The College of Liberal Arts’ Greek and Roman Classics degree and minor programs span the entire breadth of a liberal arts education. With 4+1, you can even earn dual classic languages and literature bachelors degrees or a Latin undergraduate and secondary education graduate degree in just five years. Ready to research the classics at Temple University? Take your placement exams and learn about distinction in major requirements.

An Entire Liberal Arts Education Rolled into a Single Major

The study of Greek and Roman Classics gives students a rigorous education in the nature of language, in the skills of close reading and textual analysis and in historical reasoning. If you are interested in mythology, ancient history or where the major institutions of Western culture began and why some disappeared for a long time, then you are interested in Classics. Our government was inspired by the Greeks yet was modeled on the Roman Republic, which also provided the basis for our laws. Our scientific language is Greek, but our grammar does not make much sense without Latin. Studying Classics at the College of Liberal Arts means discovering how different from us the Greeks and Romans really were. Join us and discover why.

Classics Program Overview

Temple Classics offers a Bachelor of Arts in Classics with a Concentration in Classical Civilizations and a Bachelor of Arts in Classics with a Concentration in Classical Languages and Literature, as well as minors in Classical Languages and Ancient Mediterranean Studies. The Department of Greek and Roman Classics offers courses in Ancient Greek and Latin, as well as a wide range of courses on the literature, culture and history of these ancient Mediterranean civilizations; these courses use English texts so that any interested student can participate.

Degree Offerings

Dual Degree: 4+1 – Classical Languages and Literature – Latin (BA) + Secondary Education (M.ED.)

This accelerated degree program (4+1) offers Classical Languages and Literature undergraduate majors with a concentration in Latin in the College of Liberal Arts the exciting opportunity to complete their undergraduate degree AND a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education within five years. Apply in your sophomore year. This M.Ed. meets the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s program requirements for Teacher Certification in Latin PK-12 grades.

Research The Classics

Our faculty and students share a special bond that transcends the classroom. Advanced majors have opportunities to assist faculty with research both on-campus and around the world.

Placement Exams in Latin and Ancient Greek

Students entering Temple University often need to take exams for proper placement in language courses. In Classics these exams are by appointment.

Distinction in Major Requirements

Distinction in Major requires senior honors thesis and a minimum 3.5 GPA in Greek, Latin and Roman Classics courses.

1) Planning should start early in the student’s penultimate semester. The student, after consulting with the department advisor concerning his or her GPA, should discuss possible topics with a range of faculty. A student who is completing a major in Classical Language and Literatures must plan a topic that involves texts in Greek or Latin in some meaningful way. Any paper topic may build upon work from a previous course, but revisions to that work must be substantial. By the end of the 10th week of the term the student should have decided upon both the topic and the faculty mentor. The student and faculty mentor will then decide upon a second faculty reader. The student should plan for a thesis of roughly 18-20 double-spaced pages.

2) The student must register for an independent study, choosing, where appropriate, either Greek, Latin or GR Classics 4182. A student who is completing a major in Classical language and literatures must choose Greek or Latin 4182. A student who is completing a major in Classical Civilizations must register for GR Classics 4182. If there is more than one student completing an honors thesis during the semester then those students and their advisors (and any interested faculty) will meet regularly together to discuss their projects and research techniques in general.

3) By the end of the first week of the student’s last semester, he or she should have confirmed with the department advisor:

  • Eligibility by GPA
  • The thesis topic
  • The names of the mentor and second reader
  • Registration in the independent study

4) The student and mentor should plan on a specific timetable of drafts, but the student should plan on submitting a semi-final version of the thesis to the advisor and second reader by November 15th of the fall term or April 15 of the spring term. This version will be the basis on which the advisor and reader recommend to CLA whether the student will graduate with distinction in major. The last version of the paper should be complete by the beginning of the final exam period.

5) The student will make an oral presentation to faculty and students to be scheduled at some point during the last two weeks of the semester in which the student graduates.

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