Competent researchers must be able to work with the secondary literature in their fields. Consequently, students must pass a written foreign language examination during the program to demonstrate they have a reading knowledge of a modern language other than English. German has traditionally been central to the discipline, but French and Italian may also be considered.The Modern Language exam is offered three times a year: September, January and April. First-year MA students must attempt to take the Modern Language exam no later than April of their first year, and each time subsequently until they have passed the exam. This language requirement is met by passing a translation test, to be written with the aid of a dictionary, set by the Department.

Progression Review

At the end of the first academic year (April-May), the Graduate Chair will meet with each student, along with that student’s mentor, to discuss the student's progression. At this meeting, a progress report is signed by the student.

If a student should fail to meet the Progression Requirements set out in this document, or if there is a concern, the Graduate Chair of the Department will draw up a plan of work, in consultation with the Graduate Affairs Committee, which the student will be expected to follow in order to make up the deficit within a prescribed period of time.

OPTIONS FOR YEAR TWO (Terms 3-5)

For the second year, two options are available for M.A. students, a course-based option and a thesis option.

I. COURSE-BASED OPTION

Summer (Term 3) 
Those choosing the non-thesis option must take an independent research course (0.5 Course Equivalent), which entails the writing of a Research Paper. Guidelines for this are available here. Proposals for summer research papers should be submitted to your mentor/supervisor by March 15. It is expected that the student will consult beforehand with his/her mentor concerning a topic.

Year Two (Terms 4 and 5)
For the course-based option, students normally enroll in 3.0 FCE/term at the graduate level in Terms 4 and 5. All requirements must be completed by the end of April in Term 5 in order for the student to graduate in the Spring Convocation.

THE SRP AND THESIS OPTION:

There are two possible routes for the second year in the MA program. Most students take the “Coursework Option,” which requires that students take three courses in both the fall and winter semesters. Some students take the “Thesis Option,” which requires that students take one course in both the fall and winter semesters and also write a thesis. The option a student takes is not entirely up to them, but will be decided in consultation between the student, the SRP supervisor, and the Graduate Chair. The decision will be made based on what is best for the student and their development as a scholar. It is important to realize that neither the Thesis Option nor the Coursework Option is for better students or for students who “qualify.” Although it is recommended that only students who receive a grade of at least 85% on their SRP write a thesis, many students who receive a high grade and could write an excellent thesis feel that their scholarly development will be better served by the variety of experiences available in courses.

As a part of asking a potential supervisor whether they are available to supervise an SRP in March, a student should also discuss with them whether they would like to pursue the Coursework Option or the Thesis Option. If a student is considering the Thesis Option, they will write the SRP as the basis of a thesis chapter. In late August, when the supervisor has graded the SRP, the student will have a discussion with the supervisor and the Graduate Chair to make a final decision about whether they will pursue the Coursework Option or the Thesis Option. If the student is moving forward with a thesis, they need to consult documentation about that process and, most importantly, discuss the plan with the supervisor as early as possible. There is not as much time in the second year to write a thesis as one might think.

Department of Classical Studies
MA Program: Summer Research Paper
GUIDELINES

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: 

The Summer Research Paper (SRP) in the Classics Department is completed by all MA students between their first and        second years in the program and is a requirement for the completion of the MA program. The project is meant to give students experience completing a substantial research project that offers some original thought and argumentation in the field of Classics.

The topic can be from any subfield of Classical Studies (Philology, Archaeology, Ancient History) and students will want to start thinking as early as possible about the subjects that interest them and might form the basis of the project. When the student has a general sense of what they will research, they should then think about the appropriate faculty member to ask to supervise the SRP. Sometimes this may be a faculty member with whom the student has already worked in courses, but this is not always the case. A student’s interests may intersect more with those of someone else in the department; and they should approach the person most appropriate to supervise the topic chosen.

The purpose of the SRP is to give the student in-depth expertise in a specific subject and to provide experience working on a substantial piece of research (roughly 30-35 pages, see below). The exercise mimics writing a journal article in our discipline, and a journal article is a good model for the project. The SRP will help the student develop research skills that can apply to many fields after completion of the MA, not only academic or Classics research and writing.

FINDING AN SRP TOPIC:

First and foremost, students should choose a topic that interests them and one that is rich enough to sustain an argument of significant length. After identifying a general subject area that interests them, students should think about the questions they want their research to answer, not just about a broad subject (e.g. “How does the Ara Pacis embody the key themes of Augustus’s building program in Rome?” rather than “I’m interested in the Ara Pacis”). Students are encouraged to frame their approach as inquiry and find questions that are original and have some depth to them.

