UB Programs At-A-Glance

Classics

Department of Classics
College of Arts and Sciences
338 Millard Fillmore Academic Core, Ellicott Complex
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14261-0026

Phone: 716.645.2154
Fax: 716.645.2225
Web: www.classics.buffalo.edu

J. Theodore Peña
Chair

John Dugan
Director of Undergraduate Studies

About the Department

Classics includes the study of ancient Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern civilizations, and the ability to use that knowledge to further understand our own. Its scope includes historical, sociological, archaeological, literary, philosophical, and artistic dimensions. Although a large portion of the discipline concerns itself with training in and the study of the Greek and Latin languages, courses are also offered in classical literature and history, art and archaeology, and myth and religion. Students may take a major or minor in Greek and/or Latin, or Classical Civilizations, and may choose to concentrate their studies in Ancient History, Mediterranean Archaeology, and Ancient Religion. The Classics department also serves as an administrative home to programs in Judaic Studies and Religious Studies, both of which offer major as well as minor concentrations.

Special Features

A departmental library, the Philip Becker Goetz Memorial Collection, is available to all students and faculty in the department.

Degrees Offered

Undergraduate: B.A., Minor
Concentrations: Classical Civilizations, Ancient Greek Language and Literatures, Ancient Latin Language and Literatures, Mediterranean Archaeology, Ancient History
Graduate: M.A., Ph.D.

About Our Degrees

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Only courses at the 200-level or above may be used to satisfy requirements.

Acceptance Information

Deadlines: Rolling
Number of applicants/year: 20
Number of accepted majors/year: 18
Total number of majors currently enrolled: 36

There are no prerequisites for admission.

Minors

The department offers minors in Greek, Latin, and in all the same concentrations as its Classical Civilizations majors (i.e. Ancient History, Mediterranean Archaeology, and Ancient Religions). A minimum GPA of 2.0 overall is required, as are 18 credit hours of work in approved Classics courses. Course-work in Greek and Latin (4 semesters in either language) is required only for the language-oriented minors. Students should consult with the Chair or Director of Undergraduate Studies to create a balanced program of study for the minor.

Degree Requirements

Please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Courses

Suggested Introductory Courses


The typical class size for:

Freshman/introductory courses is: 30 - 35
Sophomore/intermediate courses is: 20 - 25
Upper level/advanced courses is: 20 - 25

In the Department of Classics, what do student teaching assistants (TA's) do?

TA's teach elementary Latin and some intermediate and elementary classical civilization courses.

For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Faculty

Rated nineteenth in the country in a recent survey of classics departments, the UB Department of Classics faculty regularly devotes some or all of their time to undergraduate teaching. Among them is the holder of the Andrew V.V. Raymond Professorship in Classics and past winners of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Members of the faculty have also held the office of President in both the American Philiological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America, the two primary professional organizations for classicists in North America. The department also serves as home to the journal Arethusa, an internationally recognized periodical devoted to the publication of scholarship in classical studies. Other editorial affiliations by members of the faculty have included positions with American Journal of Archaeology and Classical World.

Special Academic Opportunities

Honors Program

An honors program is available for outstanding students, involving special faculty supervision of an honors project.

Study Abroad

Students in the department can receive credit for a term or a year's study at the Intercollegiate Center in Rome, Italy, in several SUNY overseas programs, and at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. Summer study is also available through the American Academy in Rome and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, to which this department is a contributing member.

Opportunities for summer archaeological work exist in the Americas, Europe, North Africa and the Near East.

Awards

Annual Classics Prize for Outstanding Graduating Senior

Extracurricular Activities

See the UB Student Association.

Complementary Programs and Courses

Minors that Complement Classics

  • Anthropology
  • Art History
  • Comparative Literature
  • English
  • French
  • History
  • Italian
  • Linguistics
  • Philosophy
  • Spanish

Career Information

The scope of study that classics provides includes historical, political, sociological, literary, philosophical, archaeological and artistic dimensions. Classics provides a broad foundation for future study and professional experience and its graduates have learned to appreciate the past and its relationship to the present. This undergraduate degree area is an excellent basis for graduate work and careers in law, medicine, business, public relations/advertising, publishing, social work, communications, and the arts.

Skills gained in this program include:

  • Communication: The classical languages reinforce precision in expression, enlarge the vocabulary and sensitize students to the rhetorical and persuasive powers of language.
  • Comprehension: Languages such as Latin and Greek foster especially close textual reading through linguistic analysis and formal translation and provide a broad frame of reference that improves general comprehension skills.
  • Critical Thinking: The ability to read critically, to analyze, to synthesize, to evaluate, to interpret, and to speculate are the mental habits that humanities most seek to foster. The relationship of these skills to reading in the classical authors is clear, because Western logic and critical thinking comes to us from the classical world.


Students also gain skills in evaluating, speculating, creativity, interpreting/translating, critical/original thinking, teaching, analyzing/synthesizing, testing, editing, promoting, selling, historical perspective on modern problems, ability to use computers as a research tool, and comprehension skills.

Career Choices

Graduates of the Department of Classics can pursue many career options in many different work settings. Listed below are just a few of the many careers classics majors have pursued:

  • Anthropologist
  • Archeologist
  • Archivist
  • Author
  • Consultant
  • Curator (museum or art gallery)
  • Curriculum developer
  • Editor or editorial assistant
  • Educator
  • Foreign service officer
  • Historical archaeologist
  • Journalist
  • Judge
  • Latin teacher
  • Lawyer
  • Librarian
  • Manuscript reader
  • Museum technician
  • Production manager
  • Professor (of classics, history, archaeology)
  • Publisher/indexer
  • Reporter
  • Research associate
  • Social worker
  • Title examiner
  • Translator


Work settings include:

  • Advertising/public relations firms
  • Colleges/universities
  • Film companies
  • Foreign service
  • Government
  • Health facilities
  • Law firms
  • Libraries
  • Museums
  • National security agencies
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Publishing companies
  • Radio/TV stations
  • Real estate companies
  • Schools


Career Hints

Employers are seeking candidates with experience and those who have developed their skills from that experience. Internships, part-time, summer employment, and/or further education can enhance a graduate's employability in their chosen career area.

Salary Information

Salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another. According to the April 1998 NACE national salary survey for Bachelor's Degree graduates: Letters graduates' salaries averaged $28,129 with a range from $20,000 to $40,000. History salaries averaged $25,896.

What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?

50%

Aulitional Resources

Classical Search Engines

Electronic Resources for Classical Studies

Links to Further Information About this Program