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Department of Classics

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Research Degrees

The Department of Classics offers research supervision in most areas of Classical Studies. Students may register for a range of taught modules in the context of the structured PhD (3-4 years) or MLitt (2 years), and are enrolled in a compulsory research training module. Senior postgraduate students may also have the opportunity to gain teaching experience within the Department.

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Entry Requirements

Normally an Upper Second class mark in the primary degree is the minimum condition for postgraduate registration in the Department of Classics. All research students are examined by thesis only, but successful completion of certain components in the undergraduate programme may be required as a condition of registration.

Students proposing to carry out research into a literary topic will normally be expected to have studied the relevant language to at least Intermediate level; confirmation on the PhD register may be made conditional on successful completion of specific modules in Greek or Latin. The minimum requirement for research into a topic in Ancient History or Classical archaeology is a pass in the beginners' (JF B) course in either Greek or Latin. Candidates undertaking research in a non-classical area of archaeology are not required to study Greek or Latin, but instead they may be required to gain proficiency in an extra modern language or relevant technical skill.

The Department also welcomes one year visiting postgraduates (not registered for a degree) wishing to improve their language skills in preparation for graduate work.

Funding Opportunities

A variety of funding opportunities are available to research students in the School of Histories and Humanities. Our students have a good track record of securing competitive funding from both College and external sources (further information may be found here). In addition, the Department of Classics offers a Provost Thomas N. Mitchell Ussher Fellowship in Classics to begin doctoral research in 2020. This fellowship was founded in 2002 to honour Dr Thomas Mitchell (Professor of Latin, 1979–92; Provost of Trinity College Dublin 1992–2002), in recognition of his enormous contribution both to College itself and to Irish Education. The Fellowship may be awarded to a candidate proposing to pursue research in any area of Classics, including Latin and/or Greek language, ancient literature, history, archaeology, philosophy, anthropology and reception. The fellowship covers fees at EU rates and provides a stipend of €13 000 per annum, and is tenable for a maximum of 4 years, subject to satisfactory progress. Applications should be made by 1 May via the online application system (see https://www.tcd.ie/courses/postgraduate/research/az.php), but candidates are required, in advance of the deadline, to consult with potential supervisors and to contact the Head of Classics, Professor Anna Chahoud (chahouda@tcd.ie) to indicate their wish to be considered for the award. Applications will be assessed by the Head of Classics in consultation with the intended supervisor.

Research Supervision

Research supervision is available in the following areas:

  • Latin language and literature, especially early Latin, fragmentary literature, Latin philology and linguistics, transmission and reception of Latin texts (Anna Chahoud)
  • Archaic and Classical Greek literature and/or philosophy (esp. from the Presocratics to Plato); the anthropology of the ancient Greek world; the reception of ancient Greek thought (Ashley Clements)
  • Greek literature, including epic, tragedy, Hellenistic, Imperial and Late Antique poetry; ancient literary criticism; reception and translation studies (Martine Cuypers)
  • Roman material culture, art and architecture (Hazel Dodge)
  • Latin literature, especially Late Republican/Augustan poetry; Roman Epicureanism; gender and sexuality in Roman culture (Monica Gale)
  • Early Greek epic and other forms of Greek (but also Latin) literature, reception studies, sociology, visual culture, contemporary critical thought, modern philosophy and its relation to antiquity, modern poetry, digital humanities, and Hebrew and Jewish literature and culture (Ahuvia Kahane)
  • Aegean Bronze Age, including ceramics, art and religion (goddesses, healing/medicine); gender in archaeology; historiography and reception of Minoan Crete; digital technologies in archaeology (Christine Morris)
  • Mediterranean material culture history and archaeology, including landscape studies, ritual and religion, ancient art and iconography (with emphasis on sculpture and terracotta figurines), Hellenistic society, Hellenistic portraiture and ruler image-making, ancient Cyprus, as well as cultural heritage studies related to reception, popular culture, and ethnographic analogies (Giorgos Papantoniou).
  • Greek history (Classical and Hellenistic); epigraphy; historiography; Diodorus Siculus; Alexander the Great; ancient empires (Shane Wallace)
  • Imperial history of the third and fourth centuries, imperial ideology, epigraphy, numismatics, memory theory (Rebecca Usherwood)