Faculty of Classics University of Oxford |
Frequently Asked QuestionsSelect category: Your Application | Selection | Funding | Studying at Oxford Studying at OxfordYou will soon be able to read some current graduates' views on life and study at Oxford on our profiles page. 1. How is the decision about who will be my supervisor made? Can I express a preference? Q1. How is the decision about who will be my supervisor made? Can I express a preference? The choice of supervisor is determined firstly by the area of study, and secondly by the need to share the supervising load equitably between supervisors. You may certainly express a preference, and, where possible, this will be taken into account, although you cannot ask for a particular supervisor as of right. Q2. How many hours' contact time with my supervisor/other tutors can I expect? An M.St. or M.Phil. student might expect to have one hour's contact regularly each week with their supervisor or another tutor. Arrangements between D.Phil. students and their supervisors are more flexible, depending on the needs and working patterns of the student at the different periods of their research; typically, meetings might happen once a fortnight. Q3. What importance is placed on proficiency in other modern languages? What opportunities for modern language learning are there for Oxford Classics graduates? Serious research on most areas in classics requires an ability to read scholarship in several modern languages (for many areas of Greek and Latin literature German, French, and Italian are the most important). M.St. and M.Phil students are encouraged to attend the language courses put on by the university's Language Centre. For D.Phil students in the sub-faculty of Languages and Literature, demonstration of competence (good reading knowledge of scholarship) in two modern languages is a requirement for transfer from probationary status to full D.Phil. status. Q4. Is attendance at seminars compulsory for graduates? M.St. and M.Phil. students are required to attend a weekly seminar in Research Techniques. Probationer Research Students (doctoral students at the beginning of their research) are required to attend at least one of the professorial seminars in Greek and Latin Literature. Q5. What opportunities are there for graduates to gain teaching experience? Doctoral students are encouraged to acquire some teaching experience, though this should not exceed 6 hours a week. They regularly teach for the intensive language courses (MILC), which are organised by the faculty, and may also give tutorials in languages and literature for the Colleges. A list of graduates who have attended an annual course arranged by the Institute for the Advancement of University Learning is produced each year, and only those who have attended this course will usually be invited to teach. Q6. Is there a central site for seminars or socialising with other classicists? The Ioannou Centre for Classical & Byzantine Studies in the centre of Oxford, provides a comprehensive faculty centre, with a lecture theatre, a number of seminar rooms, several teaching/research rooms and a large number of workspaces (plus computing facilities) for graduate students and academic visitors. Occasions such as private and public lectures, conferences, faculty meetings and social events take place here. Weekly lunches attended by both graduates and faculty members in the common room make it a welcome social centre. © C@O 2010: Classics at Oxford, Faculty of Classics. Webmaster. Last updated:
January 8, 2010.
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