Advising

Courses may be credited toward concentration only if a grade of C or higher is earned. Required courses may be exchanged for others in the curriculum with the approval of the Department Chair or the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Yes! Our classes fulfill a wide variety of Hub requirements, and while we encourage students to challenge themselves by enrolling in courses across many departments, you can also choose to fulfill a majority of your Hub requirements within Classical Studies.

Students who complete both of the following courses may, with advisor approval, receive credit for one course toward concentrations in classics:

• CAS CC101 Core Humanities I: The Ancient World
• CAS CC102 Core Humanities II: Late Antiquity and the Medieval World

The following list of related courses may be used toward a major or minor in classics with advisor approval. Refer to the respective sections of this Bulletin for course information. All courses from related departments must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Classical Civilization and Languages Majors

• CAS AR100  Great Discoveries in Archaeology
• CAS AR101  Introduction to Archaeology
• CAS AR208  Lost Languages and Decipherments
• CAS AR230  Archaeology of Classical Civilizations
• CAS AR232  Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
• CAS AR330  Greek Archaeology
• CAS AR331  Etruscan and Roman Archaeology
• CAS AH111  Introduction to Art History I: Antiquity to Middle Ages
• CAS AH233  The Arts of Greece
• CAS AH234  The Art of Rome
• CAS AH240  Medieval Art
• CAS AH331  Arts of Archaic Greece
• CAS AH333  Arts of Classical Greece
• CAS AH433  Seminar: Greek Art
• CAS AH434  Seminar: Roman Art
• CAS AH436  Seminar: Greek and Roman Art
• CAS AH444  Seminar: Medieval Art
• CAS EN221  Major Authors I
• CAS LX532  Romance Linguistics
• CAS HI201  History of Medieval Europe
• CAS PH110  Great Philosophers
• CAS PH300  History of Ancient Philosophy
• CAS PH403  Plato I
• CAS PH404  Plato II
• CAS PH405  Aristotle I
• CAS PH406  Aristotle II
• CAS PH407  Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics
• CAS RN202  From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of Christianity
• CAS RN301  Varieties of Early Christianity
• CAS RN442  Approaches to the Study of Myth

Classics & Religion Majors and Myth Studies Minors

• CAS AN 384    Anthropological Study of Religion
• CAS AN 568    Symbol, Myth, and Rite
• CAS AH 111    Introduction to Art History I: Antiquity to Middle Ages
• CAS AH 233   The Arts of Greece
• CAS AH 240   Medieval Art
• CAS AH 242   Christian Imagery in the Visual Arts, ca. 300–1350
• CAS AH 331   Arts of Archaic Greece
• CAS AH 333   Arts of Classical Greece
• CAS AH 433   Seminar: Greek Art
• CAS AH 434   Seminar: Roman Art
• CAS AH 436   Seminar: Greek and Roman Art
• CAS AH 444   Seminar: Medieval Art
• CAS RN 202   From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of Christianity
• CAS RN 301   Varieties of Early Christianity
• CAS RN 442   Approaches to the Study of Myth

These lists are by no means exhaustive to the courses that may cross-apply — courses are added and removed all the time, and course designations may shift semester to semester. Contact the DUS with any questions.

Please contact Chris McMullen (cmcmull@bu.edu) for information regarding the process for transferring credit from another institution.

If you are a transfer student, please see the information here.

Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, and Latin may be used to fulfill the CAS Foreign Language Requirement. Students who choose to complete the foreign language requirement using a classical language or modern Greek may not count 100-level courses in that language toward a major or minor in classics.

In short, CAS students must complete the equivalent of the fourth semester or above of a language. This may be by completing the four-semester introductory sequence, or may be abbreviated by testing into a higher level. Placement into upper-level courses in ancient Greek, modern Greek, and Latin will be determined by your performance on the relevant placement exam. For additional information on placement exams, please contact us at classics@bu.edu or 617-353-2427.

The department encourages work toward graduation with honors in the major. For students majoring in classical civilization, the primary requirement is successful completion of a two-semester program of directed research and writing in their senior year, culminating in an honors thesis and oral defense. For students majoring in Latin, Ancient Greek, or Ancient Greek & Latin, the primary requirement is different: two specifically designated honors reading courses, including at least one seminar course and one course with a substantial research component.

In order to qualify for either of these honors tracks, students must have a cumulative BU GPA of 3.0 and a departmental GPA of no less than 3.4, must submit an application to the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies by the spring semester of their junior year, and must have approval from the Director of Graduate Studies (where relevant) and Department Chair.

For more general information, please refer to CAS’s page on Honors in the Major or email the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

A Directed Study is a CAS course in which a student pursues independent research under the guidance of a full-time faculty member. A student may choose to undertake a Directed Study for the following reasons:

1. to pursue in depth an area covered more generally in a course,
2. to explore a topic not normally covered in the curriculum.

In either case, it is the student’s responsibility to identify the topic fully and to acquire enough information to ensure its worthiness for independent research. A student can pick up an application from STH 414. The section code may also be obtained in STH 414.