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Postgraduate Studies

The department offers Honours, Masters (MA) and Doctoral (PhD) degrees in Ancient Cultures and Ancient Languages (Hebrew, Greek, and/or Latin). 

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Ancient Cultures

Deepen your understanding of ancient societies by exploring texts, artefacts, and research methodologies in a specialised context. This is available at Honours, Masters, and PhD levels.

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Ancient Languages

Specialise in Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Greek, or Latin, focusing on literature, linguistics, and translation of ancient texts. This is available at Honours, Masters, and PhD levels.

How to Apply for Postgraduate Studies

​​​​​​​​Postgraduate co-ordinator: Dr A de Villiers (amdev@sun.ac.za)​
Administrative queries: Ms L. Damons ([email protected])

Deadline for applications: Usually the end of October (please check the University Almanac/or with the department regarding the specific date).

Entry requirements: A Bachelor’s degree (with a minimum of 60% average) with Ancient Cultures or Ancient Languages major with an average of at least 60%. The department will assess each application case by case. Knowledge of ancient languages is not required (ancient texts will be read in translation).

Registration deadline: end of March (please check the University Almanac/or with the department regarding the specific date).

Procedure:

  1. All applicants currently registered as SU students are encouraged to apply online on the My.Sun student portal: https://sso.sun.ac.za/login?service=https://web-apps.sun.ac.za/HuidigAansNg/shiro-cas (Undergraduate >> Studies >> Application Postgraduate Study).
  2. If you are not already registered at Stellenbosch University you may apply directly on the University website at www.maties.com and at http://www0.sun.ac.za/pgstudies/how-to-apply.html. International students should follow the instructions for prospective students at www.sun.ac.za/international.
  3. Applicants may be asked to submit a piece of academic writing.
  4. A departmental committee will consider the applications on the basis of a person’s previous study record. If the Applicant has not yet finished their degree, those who meet the criteria can receive a provisional acceptance based on their performance to date. Final admittance to the programme will be dependent on the outcome of their final marks for their current degree.
  5. Students should accept or decline their place by emailing Dr Masters and Ms Damons.
  6. After applicants have been admitted to the programme they must formally register once the academic year begins.

Deadline for applications: Usually end of October (please check the University Almanac for the specific date).

Entry requirements: An appropriate Honours degree (with a minimum of 65% average). Demonstrable research and writing skills. The department will assess each application case by case.

Registration deadline: End of March (please check the University Almanac regarding the specific date).

Procedure:

  1. Before making an application you should have an idea of the area in which you would like to work, and, a preliminary broadly formulated topic. Please consult the areas of research expertise and supervisors offered by our department (look at the staff profiles and their areas of expertise). You must approach a potential supervisor by email (or in person if you are on campus) before you begin the application process. If you are unclear about a suitable supervisor and topic contact the Postgraduate Co-ordinator for advice.​
  2. All applicants currently registered as SU students can apply online on the My.Sun student portal: https://sso.sun.ac.za/login?service=https://web-apps.sun.ac.za/HuidigAansNg/shiro-cas (Undergraduate >> Studies >> Application Postgraduate Study).
  3. If you are not already registered at Stellenbosch University you may apply directly on the University website at www.maties.com and at http://www0.sun.ac.za/pgstudies/how-to-apply.html. International students should follow the instructions for prospective students at www.sun.ac.za/international.
  4. The department will evaluate the application and applicants will be informed about the outcome no later than the middle of November.
  5. If the student’s application is approved, the student will then prepare the research proposal in consultation with the supervisor, for submission to the Departmental Executive Committee.
  6. After applicants have been admitted to the programme they must formally register once the academic year begins.

Deadline for applications: Please check the University Almanac for the specific date.

Entry requirements: A Master’s degree in the requisite field. Demonstrable research and writing skills. The department will assess each application case by case.

Registration deadline: End of March.

Procedure:

  1. Before making an application a candidate must have a clear idea of the potential topic and have started liaising with a supervisor about the topic (look at the staff profiles and their areas of expertise to help you find a suitable supervisor). You are encouraged to approach a potential supervisor by email (or in person if you are on campus) or, if you are unclear about a suitable supervisor and topic, contact the Postgraduate Co-ordinator for advice.
  2. Once a candidate and supervisor have agreed on the project, the student may apply.
  3. The application will be sent to the Department f​​​or consideration.
  4. If accepted, the student may then enrol as a student preparing for their PhD, which allows access to resources but is not yet a registration.
  5. Once the supervisor is satisfied with the proposal, it will be circulated to an Admissions Committee for comment and revisions.
  6. Once the proposal is approved, the student can formally register.  Please note that the PhD proposal at Stellenbosch is a substantial document outlining the project and takes several months to prepare before it can be submitted to an Admissions Committee.

Postgraduate Students

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Helena De Coito
MA Ancient Cultures
The Materiality of Lapis Lazuli in the Royal Graves of Ur
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Emma Jane Metcalf
MA Ancient Cultures
Agents of Chaos: An Investigation into the Agency of Chaotic Figures in the Visual Culture of the New Kingdom.
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Milandré Sashawnee Swartbooi
MA Ancient Cultures
Carving Hephaestus: A disability and gender studies analysis of the representation of Hephaestus in Homer and Hesiod
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Tameka Vollenhoven
MA Ancient Cultures
A double-edged exemplum: The depiction of Alexander in selected episodes of Curtius’ Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis
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Jordyn Spanneberg
MA Ancient Cultures
Poison in Greek Mythology, Epic and Drama.
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Sasha-Leigh Sukhai
MA Ancient Cultures
Forsaken & Enflamed: Ovid’s Ariadne and Phaedra in the Web of Desire
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Gabrielle Whitney Koense
MA Ancient Cultures
“For Fame Will Never Leave You”: Virgin Sacrifice in Euripides’ Heraclidae and Iphigenia at Aulis
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Elmerie Africa
MA Ancient Cultures
Tracing Coloniality: A Critical Discourse Analysis on the Presentation of Ancient Sudan in Public Scholarship.
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Tamar Jansen
MA Ancient Cultures
“You will travel the road you desired” Spatial Imaginations of Mythological Narrative and Katabasis in the Neo-Assyrian Netherworld
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Sebastian Hans Myburgh
MA Ancient Cultures
The Influence of Food and Drink on the Divine in Mesopotamia
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Olivia Katelyn Möller
PhD Ancient Languages
The significance of the male child in Greek tragedy
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Bastiénne Babl
Doctorate in Ancient Studies
Shiv'atHaMinim: The Seven Species as Cultural Keystone Species in the Southern Levant between 100 BCE and 200 CE
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Akira Coetzee
PhD Ancient Cultures
The Mesopotamian Goddess Nisaba: Her Significance, Development and Relationship with Women’s Writing
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Bronwen Elizabeth MacDonald
PhD Ancient Cultures
The Iconography of Torches in Etruscan and Roman Funerary Sculpture
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Beatrice Grace Munala
PhD Ancient Cultures
Narrating Identities through Historical Stones: A Comparative Study of Narratives of The Crying Stone of Ilesi and Kit Mikayi in Western Kenya
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Sonja Chippendale
PhD in Ancient Cultures
The use and iconography of coronae: unravelling wreaths and garlands in ancient Roman art
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Manuel Calaza Schenkel
PhD Ancient Languages (Biblical Hebrew)
Problems in נשׂאעוןופשׁעוחטאה (Exod. 34:7) Lexicography: Solutions from cognitive semantics