CLASSICAL STUDIES have always been at the heart of a liberal education, for they offer the student unmatched perspectives from which to evaluate our own time. They show how our oldest beliefs and institutions came into being and bring to life systems of values both different from and similar to our own. Courses are offered in history, religion, art, philosophy, social problems, literature, and mythology of the ancient world. The curriculum covers 3,500 years of human experience in the ancient Near East, Greece, and Roman Europe, from the beginnings of civilization to the Christianization of Europe and the dawn of the Middle Ages.

Three major programs are offered. Students majoring in classics and ancient mediterranean studies may take much of their work in courses on antiquity that require no knowledge of Greek or Latin. Majors are encouraged to spend a semester at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. A summer program at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens is also available.