Classics (research)

Specialisation of: Classics and Ancient Civilisations (research)
Degree: Master of Arts in Classics and Ancient Civilisations (research)
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 2 years
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 60039
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Classics refers to the multidisciplinary study of the Greek and Roman world, including Latin literature of the modern period, Ancient Philosophy and Ancient History. Research in Classics, particularly Greek, is very strong at Leiden.

As a graduate of a two-year research master’s degree you are qualified to work as a junior academic researcher or carry out further research work on a PhD programme. The programme also prepares you for functions outside of academe in which advanced research skills and substantial practical research experience are among the qualifications required.

The use of insights from advanced literary theory makes an important addition to the common methodological toolbox which students of this Research Master can draw.
The Department of Classics in Leiden is the oldest in the Netherlands and has held chairs in Latin and Greek since the university was founded in 1575. The academic staff responsible for this specialisation is internationally renowned for their research work.

Prof. Joan Booth

Joan Booth

“It extends the connection-making process beyond Greece and Rome to the ancient civilizations of the Near-East.”

“Classics, and especially the specialisation Classics within the Research Master Classics and Ancient Near Eastern Civilisations, is about making connections – between Greek and Latin, language and culture, text and image, source and reception, ancient and modern ways of thinking, speaking, believing and behaving.

Almost uniquely within a single programme, the Classics programme offers the opportunity of extending the connection-making process beyond classical Greece and Rome to the ancient civilizations of the Near-East.

The intersection and interaction of East and West around the Ancient Mediterranean and its hinterlands in a particular historical period is the focus one of the common courses (Cultural Contact in the Hellenistic World), while the similarities and divergences in the scholarly approach to the texts of each culture lie at the heart of another (The Commentary). The prospect is an exciting symbiosis of specialised perspective and bigger picture.”