PhD in Medieval Latin in Cambridge United States | Harvard University

The Department provides PhD programs in ancient history, Byzantine Greek studies, classical archaeology, classical philology, classical philosophy, medieval Latin, and modern Greek. Faculty and graduate students employ cutting-edge methods to explore the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, incorporating diverse disciplines such as archaeology, art history, ancient science, comparative literature, digital humanities, historical linguistics, rhetorical history, literary theory, classical language pedagogy, philosophy, textual studies, classical reception, and performance studies. Our scholarly scope extends to Byzantium, the Latin Middle Ages, and Modern Greek as essential components of classical antiquity research. Affiliated faculty members also specialize in early Christianity, Second Temple Judaism, Greek legal systems, early modern classical reception, and Byzantine history. The department provides focused instruction in specialized fields including papyrology, epigraphy, paleography, and numismatics. Students may access resources from other Harvard departments for studying additional ancient languages, comparative methodologies, science history, intercultural relations in antiquity, and classical cultural reception.

The program is designed to cultivate proficiency in:

Methodological approaches presented in the Proseminar or equivalent Medieval Studies coursework (one required).
Classical and Medieval Latin language and literature, assessed through General Examinations (detailed below).
Advanced textual analysis. Prior to Special Examinations, candidates must complete four graduate-level courses offered by department faculty or medieval studies courses from other departments, typically comprising two classical Latin and two Medieval Latin courses.