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Classical Studies Major

Classical Studies students and faculty at the Getty Villa.

The Classical Studies Program offers a Classical Studies major with an emphasis in either Greek or Latin. All courses used to meet requirements for a major in classical studies must be taken for a letter grade and be passed with a grade of C– or better.

Graduate courses may be taken by undergraduates with consent of the instructor. The faculty of the program welcome qualified undergraduates in graduate courses. 

Learning Objectives of the Classical Studies Program

Lower Division Requirements

Lower Division Requirements

Major Planning Guide: Classics [PDF]


 

All majors must demonstrate a broad introduction to the study of ancient civilizations and elementary reading ability in Greek and Latin.

Synopsis of Greco-Roman Civilizations. A broad introduction to ancient civilizations is satisfied by completing the Literature-World (LTWL) 19a-b-c sequence, or an equivalent set of courses (e.g. Humanities 1-2; MMW 11 and 12; or other combinations of lower-division courses with significant content about ancient civilizations at UC San Diego or at another college). Equivalence of courses is determined by petition through the undergraduate advisor.

  1. LTWL 19A Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, or equivalent.
  2. LTWL 19B Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, or equivalent.
  3. LTWL 19C Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, or equivalent.

Elementary Reading Ability in Greek and Latin. In order to take upper-division Latin and Greek courses, a major must have the equivalent of a year of college-level instruction in Greek and Latin. This can be satisfied by the sequences below, or by equivalent courses elsewhere.

Latin

LTLA 1 Beginning Latin

LTLA 2 Intermediate Latin (I)

LTLA 3 Intermediate Latin (II)

Greek

LTGK 1 Beginning Greek

LTGK 2 Intermediate Greek (I)

LTGK 3 Intermediate Greek (II)

Equivalent

Majors who have taken language courses in high school or at community colleges should speak to the Program Director about how those courses may count toward completing their language competency.  

Upper Division Requirements

Upper Division Course Requirements


The Classical Studies major itself consists of 12 upper-division courses (48 units). All courses used to meet requirements for a major in Classical Studies must be taken for a letter grade and be passed with a grade of C- or better.

Specialized Greco-Roman Civilizations Electives. Majors must take 3 upper division elective courses from the approved course list, and from at least 2 different departments (including History, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, and Visual Arts).

  1. Elective 1 (Department 1)
  2. Elective 2 (Department 2)
  3. Elective 3 (Department 2)

Advanced Reading Ability in Greek and Latin. Majors must take 9 upper-division courses in which texts are read in Latin and Greek (from the LTGK and LTLA sequences; note that these courses may be repeated as topics vary; for details see the course descriptions). These should be taken in such a way that 6 courses are taken in 1 language and 3 in another.

Latin Emphasis

4. LTLA Elective

5. LTLA Elective

6. LTLA Elective

7. LTLA Elective

8. LTLA Elective

9. LTLA Elective

10. LTGK Elective

11. LTGK Elective

12. LTGK Elective

Greek Emphasis

4. LTGK Elective

5. LTGK Elective

6. LTGK Elective

7. LTGK Elective

8. LTGK Elective

9. LTGK Elective

10. LTLA Elective

11. LTLA Elective

12. LTLA Elective

 

Transfer Students

Transfer Students

UC San Diego’s Program in Classical Studies welcomes transfer students. Students planning to transfer from two-year colleges should try to complete as many of the lower-division prerequisites for the major as possible. Specifically,

1. a course equivalent in duration and content to UC San Diego’s Literatures of the World 19A-B-C, and,

2. if possible, elementary Greek and/or Latin, as appropriate for the planned classical studies major.

Community college students planning to transfer to the University of California are often permitted to take one course per semester at a UC campus. Elementary Latin or Greek would be a good choice for this option if the languages are not available on your community college campus. Students with questions about transferring into UC San Diego’s Program in Classical Studies should review the Transfer Students Admission page on the UC San Diego website and feel free to contact the faculty advisor for the program with any questions.

Degree Audit

The Classical Studies major has 2 different emphases: Latin and Greek. Students should only refer to the “Classics Major” section on the degree audit (they should disregard the Latin and Greek Major sections). Currently, we cannot correct that issue, but the degree audit system is in the process of being updated--hopefully, emphasis selection will be a functionality they will add.