We encourage students to find new topics of interest and to broaden their experience with classical subjects, but it does happen that students would like to continue working on a subject that they began for a course during the first year of the MA. This is not prohibited, but the project needs to be expanded and altered significantly. Students are not allowed to take a 20-page paper, add 10 pages to make it 30 in total and turn it in to fulfill SRP requirements; rather, the argument must be substantially added to and altered. The student will discuss the details with the supervisor but generally, there are two options. If the student builds on a paper that is already 15 pages, another 30 or so need to be added (i.e., the amount of work expected to fulfill this requirement) to make the whole work over 40 pages. The other possibility is that the original work of 10-15 pages is altered so substantially that it effectively becomes a new piece of writing, with the same subject focus as the term paper. These details will be decided on an individual basis in consultation with the supervisor.

SRP REQUIREMENTS: Length and format 

The SRP is a paper of about 8,000 to 9,000 words. The word count includes notes and bibliography. Properly formatted, 8,000-9,000 words should fill approximately 30-35 pages (double spaced), including notes and bibliography. This is a standard length for a substantial journal article in Classics.

The student will discuss with the supervisor a precise timeline and expectations for the writing process (see below for more on timelines) but generally the paper will be submitted in its final form by August 15th so it can be graded before the fall term begins. Students are encouraged to discuss with their supervisors how they would like the paper delivered (by paper copy or electronically by email), as well as specific formatting requirements (a standard format is 12pt. Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins, double-spaced). The SRP should have a title and sub-section titles may be used throughout the work (common in a long piece of research in a scholarly article format), but the student should discuss these details with their supervisor.

Other things the student may want to discuss with the supervisor include:

  • Citation style
  • Bibliographical format
  • Ancient source citations
  • Latin and Greek translations
  • Archaeological material and use of images
  • Expectations specific to the subject (e.g., conventions of working with epigraphy/papyrology; textual criticism; specific theoretical approaches, etc.)

SRP SCHEDULE:

When a topic has been chosen and a supervisor secured, the student should meet with the supervisor to discuss a specific schedule of work during the summer months. A student may want to discuss whether or not they will have regular meetings or if they will provide drafts of work in progress, but this is up to the student and the supervisor. A general schedule for the SRP is as follows:

First term of the MA program: Students are encouraged to think about subjects that interest them and what might be an appropriate topic for a project of this length. A student might also be thinking about who they would like to ask to supervise their project.

February: Students should decide on a general topic and approach the potential supervisor by the end of February. It is not guaranteed that the faculty member will be available, so be prepared in case a second option is needed.

March: The student now needs to write a proposal. There is no set length for the proposal, but 600 words (or one single-spaced page) is a good target. Keep in mind that a research project will change as it develops, so don’t worry too much about sticking precisely to what is in the proposal. But students need to have some idea of the approaches they might take and questions they might ask. Students might also include a preliminary bibliography. Please submit a proposal to potential supervisors by March 15th. Students can then discuss the proposal together with their supervisors and refine the ideas moving forward. **Please also let your supervisors know at this time if you want to write an MA thesis,** although your supervisor will reach their decision on this over the summer.

April 1st: The final, approved version of the proposal is due to the graduate assistant (Kathleen Beharrell, kbeharr@uwo.ca) together with the SRP form (available here). The form must be signed by the student, the graduate chair, and the supervisor. The form is straightforward, asking for a title and an abstract, which is the proposal itself. It also asks the student to list “Research Texts/Sources,” which is a short list of the main sources which will be used for the project, which may include primary and secondary sources. Please include this initial list of resources (bibliography) with the abstract. Finally, it asks for a “Schedule of Work.” This section only needs to be used if the student has a very specific plan with their supervisor and both want to use this section to lay that out. This section does not necessarily need to be completed.

April: Focus on exams and papers for courses and don’t worry about the SRP.

May: At this point students should start working on the paper. Actual writing probably will not begin in May, but a student needs to be planning the argument by gathering primary sources (texts, archaeological material, epigraphic sources: the evidence a student will draw on in their paper) and reading secondary sources (articles, books, book chapters) to support arguments.

June: Every student is different and will start writing at different times, but do not wait too long to begin putting words on the page. Students may want to start writing in June, but at the very least should certainly lay out a detailed outline of the arguments and the general framework of the project with evidence and sources. A paper of this length should have an introduction, conclusion, and two or three major sections, and this should all be reflected in an outline with enough detail to lay out the structure and list major sources of evidence. If students need help with approaches to writing please discuss this with the supervisor and utilize campus resources such as the Weldon Library research help (https://www.lib.uwo.ca/services/research_help.html), writing resources (https://www.lib.uwo.ca/researchtools/index.html) or the Writing Support Center (http://writing.uwo.ca/).

July: Students should definitely be writing now; it cannot be done in two or three weeks. It is always obvious when writing is rushed, and often results in a lower grade. A student needs to have some words on paper by (or before) July 1st.

August: Students will be at the end of the project at this point. Students should have already discussed with the supervisor 1) if the supervisor will read or expect to see a draft and 2) a date for that draft. This could very likely be August 1st —so there is enough time to receive comments, discuss the draft and for the student to work on a final draft before August 15th. These details can be discussed with the supervisor, but if a draft is submitted in advance this should not include unfinished paragraphs, notes to oneself, unfinished footnotes, etc. There will not be much time to complete the work before August 15th and a student will not receive useful feedback if the reader cannot fully evaluate the argument and use of evidence. The final draft of the SRP is due to the supervisor on August 15th.

