The Catholic University of America - Department of Greek and Latin
The Catholic University of America

Summer Program in the Ancient Languages

As a department, we take pride in the high standards which we apply to the study of the ancient languages.  During the summer months, we offer the opportunity for motivated students to complete the equivalent of four semesters of university-level study in either Greek or Latin.

The elementary courses, Greek 509 and Latin 509, take place during the first six-week summer session at CUA.  Each of these courses carries six hours of university credit and meets for approximately three hours per day, five days per week.  By the end of the six-week session, our Greek students have received the necessary preparation to read Plato or Xenophon; our Latin students are prepared to read (for example) Caesar, Catullus, or Cicero--even if they have never studied an ancient language before. The intermediate courses, Greek 516-517 and Latin 516-517, follow immediately after the elementary courses during the second half of the summer.  Each is a three-credit course, meeting five days per week, about 2 1/2 hours per day, for three weeks.  Their goal is to provide students with a "first reading" experience and with intensive study of syntax and style.

The Erechtheion, Athens, 5th century BC

All of these courses are fast-paced, challenging, and intense.  They tend to attract motivated students with a variety of interesting academic goals.

Scholarships for the 509 courses in the Summer Program in the Ancient Languages are available on a competitive basis to current degree-seeking CUA graduate students.  Students who will begin their graduate degree studies at CUA in the fall following the Summer Program are also eligible to apply.  (Those who will not be seeking CUA degrees, i.e. who are taking courses with "non-degree" student status, are not eligible.)  Applications for the scholarships must be received by the end of the workday on the second Friday in April of each academic year.

To read more, follow the links in the sidebar, or click here for some frequently-asked questions about our summer program.  You might also like to visit the general CUA Summer Sessions website.

If you are interested in other kinds of opportunities for classicists during the summer (i.e. not necessarily involving classroom and/or language work), click here to explore some other ideas!