Core courses, Interdisciplinary courses, Research Projects, Electives and Thesis
The objectives of the two core courses within the track Classics (period 1 and 2) are to deepen the understanding of modern literary and linguistic theory in Classics, post-classical Greek and Latin. The two core courses of the track Ancient Studies (period 1 and 2) intend to deepen the understanding of concepts and methods in ancient history and ancient studies with literary, epigraphic, and iconographical sources.
The interdisciplinary courses (period 1 and 2) aim at training your disciplinary reading skills whilst at the same time sparking a cross-disciplinary dialogue between literary and historical approaches to texts. They also teach you how to apply modern theories from the social sciences for a better understanding of ancient textual or material sources.
In the second semester, you will participate in small groups in two Research Projects which are closely associated with research by faculty staff, or, alternatively, you will take electives, which include the courses of the national MasterLanguage programme, such as Greek epigraphy in Athens, Latin epigraphy in Rome, or Canonicity. For Ancient Studies it is possible to take electives from the Archaeology Programme in ACASA. It is also possible to do an internship, for example, at a museum or a publishing house.
Finally, you will write your Master’s Thesis in your own area of research. The writing of the Master’s Thesis is an important part of the programme, enabling you to conduct original research under the supervision of one of a staff member. The subject of the thesis must be mutually agreed upon by you and your supervisor. A Master’s thesis seminar is offered to prepare you for the assignment. Thanks to the cooperation between the two universities, VU Amsterdam and UvA, a wide array of topics is open for supervision.
