UMass classics has a vibrant and growing undergraduate program. Our majors can choose from a wide variety of courses: in addition to offering all levels of ancient Greek and Latin, we provide dozens of courses in classical civilization in translation, such as Greek mythology, Greek drama, Greek and Roman culture, magic in antiquity, epic poetry, Greek religion, women in antiquity, the world of the Etruscans, and Greek and Roman painting, as well as numerous courses in classical archaeology. We have a strong classics honors program, and our majors regularly produce outstanding senior honors theses and projects. Many students also participate in Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics undergraduate honor society. Our chapter manages a healthy mixture of classical study, social activity, and community service. Recent activities include a field trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; an annual book sale; and university services such as offering free tutoring in Latin and Greek.
In short, UMass undergraduates find classics to be a stimulating and unique program. We have an excellent student-faculty ratio and particularly strong advising, so our students often find that they receive more personal attention from faculty than students in other departments do. Classics also offers many opportunities for study and excavation abroad in Greece, Italy, and other countries.
Lastly, classics is more useful than many people realize: prospective graduate programs and employers know that students with Classics degrees are highly self-motivated and on average have much better analytical and verbal skills than other applicants.