Grading rubric for the SRP:

A student may also want to discuss with the supervisor what their expectations are for the SRP and how it will be marked. Everyone differs a bit in their expectations, so the student should have a conversation about this if it is important to them. Very general rules of marking and expectations are as follows: 

90%-100%, A+: This is a paper that makes a significant and original contribution to the scholarly discussion of a topic (the higher end of this range would be for something publishable essentially in its present state). An A+ paper is well written in clear academic prose. It shows an impressive and precise command of language. Its author chooses words appropriately, uses a variety of sentence structures, and observes the conventions of written English. It has a concise and forceful statement of its thesis. The paper makes excellent use of both primary and secondary sources. The argument of the entire paper is unified by a logical structure with clear signposting that indicates the structure to the reader. The conclusion of this paper drives home the significance of the argument. The paper is well presented, meaning the formatting is appropriate, the referencing system is standard and consistent, and there are few (if any) typos. 

85%-89%, A: This paper is very impressive for MA student work. The paper is well written and clearly argued, but its argument lacks sufficient originality and significance to warrant scholarly publication. As above, it is written in clear academic prose. It shows an impressive and precise command of language. Its author chooses words appropriately, uses a variety of sentence structures, and observes the conventions of written English. Alternatively, an “A” paper may make a highly original and significant argument, but the writing style and presentation are lacking in some way. It may be that the author has not used primary or secondary sources sufficiently or that the academic prose is stylistically poor. An “A” paper is well presented, meaning the formatting is appropriate, the referencing system is standard and consistent, and there are few (if any) typos. 

80%-84%, A-: This paper meets expectations for MA student work. The paper is well written and correctly argued, but its argument does not make a significant contribution to the current state of the field. It is written in good academic prose, but it may contain some infelicities of style or errors in usage. Its author generally chooses words appropriately, uses a variety of sentence structures, and observes the conventions of written English, but may have occasional lapses. The reasoning of an “A-” paper is correct, but not as clear as the reasoning of an “A” paper. It may require more effort for a reader to follow the argument. An “A-” paper will generally include appropriate formatting and careful proofreading, but it may contain some errors. 

70%-79%, B: This paper is clearly competent and shows potential, but its argument is not significant, nor is it written in clear and elegant style. It may lack a clear statement of its thesis or make an argument that is too obvious or general. The style of a “B” paper is not as impressive or consistent as that of an “A” paper, but the author generally chooses words appropriately, writes effective sentences, and observes the conventions of written English. A “B” paper contains sufficient citations of the text, but often uses examples for the sake of using examples instead of choosing examples that advance and develop its thesis. The reasoning of a “B” paper is acceptable, but may be flawed in one or more ways. 

60%-69%, C: This paper is passing, but demonstrates some clear deficiencies. It may contain several good points, but often does not link them together into a unified argument. It uses insufficient or inappropriate examples. It may demonstrate a serious misunderstanding of the primary and/or secondary sources. The grammar and syntax of the paper is deficient, words are chosen poorly and sentences are unclear. A “C” paper often contains too much summary and too little argumentation. 

Below 60%, Fail: This paper falls short of expectations in significant ways. If this is the case the supervisor will contact the student and options will be discussed.

II. Thesis Option

Summer (Term 3)
Those students who wish to pursue the thesis option should consult with their mentor and they must declare their choice to the Graduate Chair by March 15 of the first year. Students will be informed about all regulations that apply to this option. The advantages and disadvantages of both the thesis and the course-work options will be discussed with the students. Consideration of the overall goals of the students will be a factor in this discussion.

After consultation with the Graduate Chair, those students who pursue the thesis option should design their summer research project to function as Chapter 1 of the thesis (0.5 Course Equivalent). The project will be reviewed at the end of the summer, and if it is judged to be both feasible as a thesis topic and to have a good chance of success, the Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) will approve the student’s request to pursue an MA thesis. If the work submitted at the end of the summer is not judged to be a foundation for a successful thesis, the GAC will recommend that the student pursue the course-based option. The thesis is completed in various stages: by March 15, the student must submit to his/her advisor a thesis proposal that consists of a statement of the question that will be explored, its place in scholarship, the methodology to be used and a preliminary bibliography.

Year Two (Terms 4 and 5)
In Terms 4 and 5 students, who are approved for writing a Thesis are enrolled in one regular graduate course (1.0 FCE) and 2.0 FCE’s are allotted to researching and writing the thesis.

In January or February of the second year (Term 5), thesis students normally present a lecture or seminar on their research to date and all requirements must be completed by the end of April of the second year in order to graduate in Spring Convocation.

The M.A. thesis and thesis examination will follow the regulations established by SGPS (grad.uwo.ca/index.htm). Click on Graduate Calendar, Section 8.

All requirements must be completed by the end of April of the second year in order to graduate in Spring Convocation. No funding from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will be available beyond Term 5.