<p>I'll be starting College this fall, after a break year, and was wondering which would be the better course to choose in working towards my eventual goal of a PhD is History?
Should I take the path of Double Majoring in History and Classics, or Major in History and Minor in the Classics?</p>
<p>Any advise would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>From what little research I’ve done, Classics has a very high level of History in it already. Why not do Classics on it’s own as a major which is already very interdisciplinary (has elements of language, history, art history, and philosophy), and then some other esoteric course that you’ve always wanted to do?</p>
<p>If not, depending on your interest in Ancient culture, double major in Classics and History and see where it goes. If the work is too much then you can always drop down to a minor, right?</p>
<p>If not, depending on your interest in Ancient culture, double major in Classics and History and see where it goes. If the work is too much then you can always drop down to a minor, right?</p>
<p>Honestly, I hadn’t even considered doing that… Thanks for bringing that option to my attention!</p>
<p>With a PhD in history, especially if you are going to be specializing in ancient history - or really any period of European history - Latin and Greek will probably be prerequisites. Therefore, classics is great preparation. Plus, as other posters have pointed out, its pretty easy to double major in history with classics, since your ancient history requirements can be fulfilled pretty easily with classics courses, and sometimes even medieval history as well.</p>
<p>So, long story short, yes, the double major is feasible, and would be a great path if you do intend on a similar PhD concentration. Keep in mind that Latin and Greek are a ton of work, though, when you make that decision.</p>
<p>P.S. - feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the Classics major!</p>
<p>Thanks so much ClassicsKid!</p>
<p>O.k, I have one more question… would it be feasible for me to take a year of online courses at, for example, Columbia College to fulfill my Math and Eng. Comp classes, and then transfer to a more traditional College?</p>
<p>Do not double major. There is no use to have that much prep at the undergrad level. You are needing graduate hours to expand the subjects that you will eventually teach. You need 18 graduate hours in a subject to be able to teach undergrads, I personally would just get my PHD as quick as possible concentrating in one specific path, and then if i wanted to add other subjects that I could teach, start taking 18 hours in different things.</p>
<p>I say it depends on what you want from college. You only have 4 years of college, you might as well make the most of it both intellectually and otherwise.</p>
<p>
For ancient history, you need the following:</p>
<p>– 4 years of Greek or Latin
– 3 years of the other
– Reading knowledge of German
– Reading knowledge of French
– At least 4 courses in ancient history</p>
<p>Beyond that, it does not terribly matter what your majors/minors are. I strongly recommend history if you plan to pursue ancient history within history departments and classics if you plan to study ancient history within classics departments. </p>
<p>As a PhD student in history, you will be expected to take courses in at least one or two other areas of history (US, European, Middle Eastern, Asian, etc.). As a PhD student in classics, you will likewise be expected to take courses in one or two other areas (Greek/Latin language, Greek/Latin literature, Greek/Roman art/archaeology). The two fields are very different in their training and requirements.</p>
<p>Alternative to double major, research with a professor for PhD, write a thesis, take graduate classes for advanced undergraduates… see what your school have to offer</p>
<p>Depending on what you want to specialize in history… a study on areas like Latin America, China, India, etc might be nice or even American, depends on what you want</p>
<p>if not double major in either
Philosophy - the major that really makes you think a lot of things</p>
<p>English-to write well, and of course, I think English is really important for a history PhD, but that’s just my personal opinion</p>