Department of World Languages & Cultures

Classical Studies is the study of the world of ancient Greece and Rome: the language and literature; ancient history and mythology; archaeology and philosophy of the classical world. Classical Studies students are trained in the ancient languages of Greek and Latin, and they read the great works of classical literature in the original (without the need for translations): the epic poetry of Homer and Virgil; the histories of Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus; the rich tradition of lyric and elegiac poetry; tragedy and comedy; the vast output of Cicero and other great men of politics and government; and the philosophy of Plato and Lucretius.

French is the second most widely learned foreign language, and there are currently over 220 million French speakers worldwide. French is one of the working languages of the United Nations and the European Union. Speaking French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking parts of the world. As the world's fifth biggest economy and No. 3 destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic partner.

There are 40 million Spanish speakers in the United States and the Spanish-speaking population is still growing rapidly. With over 400 million speakers, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the world. Spanish is an official language on four continents and is the native language in 21 countries, including the United States.