Classics

Undergraduate majors: ancient civilization (BA); classical languages (BA)

Undergraduate minors: ancient civilization; classical languages; Greek; health and the human condition; Latin

Postbaccalaureate certificate: classics

Graduate degrees: MA in classics; MA in Greek; MA in Latin; PhD in classics

Faculty: https://classics.uiowa.edu/people

Website: https://classics.uiowa.edu/

Classics is the study of ancient languages, literatures, and cultures of the Mediterranean basin from approximately 2000 B.C.E. to 800 C.E. It embraces three civilizations—the Minoan-Mycenaean, Greek, and Roman; two languages—Greek and Latin; and a geographical area including Europe, North Africa, Egypt, and the Near East. The Department of Classics provides a basis for understanding and interpreting the contribution of the ancient world to life in the present and the future.

The department offers a substantial selection of courses taught in English at the undergraduate and graduate levels; several are approved for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core. Undergraduates in all majors may satisfy the World Languages requirement of the GE CLAS Core with courses in Greek or Latin; see "Language for GE CLAS Core" below. The department's First-Year Seminar introduces entering undergraduates to classics.

Two Classics students with thumbs up wearing shirts printed with the saying, “Universitas Iowensis”.

The Department of Classics also administers the interdisciplinary minor in health and the human condition for undergraduates.

Language for GE CLAS Core

The Department of Classics offers course sequences in Greek and Latin that students in all majors may use to fulfill the World Languages requirement of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core.

Students who have had previous coursework or other experience with Greek or Latin should take the appropriate language placement test, which helps determine the level at which a student should begin Greek or Latin language study at the University of Iowa.

Greek

Students who wish to fulfill the GE CLAS Core World Languages requirement with Greek should complete the following sequence.

Course # Title Hours
CLSG:1001Classical and New Testament Greek I5
CLSG:1002Classical and New Testament Greek II5
CLSG:2001Second-Year Greek I3
CLSG:2002Second-Year Greek II3

Latin

Students who wish to fulfill the GE CLAS Core World Languages requirement with Latin should complete the following sequence.

Course # Title Hours
CLSL:1001Elementary Latin I5
CLSL:1002Elementary Latin II5
CLSL:2001World of Cicero3
CLSL:2002Golden Age of Roman Poetry3