<p>Recently, I took AP Latin and loved it, and now I'm sure I want to study Classics in college. I'm currently a rising senior. Anyways, I've been having a lot of trouble finding good schools for Classics undergraduate since all rankings for the major are about 20 years old by now. I've been reduced to judging programs based off their websites. Does anyone here know some good Classics programs from personal experience or the internet? So far I'm looking at UChicago as a top choice. Does anybody know anything about them? </p>
<p>Please let the vast resources of CC come to my aid!!!</p>
<p>Circular, there was just a thread on this topic in the past few weeks. Schools mentioned, as I recall, included UNC, Columbia, Yale, UVA, and Cornell–but do a search to be sure. Most elite schools have decent classics programs. Because of the small size of the major, you might do better at large schools since they can presumably support a larger number of faculty with a wider range of expertise.</p>
<p>At St. John’s College (Annapolis and Santa Fe) all students receive a classics/great books education.</p>
<p>Chicago is a wonderful choice, but don’t automatically discount state flagships (e.g. UIUC, etc.) and many SLACs. </p>
<p>If you’re planning on Grad School in Classics or a related field be aware that admissions is incredibly competitive (search the graduate school forum here for recent discussions). You’ll want to make sure your advisor(s) know your goals so they can help you schedule all the extra stuff you’ll need to be a competitive candidate.</p>
Eh, a classics and Great Books education really aren’t the same thing. The typical SJC student receives only rudimentary Greek training and no Latin, and the ancient part of the curriculum is (with the exception of a smattering of Vergil, Tacitus, and a couple others) almost completely limited to one’s first year. </p>
<p>Here’s the thread mentioned earlier. I noted some qualities of a good program, and WilliamC added good feedback about what to look for.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College classics departments. I’ve taken a few classics courses at Haverford and the professors are fantastic, although arguably the most dynamic one is on sabbatical this year (that wouldn’t be a problem for you though).</p>
<p>One thing I should mention. I’m already pretty advanced in Latin having just finished AP Latin last year, so LACs might not work out because of the small number of professors. Their quality is excellent, it’s just that it might not occupy me for four years, although I am starting Greek with no prior experience. Because of this universities, which have more resources and therefore can offer more teachers, are probably better. </p>
Bryn Mawr is an anomaly among small colleges because it offers a graduate program, and a very strong one at that. I would not dismiss it out of hand, as the program there is a fair bit stronger than those of several major research universities like Stanford or Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>My D is a rising Junior at a top LAC majoring in Classics. She finds both her Latin and Greek classes challenging, and she went through Latin I, II, III, Vergil, Catullus and IB Latin in high school. Yes, there is a small faculty at her school, but I’m not sure why you think a LAC may not work because of the number of professors?</p>
<p>I’ve read / been advised that the problem with LAC classics is that students with an already good grasp of Latin or Greek, i.e. your Daughter and me, tend to burn through the courses and exhaust the material quicker. At large universities, however, they have ore resources, therefore more teachers, and therefore more courses to offer. </p>
<p>If this is different, I would actually be pretty thrilled cause then I could apply to LACs, though my list of schools is almost complete. </p>
<p>Absolutely contact the LACs you’re interested in to discuss your needs. The idea that you’ll “burn through” the material is, well, probably uninformed or based on a very small sample.</p>
<p>Professors do tend to recycle their courses, just not on a schedule that will affect the typical undergrad. For example if there are, say 3 professors teaching Latin and Greek (e.g. Franklin and Marshall here in PA, chosen more or less at random as a better small program). Typically they’ll trade off semesters of the upper level courses AND they’ll have a two year cycle. At F&M you’d get something like:</p>
<p>Fall 2010/2011: Latin Satire/Latin Letters/Latin Philosophy
Fall 2011/2012: Latin Oratory/Latin Tragedy/Latin Historians
(There’s also a Latin Comedy not offered in the above time frame)</p>
<p>With the Latin Comedy that’s 7 semesters of no repeats.</p>
<p>But… each of those classes is “repeatable by permisson” which indicates that in any FOUR year period (at least), the material will not be repeated. In addition, there are almost always Honors or Independent Study options available if you get interested in something off the beaten track (for undergrads at least) like epigraphy, or historical grammer issues. So over a 4 year period you’ll get to take a couple courses from each professor and likely have some flexibility in scoring more with a particular favorite.</p>
<p>Don’t worry - you won’t run out of material AND you’ll get to know your professors quite well, which will become important when LOR time rolls around.</p>
<p>One last tip - if you have to take a placement test, watch out for the poetry section. It will almost certainly contain a pasage in which you <em>must</em> know the vowel quantities in order to have any chance of translating it correctly ;-)</p>
<p>^thanks for the incredible advice williamC!!! </p>
<p>Yeah, I suppose my Latin is not so good that all Latin will be a cinch for me. Happily this does open up LACs to my consideration. </p>
<p>Though right now I am applying to UChicago and UNC Chapel Hill early and seeing which way the dice fall. Probably during regular decision season I’ll apply to Harvard (long shot school), maybe a few more ivies, and hopefully some top LACs (and hopefully I’ll be in at either or both of my two early schools and so won’t need safeties :)). </p>
<p>There can be an unexpected advantage to studying Classics at the oldest colleges or universities (e.g. those established by the early 1800s, like Ivies or many LACs). In the 18th and early 19th Centuries, Classics was the most prestigious field of university study. Many alumni of that era left legacies by establishing well-endowed prizes or scholarships for students who excelled in Latin or Greek. </p>
<p>They did not foresee that Latin and Greek might be less popular with students in the 21st Century. So in some of these old departments, the ratio of undergraduate Classics majors to Classics prizes and awards can be rather favorable. It’s worth looking into, if you are checking out older universities or LACs.</p>
Definitely check out the University of Kentucky. I am a current undergrad at UK majoring in Classics, and I absolutely love it! I even turned down a full-tuition scholarship at USC to take advantage of UK’s Classics program. What’s unique about it is that there are classes at the 500-level with Latin as the language of instruction. There are also optional Latin conversation practice sessions outside of class that anyone, no matter their level, is welcome to attend. Yes, people here actually speak Latin, some of them quite fluently! Just this year, a grad student even started offering spoken Greek sessions, which I have been enjoying immensely! The professors are also some of the kindest people I have ever met. They love Latin, and they love their students.
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