Program Overview
The Classics program at the University of Cincinnati explores the language, literature, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Students develop strong language skills and study mythology, philosophy, religion, and politics. The program benefits from the Semple Classics Fund, which supports a renowned library, graduate students, a world-class faculty, and scholarships for exceptional undergraduates.
Program Outline
Careers:
Classics students possess an eye for detail, curiosity about languages (including their own) and love of reading. Some such students include:
- Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche
- Theodor Mommsen and Toni Morrison (both recipients of the Nobel Prize for literature)
- Oscar Wilde, Eric Segal ("Love Story") and J.K. Rowling ("Harry Potter")
- Garry Wills (Catholic cultural critic) and Archbishop Pilarczyk of Cincinnati
- David Packard (as in Hewlett-Packard) and Charles Geschke (founder of Adobe)
- James Baker (former Secretary of State)
Other:
Classics is the study of the language and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Students in classics develop language skills and eventually read Homer, Plato or the New Testament, and Cicero, Virgil or Augustine in the original. They also study such subjects as mythology, philosophy, religion, politics and other areas where the ancient Greeks and Romans made decisive contributions to world civilization. Among other things, the Semple Classics Fund supports:
- the John Miller Burnam Classical Library, the largest such library in the world
- a large number of graduate students
- a world-class faculty It also awards Semple Scholarships to outstanding undergraduates in classics or classical civilization at the University of Cincinnati and the Semple Traveling Scholarships for a period of undergraduate study abroad, especially in Athens and Rome. The Department of Classics has an international reputation as a leader in the field of Greek Bronze Age archaeology. This tradition of excellence in archaeology continues today with current field projects at Pylos, Apollonia (Albania), and Episkopi-Bamboula (Cyprus).
