Classics, B.A.
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Program Overview
As a classics major, you will explore the worlds of the ancient Greeks and Romans. You’ll have the opportunity to master Greek and Latin, which gives you a unique advantage in the sciences and liberal arts. This major offers two tracks. The Classical Languages track is specially designed for students who wish to attend graduate school in classics, linguistics, or philosophy. The Greek and Roman Culture track is for students who want to enter such professional fields as law, medicine, and business.
Major Details
The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2024–25 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here.
Major Requirements (30–35 Credits)
Classics is a writing-intensive major.
The Classics B.A. offers two tracks:
- Classical Languages
- Greek and Roman Culture
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Apply the fundamental morphology, syntax, and vocabulary of ancient Greek and/or Latin.
- Recognize the influence that the Latin and Greek languages have exerted on English.
- Use language in general with analytical rigor and clarity, drawing on their learning of at least one complex, highly inflected language.
- Cite a simultaneously broad and deep range of surviving cultural products from Greco-Roman antiquity, including both texts and material evidence.
- Evaluate diverse interpretive frameworks and contextualizing factors related to these cultural products, including literary trends, history, geography, and social patterns of ancient Greece, Rome, and their neighboring cultures.
- Create cogent and critically rigorous arguments rooted in textual and material evidence, arguments that explore the complexity and ambiguity of primary and secondary sources.
- Articulate the influence that Greece and Rome have had on later cultures.
Degree Maps
To help you pursue your studies in the most efficient manner, and to maximize your efforts to graduate in four years, Brooklyn College has created four-year degree maps for all its majors.
View degree maps for this major and others.
Departmental Honors
Students who wish to be considered for honors in Classics must meet the following requirements:
- A grade point average (GPA) of 3.60 or higher in all Classics courses.
- Either the completion of a course numbered 5000 or higher, or taking a course numbered 3000 or 4000 or higher for honors by pre-arrangement with the instructor.
- A minimum six credits of Greek and/or Latin with a GPA of 3.00 or higher in these courses.
Contact
David Schur
2404 Boylan Hall
E: dschur@brooklyn.cuny.edu
P: 718.951.5000 ext. 6664
Brian Sowers
2404 Boylan Hall
E: bsowers@brooklyn.cuny.edu
P: 718.951.5000 ext. 6696
Or contact:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
222 West Quad Center
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
E: adminqry@brooklyn.cuny.edu
To make an appointment with an undergraduate admissions counselor, visit:
Tracks
Classical Languages
The language concentration is specially designed for students who wish to attend graduate school in classics, linguistics, or philosophy. It is also an excellent choice for those who plan to teach languages in high school, and for those who will pursue law or computer studies.
- Greek 2001 and 2002, or Greek 2019; and Latin 2101 and 2102, or Latin 2119.
- Greek 3011 and Greek 3012, or Latin 3111 and 3112. Students who take Greek 2019 or Latin 2119 are exempt from this requirement.
With the permission of the chair, students who have studied Greek or Latin before coming to Brooklyn College may substitute more advanced Greek, Latin, or Classics classes for these introductory courses.
A minimum of 18 credits in Greek and Latin is required for this concentration.
Any additional three Classics or Greek or Latin courses numbered above 3000 and below 4000.
Any two Classics or Greek or Latin courses numbered above 4000.
Greek and Roman Culture
The culture concentration is for students who want to enter professional fields such as law, medicine, business, communications, etc. This is a good choice for students interested in a double major. Not intended for students planning to pursue graduate study in classics.
With the permission of the chair, students who have studied Greek or Latin before coming to Brooklyn College may substitute more advanced Greek or Latin classes for these introductory courses.
A minimum of six credits in Greek and Latin are required for this concentration.
Any additional six Classics or Greek or Latin courses numbered above 3000 and below 4000. Classics 1110 and 2109 may be counted toward these six courses. Students who have taken Greek 2019 or Latin 2119 need only four additional courses.
Any two Classics or Greek or Latin courses numbered above 4000.
The Support You’ll Find
Brooklyn College is an integral part of the cultural and artistic energy of New York City. Our faculty members in Classics offer incomparable expertise and tremendous talent, and each bring a unique perspective to their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom.
Internships and Employers
Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the classics B.A. program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:
- City University of New York
- College Board
- Columbia University
- IBM
- ​​Kaplan Hecker & Fink
- Kirkland & Ellis
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- New York City Department of Education
- New York City Public Library
- New York University
- Sylvan Learning
