Classics Leiden University

Overview

The Classics Master, a specialization of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations program at Leiden University, gives you the opportunity to study the Greek and Roman world with a focus on Greek and Latin language and literature. Classics at Leiden University ranks among the best programs in the world. The seminars are taught by enthusiastic teachers, who invite you to be involved in innovative research on Greek and Latin literature, ancient history and philosophy. Leiden University, with a Classics tradition that goes back to 1575, has a great library and excellent research facilities.

The program is taught by academic staff internationally renowned for their research. Research in Classics at Leiden University is at the leading edge of the field. External lecturers are regularly invited to teach on specialized topics. And, every semester, a number of national and international speakers - both well-known experts and promising young researchers – are invited to speak in the lecture series Forum Antiquum. You will also benefit from the collaboration of classicists from different Universities in the National Research School in Classics (OIKOS).

What you will learn

Your future employers will not only be interested in your knowledge of Classics and Ancient Civilisations, but also in the skills that you have developed during your studies. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the skills that you are training in your MA programme.

In the MA programme you learn how to analyse a problem, how to formulate a research question, how to select and assess your sources, how to assess secondary literature, how to give a clear and well-argued oral presentation either for specialists or for a wider audience, and how to write a clear and well-argued paper. You will be training the following transferrable skills:

• critical thinking (formulating questions, checking assumptions, assessing sources and scholarship)
• analytical skills (selecting, ordering, sorting out, and solving a problem)
• oral presentation skills (speaking, listening, discussing, receiving feedback)
• writing skills (reporting, summarizing, presenting an argument, with structure and style)
• independence (self-discipline, initiative, motivation)
• project management (planning, demarcation of a topic, discipline, meeting deadlines)
• flexibility (adapting to changes)
• creativity (curiosity, developing new ideas and innovative topics)
• academic integrity (acting with honesty, fairness, and responsibility)
• collaboration (working together with other students on a joint project)

Career prospects

As a graduate of an MA in Classics and Ancient Civilizations at Leiden University you are qualified to work as a junior academic researcher in an academic environment or carry out further research work on a PhD programme. It is also possible to find employment within the fields of publishing or teaching, at policy-making departments of governmental bodies, within the education sector, or within cultural tourism.

Our graduates end up working in a diverse range of positions, examples include:

• Policy officer for education
• Curator of classical antiquity at a museum
• Education officer at a museum
• PhD candidate at a university
• Research analyst at a consultancy firm
• Teacher of classical languages at a secondary school
• Teacher at an institute for special needs education
• Policy officer at the provincial department of a political party
• Chief desk editor at a publishing house

If you are interested in a career in teaching, you can apply for the Dutch-taught teacher-training MA at the ICLON Graduate School of Education after graduating from the master’s programme. To be admitted, you need to have a master’s degree in the relevant discipline. Fluency in Dutch is mandatory, and additional entry requirements may apply.

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.