The department offers a master’s degree for current Hopkins undergraduate students. Admission to the BA/MA program is restricted to current Johns Hopkins University undergraduate classics majors and is based on outstanding performance in previous classics courses.

Students considering a five-year program are expected to declare their interest during the spring semester of their junior year. Prior to application, students must consult with the director of undergraduate studies, their faculty adviser, and the department administrator. A formal graduate application must be submitted no later than November 15 of the fall semester of the senior year in order for admission to the program in the spring of the senior year, thus meeting the requirement for concurrent status. In the senior (fourth) year, students are to devise a program of study that would best prepare them to do advanced work in their final (fifth) year, in particular addressing any weakness in one or the other classical language. All requirements for the BA must be completed by the end of the fourth year.

In the MA (fifth) year, students must complete the following:

• Two graduate seminars in the Classics Department
• Four semesters (12 credits) of Latin and/or Greek, at least six credits of which must be at the advanced level
• A thesis of 20,000–25,000 words representing original research. The thesis will be supervised by a member of the Classics faculty and graded by the supervisor and a second reader from Classics or an outside department.

Exceptionally well-prepared students may apply for the BA/MA program in the spring of their junior year, with prior approval from the director of undergraduate studies and the department chair. In this case it is possible to complete the bachelor’s/master’s degree in four years, provided all BA requirements are fulfilled by the end of the third year. These students are expected to express their interest to the department by the fall term of their junior (third) year; they must then submit an application no later than March 15 in the following semester.

The BA and MA degrees are conferred concurrently at the end of the MA year. Please note that the department does not award degrees during the summer; students are expected to complete the degree requirements in conformance with the university Graduate Board spring deadlines. Specific departmental and Graduate Board deadlines are communicated to the student in due course.