Classics
Study Abroad Opportunities in Classics
The Department of Classics strongly encourages our majors to consider a semester abroad; there is no substitute for the hands-on experience of exploring ancient archaeological sites, visiting museums, and living in the modern cities that host study-abroad programs.
We are formally affiliated with several programs in Italy and Greece
Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS or “The Centro”)
The ICCS, or “the Centro,” provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to study ancient history and archaeology, Greek and Latin literature, and ancient art in Rome. Students normally take four courses, one of which is an integrated course called The Ancient City. This is double-course, requiring as much class and study time as two semester classes. It covers Roman archaeology and topography, aspects of social and urban history, and Roman civilization. Frequent site visits, intensive museum tours and lectures, and wider-ranging trips outside Rome are included. The specific content of this course changes somewhat from year to year, depending on the expertise of the Professor in Charge.
The ICCS is administered by Duke University, but is funded and managed by a consortium of American colleges and universities. When the ICCS began in 1965, there were ten colleges in the consortium; that number has now grown to 90.
University of Arizona’s Orvieto Institute
The Orvieto institute is located in scenic Umbria, Italy, about an hour by train from the bustle of Rome. The Orvieto Institute is not exclusively a classics program; in addition to courses in the classical languages, it offers Italian, art history, archaeology, anthropology, and architecture. The program also includes site visits to Rome, Pompeii, Assisi, Cerveteri, Tarquinia, and Paestum.
The Institute is administered by the University of Arizona. Teaching is primarily done by local Italian scholars, most of whom are permanently employed by the Institute.
College Year in Athens (CYA)
The College Year in Athens is the largest and most comprehensive study-abroad program in Greece. CYA welcomes students interested in a single semester or a full year. CYA’s curriculum is organized into two tracks: Ancient Greek Civilization and East Mediterranean Area Studies. The latter track includes courses on modern Greek politics and religion, anthropology, sociology, and history. The majority of students at CYA are in the Mediterranean Area Studies track, but the program provides excellent instruction in ancient Greek, Latin, ancient art and archaeology. Students can, and often do, take courses from both tracks.
Field trips are an integral part of the curriculum. Although itineraries may vary, field trips to major sites in Crete, the Peloponnese, Central and Northern Greece are a standard part of the school year.