Classics

The Academic Program

Greek, Latin, Ancient History, and Classical Studies may be a student’s major or minor subject in either the Course or the Honors Program. Three of these tracks (Greek, Latin, and ancient history) require advanced work in one of the original languages, while a major or minor in Classical Studies does not require but may include language study. Acceptance into one of the majors is dependent on promising work in relevant courses (normally indicated by A’s and B’s).

Course Major

Greek: 8.5 credits required, including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two credits must come from an honors seminar in Greek.

Latin: 8.5 credits required, including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two credits must come from an honors seminar in Latin.

Classical Studies: 8.5 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies or Ancient History including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two credits must come from a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar. Other disciplines on campus offer courses focused on aspects of classical antiquity (e.g. Art History, Philosophy, Political Science), and usually these will count toward completion of the major; students are advised to consult the chair for an accurate list of such courses.

Ancient History: A major in Ancient History consists of four Ancient History courses (ANCH 031, 032, 042, 044, 056, or 066), four credits in Greek or Latin, two of which must be from an honors seminar, and .5-credit senior course study. A second seminar in Latin or Greek may be substituted for two Ancient History courses.

Course Minor

Greek: 5 credits in Greek.

Latin: 5 credits in Latin.

Classical Studies: 5 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies or Ancient History.

Ancient History: A course minor in Ancient History will consist of four courses in Ancient History, and an attachment to one of them.

Culminating Exercise/Senior Course Study

The culminating experience for course majors in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, and Ancient History is a .5-credit senior course study (GREK 098, LATN 098, CLST 098, ANCH 098). This independent study will be taken in the senior year to prepare for a graded oral exam taken in the spring with the Classics faculty. The oral exam will be based on a 2-credit seminar the student has completed. The students will submit their final exams and a paper from the seminars, which may be revised. The oral exams focus on the seminar as a whole as well as on the papers and written exams submitted.

Honors Program in Classics

Greek and Latin: For an honors major in Greek or Latin, preparation for honors exams will normally consist of three seminars or course-plus-options and a total of 10 credits are required.  A student minoring in Greek or Latin will take one external examination based on one seminar. Honors minors are, however, strongly encouraged to take more than one seminar, in order to be adequately prepared for the examination; 5 credits or more are recommended.

Classical Studies: Honors majors in Classical Studies will complete 8 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, or Ancient History. They must complete three 2-credit units of study, of which at least one must  a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar.  Minors will complete 5 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, or Ancient History including a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar.

Ancient History: For an honors major in Ancient History, one preparation will be a seminar in either Latin or Greek. The other two preparations can be another seminar in the same language and a course-plus-attachment, or two courses-plus-attachment options. Students minoring in Ancient History will take four courses in Ancient History and add an attachment to one of them. That course-plus-attachment will be the preparation for the external exam. No ancient language is required for this minor.

Senior Honors Study

All honors majors and minors will select one paper from each seminar to be sent to the external examiner for that seminar. The student is free to submit the paper with minor or major revisions or no revisions at all. 4,000 words is the senior honors limit set by the college.  Majors will, therefore, submit three such papers, and minors will submit one. Senior Honors Study is not required for students whose Honors preparation is a course with an attachment. The portfolio sent to external examiners will contain the seminar papers, together with syllabi and related materials, if any, from the instructors. A combination of (three-hour) written and (one-hour) oral exams will be the mode of external assessment for seminars. For course-plus-attachment, examiners will receive the course syllabus and the written product of the attachment. The exam will be just an oral assessment.

Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit

The department will grant one credit (only) for one or more grades of 5 on the Latin AP, or the IB equivalent. This credit may be counted toward the major or minor in Latin or CLST.

Off-Campus Study

A semester of off-campus study is usually possible for majors in classics. The department is a member of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, and encourages interested students to participate, preferably in the fall semester of their junior year. The ICCS program offers traditional courses in Greek, Latin, Italian, Renaissance and Baroque art history, and a required two-credit course based on first-hand exposure to the archaeological and artistic monuments of the ancient world to be found in Rome, the Bay of Naples, and Sicily.

Research and Summer Study

Students may apply to the department for summer funding to support intensive summer courses in Latin and Greek, participation in archaeological field work abroad, internships connected with classics, or research projects undertaken with a member of the department.

Some summer programs recently attended by Swarthmore students include CUNY Summer Language Institute, Berkeley Summer Language Programs, Rutgers University Summer Language Program, University College in Cork, Ireland, Via Consulare Project in Pompeii, Agora Project in Athens, American Academy in Rome Summer Program, Gabii Project, Azoria Project, Morgantina, and Mt. Lykaion.

Life After Swarthmore

Many of our majors, and some minors, go on to pursue careers as professional classicists, at both the college and secondary levels. Swarthmore students well prepared in both Latin and Greek are competitive candidates for excellent graduate programs in classics, and in related fields such as medieval studies, English, history, and archaeology. In recent years Classics majors have been admitted to graduate programs at UNC-Chapel Hill, Penn, CUNY Graduate Center, Yale, Harvard, Duke, Princeton, University of Chicago, and Stanford. Others have successfully obtained teaching positions in secondary schools, both public and private; it is worth mentioning that there is a significant demand for teachers of Latin, particularly at the secondary level, and some states, including Pennsylvania, make it possible to teach Latin in public schools before obtaining professional certification. Most majors and minors have successfully pursued careers only tangentially related to classics, often after attending professional school. There are Swarthmore classicists in law, medicine, business, art, and music, and many other walks of life.

Classics Department Courses