College of Liberal Arts
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Mission

The Department of Classics serves the University and the larger community in five interrelated and overlapping ways:

  1. General Education: bringing the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome to life for all UT students, both to foster better understanding of our shared cultural heritage and to stimulate critical thought and discussion about the modern world and how to live responsibly in it.
  2. Undergraduate Majors: providing advanced instruction in classical languages and cultures in order to prepare students for secondary-school teaching, for graduate study in Classics and related fields, and for careers in many other fields, including business, law, medicine, and public service
  3. Graduate Training: providing rigorous training in the tools and methods of classical scholarship in order to prepare qualified students for successful careers of teaching and research in higher education.
  4. Faculty Research: exploring all aspects of the classical world and contributing to greater understanding of its distinctive significance by sharing our methods and results with specialists and non-specialists alike.
  5. Public Outreach: assisting primary and secondary school Latin programs in Austin and around the state, and promoting greater public awareness of the classical world.

Classics occupies a unique place among the liberal arts. The civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome are at the roots of the Western cultural tradition, and their legacy continues to shape the modern world. Understanding the classical world and its impact on our own global culture is intensely challenging – but also profoundly rewarding. We believe that study of the classical world is essential for a full understanding of our world today, and it is our mission to help students at all levels explore, analyze, and assess both the Greek and Roman past and the many different ways it continues to influence our lives today.