Bachelor of Arts in Classics

Classics is the study of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures in their broadest sense: the languages of ancient Greek and Latin, literature and mythology, history, philosophy, and art and archaeology. It is also about where we come from and who we are today. Citizenship and immigration, democracy and protest, beauty and love so many of our key modern ideas and debates have their roots in ancient practices and institutions.

Classics is an interdisciplinary degree subject and its breadth makes Classics at UCSB dynamic, challenging, and fun. It also gives our graduates highly marketable skills. Learning ancient languages brings special rigor to a humanities degree. Classics graduates go on to become archivists, lawyers, lobbyists, journalists, teachers, actors and management consultants. They work in PR, in museums, in business, and in IT where their skills in language, critical thinking, and communication are valued.

Classics majors are able to take many small classes taught by senior faculty, an aspect that makes Classics especially attractive to serious students. To serve the interests of as many students as possible the department offers a major with three distinct emphases (see below). Double majors do well in our department. Law and medical schools are particularly alert to the value of double majors with Classics. We are a friendly department and look after our students.