The department offers a major in Greek and a major in Latin. Each student's major program is designed in consultation with the chair of the department, the normal requirement being eight courses numbered 300 or higher. It is expected that all majors will complete an appropriate course in ancient history and that those planning graduate studies in classics will complete courses in the other language at least through 301.
A student accepted as a major in this department will be assigned a reading list, including ancient authors and modern works bearing on the languages, literatures, and civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. Part of the comprehensive examination will be based on these readings.
To be eligible for departmental honors a student majoring in Greek or Latin is required to pass all courses in the major with an average of B, to pass the comprehensive examination with a grade of A or B, and to complete an acceptable honors paper.
The department also offers a minor in Greek, which requires six courses in ancient Greek, and a minor in Latin, which requires four courses in Latin numbered above 301. For each minor there is a much-reduced comprehensive examination.
The University is a member of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, and majors are encouraged to study there for one semester. The James M. Fourmy, Jr. Scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving and qualified graduate of this University for graduate study in classical languages. The department also benefits from a memorial fund in honor of James G. Crumrine, a Greek major of the class of 1987. The department sponsors a chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honorary society.