Academic Programs

What You'll Study

• A.B. degree

  The Artium Baccalaureatus, the A.B. degree, is the traditional bachelor’s degree conferred by the College of Charleston. Since the founding of the College in 1770, the study of Greek and Latin has been a core component of the undergraduate curriculum.

  But prestige is not the only benefit. High-level training in Greek or Latin provides linguistic and critical thinking skills that will improve your writing, communication and research skills.

  Graduate schools and employers receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of applications from students with high GPAs and similar majors. The A.B. makes you stand out from the crowd. Only a few historical colleges and universities still offer this program of study (for instance, Harvard University, Princeton University, Bryn Mawr College).

  Learn More about the A.B. degree
• Major or Minor in Classics

  There are three options for majoring in classics:

  • Classics major with the A.B. degree: a language-based major grounded in the study of ancient Greek and Latin.
  • Classics major with the B.A. degree: a program with no language requirements, focusing on the study of these foundational cultures through translations of ancient Greek and Roman texts, archaeological data and modern works.
  • Classics major in collaboration with the Department of Teacher Education: a program geared toward teacher licensure in foreign language instruction. 

  In all of these majors, you can take courses in such diverse subjects as Greek history, classical mythology, women in antiquity, Bronze Age archaeology, epic poetry and Romans in film. And that’s just the beginning. 

  There are three options for minoring in classics:

  • Classics minor: six courses in (non-language) classics courses
  • Greek minor: six courses in ancient Greek
  • Latin minor: six courses in Latin
• Language Courses

  Rigorous instruction in Greek or Latin also builds your linguistic tool bag so you can begin studying other, unrelated languages with confidence. Derivative languages like French, Spanish, Italian or Romanian will be a breeze! In our courses, you’ll learn to read one specific language, but you’ll also learn how languages work, from the inside out.

  What topics do we cover? 

  The first three semesters of our Greek and Latin programs are devoted primarily to grammatical instructions, the bones of the language. In the fourth semester (GREK 202 or LATN 202), students transition to reading an authentic Greek or Latin text in its original language.

  Recent upper-level ancient Greek courses:

  • Homeric Hymns
  • Lucian, A True Story
  • Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica
  • Herodotus, Histories
  • Plato’s Republic

  Recent upper-level Latin courses:

  • Lucan, Civil War
  • Hanibal of Carthage (readings from Nepos, Livy, and Silius Italicus)
  • Ovid’s epistolary literature
  • Apuleius, Golden Ass
  • Vergil, Aeneid
• Culture Courses

  You do not have to learn Greek or Latin to study classics! Each semester we offer a battery of courses that are taught through translations. This means that while you’ll be studying Greek and Latin texts and topics, you’ll do it in English.

  Choose from courses that cover topics like ancient civiliations, classical mythology, archaelolgy and medical terminology in Greek and Latin. 

  Explore the course catalog for a preview of classes you can take. 

  • Classics, A.B.
  • Classics, B.A.