<p>So, I'm majoring in the Classics and want to go to grad school..I'm taking Latin right now. Right now I have a B. After some preliminary research, I've discovered that I need Greek and a Modern World Lang. for most of the schools I looked at. How in the world will I fit all this in while I'm an undergrad?</p>
<p>First, get that B up to an A. </p>
<p>To figure out how to fit all the languages in, you’ll have to sit down with a departmental advisor and plan things out. You’ll almost certainly have to sacrifice some electives and perhaps a few of the “fun” courses in the major. </p>
<p>It might look something like what I did or it could be completely different:</p>
<p>At Penn we had only two required courses in the major: Greek and Roman history surveys. The remaining 10 courses were divided into two groups of 5: introductory (100 & 200 numbers) and “upper level” (300 and up). Penn also had a 4 semester language requirement so what I did was use the language requirement slots for the first two years of Latin, and 4 of the 5 introductory courses for the first 2 years of Greek. I used other curriculum slots (society, history, writing, etc.) to take the courses a normal (non-languages) person would have put in the major. That left me with 6 slots in the major. I forget what I assigned to the other intro slot, but 4 semesters of upper level Latin went into the 300 slots along with a Roman archaeology class given by Brian Rose that I had waited two years to be able to fit in.</p>
<p>Note that there’s no modern language in there. You only need “reading knowledge” so check with the German and French departments to see if they have such a course for grad students. (It may be offered online over the summer.) You’ll probably need permission to take it, but it’s a good way to get that key factor into your transcript. If your school doesn’t offer a course, google “german for reading knowledge” - there are several universities (Wisconsin was one at one time) that offer it on a “remote” basis. </p>
<p>Another way to squeeze in more languages is to take one of the many “summer intensive” language programs. Penn offers both Latin and Greek, Chicago has a program as do several others. Most universities also have summer programs in the modern languages so that’s another opportunity to get some more juice into your transcript.</p>
<p>Not required, but a lot of people seem to do it - a summer archaeological field school that offers academic credit. Depending on the location, you might be able to snag your modeern language at the same time.</p>
<p>If you can, take Latin (or Greek) Composition. If your school offers it, take the “honors” path - it’s a good bet for the source of your graduate writing sample.</p>
<p>Finally, plan for rejection! Be sure to apply to some “feeder” MA programs (which you might have to pay for) as well as schools that offer both the MA and PhD and even one or two that are oriented toward students with less than ideal preparation (Indiana comes to mind). And, as your “last resort”, apply to a couple of post-bac programs (insert mandatory pimping of Penn’s program here). </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thank you! </p>
<p>Was it worth it?</p>
<p>No question - yes.</p>
<p>I can’t improve upon William C’s answer.</p>
<p>I can only add that inquiring about summer classes is always a good idea. I also strongly suggest having a Plan B that includes a “no grad school” option. There are very, very few jobs in Classics, and this situation will NOT improve. </p>
<p>If you could even remotely see yourself teaching at the secondary level, look into earning a certification in Secondary Ed. You’ll be profoundly grateful for that later.</p>