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Concentration in Classical Civilizations

The Department of the Classics offers two concentration tracks: Classical Civilizations and Classical Languages and Literatures. The Classical Civilizations concentration track is for students primarily interested in exploring ancient Greek and Roman cultures through an archaeological, historical, or philosophical lens.

The basic requirements for each track are 12 courses. The two differ primarily in the distribution between courses in Greek and/or Latin and courses requiring only English. No prior knowledge of a classical language is necessary to pursue either track. Students will acquire some language proficiency in each track.

The following is a simplified version of the requirements for our Classical Civilizations Track. For complete details, please see Classics in "Fields of Concentration" or email classicsDUS@fas.harvard.edu.

Classical Civilizations

  • Basic requirements: 12 courses.
  • Two courses providing a broad introduction to Classical civilization, normally Classical Studies 97a and 97b.
  • Four courses in Greek and/or Latin.
  • Classical Studies 112 Regional Study, a multi-disciplinary and problem-based in-depth survey of a region of the ancient Mediterranean world, to be taken at any stage in the Concentration, provided that both 97a and 97b have been completed or the second of these is being taken concurrently.
  • Four additional courses from among those with the prefix BYZGRK, CLASSIC, CLASARCH, CLASPHIL, CLS-STDY, GREEK, LATIN, MEDLATIN, or MODGRK on courses.my.harvard.edu. Further courses may be considered for cross-listing by petition to the DUS.
  • One semester of Classics 98, a small-group tutorial emphasizing the development of research skills (must be taken for a letter-grade).

Note: Two courses counted for concentration may be taken Pass/Fail or, in the case of approved Freshman Seminars, SAT/UNS.

Additional requirements for Honors eligibility

  • A senior thesis, together with two semesters of the senior tutorial, Classics 99.