Course work: Ten approved graduate courses in the following distribution:
- Language training – 2 courses (6 credits) of intermediate and/or advanced Latin or Greek (LAT 516-17, GR 516-17, or higher). Students who test out may take either
- 6 credits of instruction in any other ancient language (e.g. Syriac)
- 6 credits of advanced instruction in Medieval Latin and/or Latin Paleography (e.g. LAT 561, 733).
- Content courses – 8 courses (24 credits) across at least three academic disciplines. All courses must focus primarily on the period c. 500-1500 AD but may cover any region or culture of the period.
- Advanced Latin courses that are not needed to meet the language requirement may be counted instead as content courses
- Two courses (6 credits) may be used to research and write an MA thesis supervised by a faculty advisor
Modern language requirement: Reading knowledge of one modern research language, demonstrated either through additional coursework or by passing a proficiency exam
Comprehensive exam: An exam with both written and oral components is administered by the MBS graduate director and faculty advisors during the final term of coursework
Research requirement: For students not writing an MA thesis, completion of one advanced course with a research paper requirement (typically 700 or 800 level) or submission of a 15-20 page research paper developed on the basis of coursework and evaluated by a faculty expert.
