Degree programme Classical Studies (Master)

Important information

Please note that not all information is translated. Please refer to the german version for missing information.

Admission requirements

Prerequisite is a degree in a Bachelor study course History, Latin studies, Greek studies, Evangelic theology, Catholic theology or a comparable course. Furthermore, knowledge of the English language at level B2 as well as knowledge of Latin, Greek or Hebrew to the extent of 120 hours or 8 weekly lecture hours are to be proven.

German language requirements

International applicants and German applicants with foreign school leaving certificate please find information here: language requirements.

Application hints and tips

If, at the time of the application, proof of the first degree that qualifies for a profession cannot yet be provided, applicants will be considered if 80% of the achievable points of the university degree can be proven by a certificate of the university of origin (Examining Office), on the basis of a completed module exam, assignment paper or colloquium. For Master study programmes with restricted admission (TU-Nc), the certificate shall also include a provisional average mark, calculated on the basis of academic achievements already completed.

General information for the degree programme

When and where was democracy invented? Why is classical literature beginning with Homer still considered a fundamental part of Western culture? How did a single city-state in Italy conquer the entire Mediterranean world, why was Caesar murdered by his own followers, why does reading Ovid, Vergil and Horace help to understand the Augustan new order, and why did the mighty Roman empire finally embrace Christianity? The interdisciplinary master’s programme „Classical Studies“ deals with these and many other interesting questions. Moreover, given the scattered state of ancient evidence, students learn how to develop their ideas by combining fragmented testimony with various modern theories, extrapolation, counter-factual questions as well as common sense and argumentative skills in order to come up with a plausible solution.

Our programme comprises the three disciplines Ancient History, Biblical Theology, and Classical Philology. In order to accommodate students with varying backgrounds, there are two introductory modules, "Languages" (Latin, Greek, Hebrew) and "Basics of Classical Studies," plus a course called "Sources and Types of Sources," which provides an overview of various literary and material sources such as inscriptions, coins, papyri, and archeological evidence. Three additional modules – "Identity and Difference", "Cult and Culture", and "Tradition and Innovation" – aim at extending knowledge by focussing on more specialized yet still central themes of the ancient world.

All is complemented on the one hand with a colloquium, where recent research trends are discussed, and, on the other hand, courses from one of the following profile areas: "Media and Publicity", "Regional Identity and Cultural Transfer", "Religion and Society", "Gender and Culture" or "Knowledge and Technology".