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.

Classics, B.A.

Where You'll Go

This program of study can give you a higher success rate than science majors who go on to medical school and a higher success rate than political science majors who go on to law school. The tech and financial sectors also recognize that a classics degree signals intellectual rigor, flexible thinking, and strong analytical skills. You can also pursue a career in communications or go on to teach at all levels.

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.

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:

Virtual Admissions Counselor Appointments

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.

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.

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

Learn More

Brooklyn. All in.

Brooklyn. All in.