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The classical languages program includes the study of ancient languages, literatures, and cultures of the Mediterranean basin from approximately 2000 BC to AD 600. Study in classical languages helps students understand the contribution of the ancient world to life in the present and future.
Why
Study Classics at Iowa?
Classics has strong offerings in Greek and Latin, from beginning classes through a full graduate program. These are complemented by a wide range of courses about the ancient world—taught in English—that are offered within the department, as well as in other departments and disciplines across the University. Students are able to work closely with the classics faculty over the entire period of their undergraduate education. A study area in the department allows students to work with their fellow students and with faculty in a casual setting. The department offers students the small liberal arts college experience within the rich and stimulating environment of a major research university.
Faculty
Faculty members in the classics are dedicated to teaching and research. They have earned national and international recognition for their publications, and have been honored for their contributions in teaching and service to the professions.
The faculty is particularly strong in the study of Greek and Roman drama, education, history, religion, rhetoric, philosophy, poetry, and material culture. Faculty members edit and publish the scholarly journal Syllecta Classica.
Course
Work
Courses offered present nearly half of the recorded experience of the Western world. The subject matter covers three civilizations (Minoan/Mycenaean, Greek, and Roman), two languages (Greek and Latin), and a geographical area that includes Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Some courses are taught in English, others in classical languages.
BA in Classical Languages
Students who major in classical languages learn to read the ancient Greek and/or Latin languages, become acquainted with the major works of Greek and/or Roman literature, and acquire knowledge of the history of ancient Greece from the eighth century BC through the fourth century AD, where most of the modern Western notions of political, artistic, and social life are rooted. They also gain an understanding of the Roman Republic and Empire when Rome established its hegemony over the Mediterranean basin, laid the foundation of law for the Western world, and transmitted the culture of Greece to the West.
The program requires at least 36 semester hours (s.h.) in Latin and/or Greek language and literature, prose composition, and courses in English of the ancient world. Minors are offered in classical languages, Greek, and Latin. All require a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 2.00.
BA in Ancient Civilization
This major concentrates on the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean world. Although courses in Greek or Latin are encouraged, they are not required. The program requires 30 s.h. of course work. A minor requires a minimum of 15 s.h. in relevant courses (12 at the advanced level) with a minimum GPA of 2.00.
This major is sponsored by the classics department, along with the School of Art and Art History and the Departments of Religious Studies and History.
Honors
For students who have a 3.50 GPA after their first semester, the department offers honors courses, as well as honors sections in all large lecture courses. In their third year, majors with a 3.50 GPA are encouraged to consider a senior honors thesis. After discussion with their advisor and the relevant faculty, students choose a topic to study and research for one semester of the senior year under the guidance of a faculty member. The second semester is devoted to writing an extensive honors paper, again with the guidance of the faculty member, which is presented to the honors program in May. Most students use this thesis as a writing sample for application to graduate school.
Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honor society, has a University of Iowa chapter. Membership is open to all honors students (not just classics majors) with an interest in classics. Regular meetings are held to inform students of career opportunities and preparation, as well as to engage in social activities.
Awards
Bequests from benefactors over the years allow the classics department to offer annual prizes in Latin and Greek. Awards and other honors for students are presented by a distinguished member of The University of Iowa at a Coffee Hour event held in the spring. Parents, relatives, and friends of the students are invited as guests of the department.
Resources
The University Libraries and the University of Iowa Museum of Art have extensive collections that support the study of Greek and Roman civilizations. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable, and work with the classics faculty to make sure students are able to take full advantage of these resources. The department has its own valuable collection of coins, glass, vases, and facsimiles in bronze from Mycenae, Pompeii, and Herculaneum on display in the department.
Student
Activities
Students are encouraged to integrate offerings from the department’s excellent lecture series into their course work, to attend the Coffee Hours held each semester to get to know the faculty and fellow students, and to join either Clava, the undergraduate classics club, or Eta Sigma Phi, the honors classics society.
Honors students are also eligible for a research practicum or a teaching practicum. These are courses in which the student works closely with a faculty member either in the faculty member’s research or teaching to learn as much as possible about what it means to be a professor of classics.
Paid internships also are available through the Undergraduate Scholar Assistant Program in the Pomerantz Career Center. A student who is awarded one of these internships will work closely on a particular project for the sponsoring faculty member.
Study
Abroad
The classics department maintains close relationships with study abroad programs in Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands. These programs advance students’ work in their majors and introduce them to the living descendants of ancient Greek and Roman societies. In the Netherlands, the focus of study is on Latin and Greek, and on Roman frontier studies. Students are encouraged to plan to take advantage of these programs in their third or fourth year of study. Financial aid is available.
The department has close ties to the ongoing Roman frontier excavations at Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and with others in Greece and Italy. Students are encouraged to apply to join these excavations in the summer, for which financial aid also is available.
In addition, the University supports the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the American Academy in Rome, making these facilities available to faculty and students.
Careers
Hundreds of positions across the country cannot be filled because there is a serious shortage of Latin teachers. Students who complete their BA and gain certification from the College of Education will be able to find positions quickly.
The study of Latin and Greek has long been preferred preparation for further study in law and medicine, and Iowa classics majors regularly enter these fields.
Iowa’s classics majors have also gone on to do advanced work in library and information science, museum studies, religious studies, history, archaeology, and business. A large proportion of students, however, have chosen to continue their study of classics at the graduate level. They have been admitted to the finest public and private university programs around the country, with full financial support. Iowa’s program is recognized for the excellent preparation given to students for graduate work in classics.
Scholarships
Refer
to the Office of Student Financial Aid for
a complete list of available scholarships.
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