Western Ontario's Master in Ancient Philosophy
The University of Western Ontario (Canada) now invites applications for the two-year Masters program in Ancient Philosophy, jointly run by the Departments of Philosophy and Classical Studies. Western has a large complement of faculty and students working in and around the area, including four specialists in ancient philosophy and additional core members with areas of research related to Greek and Roman language and history. The MA program is aimed primarily at undergraduate students interested in pursuing ancient philosophy at the doctoral level. This new interdisciplinary program is the only MA program of its kind in North America and only one of a handful of similar programs in the world. Unlike those other programs, students enrolled in Western’s MA receive a guaranteed two-year funding package.
Overview of the Program
The MA program is designed to provide students with the philosophical and philological skills necessary for work at the doctoral level, which requires assessing philosophical arguments on the basis of a careful study of the text in the original language. Students will attend graduate seminars in the Philosophy Department, where they will acquire a level of understanding necessary for pursuing a PhD dissertation in at least one of the major ancient philosophical traditions as well as a critical awareness of the main philosophical problems that shape the broader discipline (e.g. essentialism, problem of universals, virtue ethics, etc.). In addition students will take language courses in Greek and Latin through the Classics Department. Students who graduate from the program can expect to have a mastery of at least one of the two languages (Greek or Latin), which will allow them to read texts in the original language for the purpose of conducting doctoral research, and a complete introduction to grammar and syntax in the other language. In cases where a student enters the program with less than introductory Greek or Latin, that student can expect to attain no less than an intermediate level of proficiency in one or both languages that includes the ability to read a continuous text with substantial consolidation of grammar and syntax skills.
For more information please visit our website at http://www.uwo.ca/philosophy/graduate/ma_ancient_philosophy/index.html
