Overview

About the program

The goal of the Ancient and Medieval Studies program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is to develop knowledge and understanding of the more distant past both for itself, in its uniqueness, and as an object of specifically modern questions and methods of inquiry.

The Ancient and Medieval Studies program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is designed for students who are seeking a fuller understanding of the forces which shaped the ancient and medieval world. The geographical and chronological scope of the program is broadly conceived and is intended to be comparative. Subjects range in content from Classical Greece and Rome, and the ancient societies of Asia and South America, to medieval Europe and Japan.

Students will be required to demonstrate intermediate level language proficiency in either Greek, Latin or a medieval vernacular, but they need not concentrate their other subjects on the area associated with that language. Students are also expected to have some distribution across the ancient and medieval time periods. We expect that students will consult closely with the Major Advisor in order to devise a coherent program of study.