Classics

Information and Departmental Plan of Study

The classics concentration is a flexible, interdisciplinary program that affords students a range of opportunities to study the cultures, languages, history, politics, and intellectual traditions of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, their contacts with other civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean, resonances in later ages, and continued vitality today. The department offers two rigorous and highly flexible concentration tracks, in which students chart their own paths within broad areas of study, and are encouraged to develop innovative research projects, working closely with world-leading faculty, graduate students engaged in exciting scholarship, and highly motivated undergraduate peers within the department. Because of the diversity of the topics studied by the faculty, ranging from Proto-Indo-European linguistics to medieval manuscripts to the cultural politics of the modern Caribbean, the department is able to support students exploring a wide range of subjects and pursuing independent work involving humanistic and social-scientific analysis, creative projects, and experimental research. The unusually broad and diverse intellectual range of our program is matched by an intimate, supportive environment in which faculty and students work closely together.

Concentrators acquire, in the course of their studies, the language skills appropriate to their interests and research plans, either through departmental language courses or summer study (which the department has resources to fund). The relevant competencies will vary substantially depending on interest, and the director of undergraduate studies can advise on the appropriate course of study in order to realize a student's intellectual and personal ambitions. The department regularly commits substantial funds to enable students to pursue their learning goals through domestic and international summer programs, including language courses, archaeological digs, and independent research projects.

Prerequisites

One course on classical culture, broadly defined: any departmental course, a first-year seminar taught by classics faculty, HUM 216-217, HUM 247, or other course approved by the DUS.

Program of Study

Program 1. Classical Studies

The classical studies program offers the opportunity for sustained and focused inquiry into the history, literature, and culture of the ancient Mediterranean, as well as the impact of classical antiquity on later periods by using a variety of interpretative methods. The program offers students maximum flexibility to chart their course through departmental and related offerings. The particular program for each student is determined in collaboration with the DUS, and should be coherent and lead to viable research projects. Whatever the individual focus, each student's program must contain eight courses at the 200 level or above (with limited exceptions as described below), including two at the 300 level, plus the Junior Seminar.

Five of the eight courses counted toward requirements must be taught by Department of Classics faculty (in general, these courses will have CLA, CLG, or LAT as the first course code listing; the DUS can approve exceptions for courses taught by affiliated faculty). Three elective courses may be counted toward the concentration that are either cross-listed by classics or approved by the DUS as relevant to the student's program of study. Of the eight courses, one must deal primarily with ancient literature, whether read in the original or in translation; the sequence of CLG/LAT 105-108 may be counted as a single departmental course and used to fulfill this requirement. One course must deal primarily with ancient history; this requirement may be fulfilled by taking any of CLA 216-219 (the Greek and Roman history surveys) or an approved alternative. One course must deal substantially with classical reception or comparative approaches to the ancient world; this requirement may also be fulfilled by study of another language relevant to the student's interests (Akkadian, Modern Greek, etc., at any course level). Students are otherwise free, in consultation with the DUS, to chart their own path through the department's offerings.

Program 2. Ancient History

The program offers students a pathway to explore the history of ancient Greece and Rome and their relationships with the neighboring cultures of the Near East, Europe, and Africa. It is also ideal for students interested in acquiring training in the academic discipline of history while concentrating on the period spanning the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1700 B.C.E.) to the early medieval and Byzantine worlds (ca. 600 C.E.). Although students may specialize in a particular field of history (political, social, economic, cultural), geographic area, or historical period of antiquity, the aim of the program is to provide well-rounded training in the field of history, with a focus on ancient history. Each student's program must contain eight courses at the 200 level or above (with limited exceptions as described below), including two at the 300 level, plus the Junior Seminar.

The eight courses taken toward the ancient history track must include one survey course on ancient Greek history (CLA 216 or 217) and one survey course on Roman history (CLA 218 or 219); one course substantially dealing with ancient material culture; and one course on premodern (i.e., pre-1789) history or non-industrial societies beyond Greece and Rome. An additional course that introduces students to the main methods, theories, and/or philosophies of history is also strongly encouraged. The remaining elective courses should follow a coherent plan that prepares the student for independent research; ordinarily, any course listed as CLA, CLG, or LAT at the 200 level or above will count, and other courses may be approved for concentration credit by the DUS. One of the courses may be fulfilled by the sequence of CLG/LAT 105-108 or study of another language relevant to the student's interests at any level. 

1. Transcript. An official transcript must be sent by a school counselor or school official.

2. School Report (SR). The SR form is available from the Common Application website. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit the SR form. 
    
3. Counselor Recommendation. If you are using the Common Application online, please note that the SR and the Counselor Recommendation are separate items. Be sure to “invite” your school counselor or academic adviser to complete both items.
    
4. Two (2) Teacher Recommendations. Please ask two of your teachers who have taught you in higher level courses (e.g., AP, IB Higher/Standard Level, A-Levels, etc.) in different academic areas of study to complete and send the teacher recommendation forms, available on the Common Application website. The subjects should be in core academic areas, such as English, language, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences or math.
    
5. Midyear School Report. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit this form when your midyear grades are available. 

1. A Completed Application. You must submit your application online through the Common Application. Princeton's CEEB Code: 2672

2. Princeton's Supplement. In addition to the application provided by the Common Application, all applicants must submit the Princeton Supplement. You should submit the Princeton Supplement online through the Common Application website. 

3. Application Fee or Fee Waiver. You may submit a fee waiver one of two ways: 1) Select the fee waiver option on the Common Application. Your school counselor must approve your fee waiver request online or submit your fee waiver form by mail or fax. 2) Select one of the following fee waiver options on the Princeton Supplement: Princeton-specific, ACT, College Board or NACAC. All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. In addition, all applicants who are serving or have served in the U.S. military are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. If you use the Princeton-specific fee waiver, you do not need to get approval from your college counselor or academic adviser.

4. Graded Written Paper. A graded written paper is required, preferably in the subjects of English or history.