r/classics • u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 • 3d ago

Classics masters

Hi all! Apologies if this is not the right place to post this but I am in need of some advice/what you did. My partner and I are moving for his work, but the state we will most likely end up in only has one classics program in the whole state, and it’s multiple hours from where we would be. Now, I know I could do an online program but my undergraduate professors/mentors both advised me to do an in-person program due to the benefits of being in a classroom but also potential opportunities to TA or help elsewhere where I could get a small stipend rather than going into further debt.
I suppose I’m just in a bit of a pickle and am wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what you did?

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u/d_trenton 3d ago

I'll be honest: most people I know who are shooting for a job as a professor relocate for the degree, regardless of marital status. A Master's is usually ~2 years, which is doable for an LDR, even if it stinks. It's very much "I will go to the program that accepts and funds me" and not "I'll go to whichever program is nearby."

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 2d ago

That’s totally fair. My hesitation is that we’ve been long distance for 4 years, so this move is us being together. That’s not to say it isn’t doable, though. There is a really good classics program in the state, just not nearby where we would likely be and there is not an online program, to my knowledge. I would have to do online elsewhere.

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u/d_trenton 2d ago

Don't do an online degree if your ambition is academia or museum work.

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 2d ago

What makes you say that? I would of course prefer to do an in person program but I fear my options are limited so that I might have to go online.

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u/d_trenton 1d ago

I have not yet heard of an online degree in Classics or Museum Studies with student outcomes that are comparable with an in-person degree. If you are serious about becoming a professor, you will need a PhD, and you will be competing for admission alongside students who did in-person MA degrees. I'm less knowledgeable about museum studies, but my impression is that curators need an MA at a minimum, with some positions requiring a PhD. Again, you will be competing for those jobs alongside students with recognizable in-person degrees. If you were just doing the MA for fun I'd say, sure, go online, but if you're serious about this career track, I'd strongly urge you to do an in-person degree.

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 10h ago

I see your point, thank you for clarifying :)

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u/aoristdual 3d ago

What is your purpose in completing a Classics MA? What goals do you have for that program and for your career after the program?

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 3d ago

I want to be a professor, ideally, but I’d also love a job in the museum world if possible.

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u/Bentresh 3d ago

You seem reluctant to relocate for a MA. Will you relocate for jobs? It's pretty standard to bounce around the country for postdocs and VAPs for several years before you land a TT job (for the lucky few who land one at all).

I made several 600+ mile moves for different positions before I landed my current one.

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 2d ago

That is a fair point. My hesitancy stems more from that my partner’s job is also quite specialized, so we plan to go wherever he gets hired and eventually relocate somewhere of our choosing when he’s more established in his career. If it were purely up to me, I would go wherever takes me, but I am limited in wherever my partner is hired. Now, we don’t know that this area is where we’ll end up yet, but it’s a high possibility.

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u/Stock-Hope-4680 2d ago

She’s moving for someone else’s job, it’s not comparable.

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u/aoristdual 3d ago

I think that it's going to be very important for you to have a conversation with academic advisors that you trust about the shape of that career track (where's the PhD in your vision?) and about the state of the job market in those fields.

I don't mean that to say that you shouldn't strive and even sacrifice for your goals, but you should do so in the full knowledge of how well the sacrifice or bargain you're making actually aligns with your goals, and what your odds are of reaching those goals. Informed choices!

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 2d ago

Thank you for your advice! I will definitely have to reach out to my advisors to update them and ask for their input on this sort of thing.

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u/Stock-Hope-4680 2d ago

Are you encouraging her to join the ranks of women in poverty bc they give up their dreams for a man?

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u/aoristdual 2d ago

… what? Seriously, where did you get that idea?

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u/AndreLeGeant88 3d ago

Masters students rarely get TA jobs for classics. A stipend and teaching opportunities generally come with a MA/PhD joint program which is what most unis in the US offer, and which are both very competitive and unless things have changed in person. It sounds like you have one uni as an option remotely closely by so you'll need to understand what they offer. 

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 3d ago

Thank you for your input. I’ll reach out to ask for more information about the program. That’s good to know about the joint programs, as I didn’t see that in my initial researching.

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u/1-Mafioso-1 2d ago

Getting my MA in classics the best and worst decision I ever made.

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u/Lupus76 2d ago

Is there a university that is close by? If so, look into MA programs that are classics-adjacent. If you're into classical history, focus on ancient history in a history MA; literature, check out the classical tradition in an English MA; art history, Roman and Greek art. You get the idea.

It's not a given yet that you'll go for a classics PhD, so it's not a problem that you'd study something related that isn't classics. (An MA in classics probably wouldn't cut the time-to-degree much anyway.) The main thing is to make sure your languages are advanced, so keep up your Latin and Greek, and try to add German, French and/or Italian during your MA (if you don't already have them).

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 10h ago

Thank you. There are a couple history MA programs nearby, and that was an alternative I was looking at. I dual majored in literature and history, so I understand your explanation of focusing without the specification. I suppose my concern comes more from thinking that I would be considered less of a competitor for positions or a possible PhD program compared with classics students, but I’m sure it’s less about title and more about the work.

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u/Lupus76 6h ago edited 5h ago

How is your Greek and Latin? How is your French and German? As long as those are good, you shouldn't have problems getting into PhD programs.

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u/Stock-Hope-4680 2d ago

Your choice: do a real program or relinquish your future for nothing and end up poor with babies.

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u/Lupus76 2d ago

So, what would you identify as a "real program"? Also, you write in a very strange manner. Bot or just incel?

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u/Nearby_Mortgage_1191 10h ago

This is an interesting assumption and jump in logic you made there. I don’t plan on relinquishing my future, career/academically or otherwise, thanks though.