From literature to material culture
Roads, showers, maps, calendars – we owe these and so much more to the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. Our Ancient Studies major explores the languages, literature, philosophy, art and history of the ancient world. The Ancient Studies major is ideal preparation for law school or for graduate study in a variety of humanities fields, including classics, classical archaeology, comparative literature, art history, religious studies, and philosophy.
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Guided tours
Walk the very same paths the ancients walked through regularly offered study trips to Rome, Italy and England. Travel courses vary from three weeks to semester-long and are led by your professors.
Community-based research
Participate in grant-funded projects that engage our local St. Petersburg community.
In Their Own Words
“The Ancient Studies program gave me irreplaceable experience in critical, and interdisciplinary work and thinking. My current work with Muslim Advocates tackles human rights and social justice issues, and requires creative problem solving, and long-term, self-reflective awareness of cultures and environments – all skills which I was able to explore and deepen within Ancient Studies.”
—Sarah Seniuk, Class of 2013
Beyond the Classroom
Recent Ancient Studies majors have done faculty-supervised research in:
- Collective identity in Greek comedy
- Disability in Ancient Greece
- Gender and feminine heroes in Greek tragedy
- Greek medicine
- Rivers in Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia
Get your hands dirty at one of more than a dozen field sites. Three-, four-, and six-week programs available. Most programs include field work, seminars and trips. Application required.
- Complete reflective service-learning by studying the history of yoga from ancient South Asia to contemporary America, with attention paid to its philosophical roots, aesthetic dimensions, and religious, political, and therapeutic uses.
- Complete service projects with local organizations involved with issues of gender justice, gender-based violence, and sex education such as Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), Planned Parenthood, Metro Wellness and Community Centers, Days for Girls, and others.
Travel through the Italian peninsula for Rome: Iron age to Roman Empire or Greece for Immortal Greece: History and Art. Or catch Spoils of Empire, Stolen Treasure & Other Mysteries of the British Museum at our London Study Centre.
Study Abroad Pics on Flickr Sign up for more about Eckerd and our ancient studies program
Popular classes
Natural Disasters in the Ancient World
How did the ancients understand natural phenomena like hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes? Understand how the Greeks and Romans thought about their relationship with environment and learn how their understanding is relevant to our modern concerns about climate change and rising seas.
Language & History of Medicine (Medical Terminology)
How does modern medical terminology use Greek and Latin etymological roots, and how can a systematic understanding of the making of words illuminate highly technical vocabulary? This course is especially designed for students in the pre-Health (pre-veterinary and pre-medical) tracks.
Photo credit Caroline Courtenay ’17 (above), Brianna Walker ’19 (top)
Outcomes
What can I do with an ancient studies degree?
- