The Catholic University of America - Department of Greek and Latin

The Department of Greek and Latin at CUA, comprised of five full-time faculty members, offers BA, terminal MA, and PhD degrees, along with graduate-level language certificates that can also function as "postbac" qualifications. Our interests and those of our students are broad and wide-ranging, and we embrace a definition of the "ancient" world which extends back to the kingdoms of the Near East and forward to the Middle Ages. We study and teach Greek language and literature from Homer to late antiquity, and Latin from its earliest beginnings through the late medieval period.

Among our many strengths, we are especially proud of these:

The strong foundations we provide our students in the ancient languages. Our BA, certificate, and MA students receive superior preparation for further study; our PhD students polish their language skills and then become teachers themselves, taking advantage of the rare opportunity (for those who wish it) to teach their own lower-level classes in both languages during their time at CUA. During the summer, we offer specialized, intensive language programs which allow students to complete the first four semesters of Latin or Greek in a matter of weeks. Explore the sidebar to learn more!

Our investment in launching our earlier students into graduate programs. We provide careful, thoughtful advising to help our undergraduates craft minors in cognate areas that in turn strengthen their majors, to support our certificate students in their language development, and to assist our MA candidates in selecting coursework that will help prepare them for a PhD. We also mentor all of our students through the often-complex world of applications for graduate schools, scholarships, and fellowships, always aiming to find a good match between a student and his or her future program. Click here to read more about our approach to classics careers.

The diversity of our research interests. Our faculty members' work embraces (for example) the editing of medieval Latin texts, classical Greek history, Roman religion, early Christianity, and the rhetoric of cinema, to name just a few topics. We share a commitment to intellectual rigor--and to our students. Click here to read more about our faculty.

The special position of our own department and its programs within CUA. CUA's long tradition of linguistic, textual, philosophical, and theological research means that we enjoy the company of many other faculty and students in other schools, departments, and programs (Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, History, Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Semitics, and Early Christian Studies, for example) who are interested in and invested in our discipline--as we are in theirs. We are pleased to highlight some affiliated faculty members in other programs who teach courses on Greek and Latin texts and on the history, philosophy, and theology of the ancient and medieval worlds. Click here to learn more about them and about their work.

Please feel free to explore our website for more detailed information. If you would like to contact us, click here.