Prospective Students
Studying the Classics at Holy Cross
The Department of Classics at Holy Cross has ten full time faculty members, which makes us the largest Classics program at a liberal arts college. The important difference for students between a liberal arts college and a university is that, in a true liberal arts college, there are no graduate students, only undergraduates, and all the teaching of undergraduates is done by the faculty, not by graduate students.
Deciding whether to attend a liberal arts college or a university is a crucially important choice for a prospective student to make. At universities, it is common for graduate students to teach many courses and for the faculty to devote the vast majority of their time to graduate students, not undergraduates. Therefore, the best place for an undergraduate to learn Classics is at a liberal arts college with a very strong program. Having a large faculty is an important component of that strength because it means that the program can offer both breadth and depth.
The Classics department at Holy Cross has that strength. We offer Latin and Greek every term at every level from introductory to advanced. Our language and literature courses in their diversity of subject and depth of study rival the offerings of major research university graduate departments. All Classics majors are required to study both Latin and Greek; we do not offer a classical civilization major (i.e., a major without study of the ancient languages). The size and intellectual strengths of our faculty mean, however, that we offer a wide variety of courses across the range of Classics, including literature, mythology, archaeology, art history, Greek history, Roman history, ancient science, and numismatics. No other liberal arts college Classics program has this breadth. We also use and teach the latest information technology pertinent to studying Classics; we have our own research laboratory outfitted with networked computers and our own wireless network. We encourage students to pursue research in Classics in cooperation with faculty members.
The Classics Major at Holy Cross
On average we have between sixty and seventy Classics majors at any one time, which means that our majors have a sizeable group with which to make friends, find study partners, and share in our departmental social activities. You can check out the major requirements and recent course offerings here on the website. The Classics major has a high reputation on campus. Classics majors in their junior year—and only Classics majors—are eligible to study abroad in programs devoted to Classics and archaeology in Rome and/or Athens. Our department has also in recent years organized a faculty-led annual trip to Italy over spring break at the lowest possible cost to students.
Our majors after graduation go on to a variety of careers. Many go into business, but we consistently send students on for graduate training in Classics to become teachers and professors, as well as to law school and medical school. (In fact, experience shows that Classics majors have an advantage in applying to law and medical schools.)
Scholarship opportunities for Classics majors at Holy Cross
Another strength of the department is our two Bean Scholarships, which are awarded every year, and our Fitzgerald Scholarship, which is awarded every fourth year (it will be awarded next for students entering in the class of 2013). Each scholarship awards full tuition, regardless of need, and is normally held for the four years of a student’s undergraduate career (provided that the student maintains a strong academic record and continues to be a highly visible Classics major). You can find application forms on line on our scholarships page.
You can also request one by writing to our departmental office, Department of Classics, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610, or by calling us at 508-793-2547.
Finally, you should know that Holy Cross belongs to a very small group of colleges and universities that admits all students on a “need blind” basis for financial aid. That is, students are admitted based on their merits alone, and applicants are never rejected because they may need lots of financial aid. If a student is admitted to Holy Cross—and admission here is certainly a competitive process—then the College is committed to meeting that student’s financial needs so that finances will not be a barrier to becoming a student at Holy Cross.
Questions about the Classics Department? Call us at 508-793-2547 or e-mail classicsdept@holycross.edu.