At the College of Liberal Arts, your pursuit of a Greek and Roman Classics degree goes beyond the classroom. The Department of Greek and Roman Classics encourages students to apply for awards and scholarships and get involved through our Classics Club or Eta Sigma Phi, the honor society for Latin and Greek students.

image of students at the colosseum

Classics Goes Beyond The Classroom

Our students go abroad to both Greece and Rome, studying in the places that gave birth to some of the world’s greatest scientists, thinkers and artists. They can also spend a summer on an archaeological dig in the Mediterranean. The location and course offerings in Rome make it extremely attractive to anyone interested in the ancient world. Students interested in studying in Rome or on another international campus are encouraged to consult with departmental faculty early in their career at Temple. For more information see the Study Abroad website.

Awards and Scholarships

Every year the department gives out the Professor Nicholas Vlachos Memorial Award for excellence in classical languages and literatures to a senior Greek and Roman Classics major. Classics students are eligible for and often win other college awards in the humanities and for service.

For a complete list of departmental and college level awards and scholarships you may be eligible for, please visit the College of Liberal Arts Awards and Scholarships page.

Classics is a Community

Our Classics Club — open to all majors and minors — and our chapter of the national honor society for classics, Eta Sigma Phi, actively meet and hold events like lectures, movie nights and other social activities. Eta Sigma Phi members also attend a spring convention and have the opportunity to win scholarships to study in the Mediterranean.

Eta Sigma Phi

Eta Sigma Phi is the national honorary collegiate society for students of Latin and/or Greek. Members are elected by local chapters which have been chartered by the society. The purposes of the Society, in the words of the constitution, are “to develop and promote interest in classical study among the students of colleges and universities; to promote closer fraternal relationship among students who are interested in classical study, including inter-campus relationship; to engage generally in an effort to stimulate interest in classical study, and in the history, art, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome.”

The Temple chapter, Zeta Beta, is very active, with recent trips to museums, productions, and even expeditions to the previous 10 national meetings of Eta Sigma Phi. If you love Classics and the ancient world, you will certainly enjoy Eta Sigma Phi.

Initiation

In order to be accepted into Eta Sigma Phi you must meet these requirements:

  • Have completed at least 1 class of Latin OR Greek
  • Have earned at least a “B” average in that class of Latin OR Greek
  • Have a least an overall 3.5 GPA
  • Be a Classics Major or Minor, or plan to become one soon
  • Download an Application
  • It is possible to receive a waiver if one doesn’t quite meet the above requirements! Ask Dr. Karen Hersch for more details if this applies to you.

Benefits of Membership

  • A membership card and certificate
  • Subscription to Nuntius, the biannual newsletter of the society
  • An annual national convention including a certamen and banquet
  • The opportunity to give academic presentations before an audience of peers and scholars
  • Annual sight translation exams in Latin and Greek
  • Honors cords and sashes for graduation
  • Bronze and silver medals of achievement
  • Eligibility for summer travel scholarships to Greece, Rome or southern Italy
  • Eligibility for a Latin teacher training scholarship

Temple’s chapter has a listserv that is used to announce events, new courses and other pertinent information. To subscribe to the listserv, send an email message to listserv@listserv.temple.edu. In the body of the message, type:

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