爱荷华大学

Learning Outcomes

The Department of Classics studies the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, the Near East, and Egypt from 3000 B.C.E. to about 800 C.E. Classical languages majors concentrate on learning ancient Greek, Latin, and/or Hebrew.

Classical languages majors:

learn to read the ancient Greek, Latin, and/or Hebrew languages at an intermediate to advanced level;
gain transferable linguistic and analytic skills by studying the ancient languages that stand behind the vocabulary and structure of English and the Romance languages;
gain knowledge of major literary works and written sources of the ancient Mediterranean world;
learn about the political, intellectual, and social lives of the people from the ancient Mediterranean that became the foundations for Western culture; and
become acquainted with the physical world in which those people lived through the study of art and archaeology.

The Bachelor of Arts with a major in classical languages requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including at least 36 s.h. of work for the major. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all courses for the major and in all UI courses for the major. They also must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core. Transfer credit is evaluated individually.

The major trains students to read the ancient Greek and/or Latin languages and acquaints them with the major works of Greek and/or Roman literature. Classical languages students learn about the history of ancient Greece of the eighth through the fourth centuries B.C.E., where most of the modern Western notions of political, artistic, and social life are rooted. They also develop an understanding of the Roman Republic and Empire (3 B.C.E. through 5 C.E.), when Rome established its hegemony over the Mediterranean basin, laid the foundation of law for the Western World, and spread Greece's culture to the West, and of the fall of the Empire and the rise of Medieval civilization from the sixth through the ninth centuries C.E.

The University of Iowa’s classics program is recognized for the excellent preparation it offers for graduate study in classics. A large proportion of its students pursue advanced degrees. They are admitted to the finest public and private university programs in the country, many with full financial support.

Students who major in classical languages and complete the College of Education’s Teacher Education Program may be able to find secondary school teaching positions quickly, due to a nationwide shortage of Latin teachers.

Graduates have gone on to become secondary or university teachers, librarians, museum curators, and bankers. The study of Latin and Greek also prepares students for study of law and medicine; classics graduates regularly enter these fields. Others go on to complete advanced work in library and information science, museum studies, religious studies, history, archaeology, or business.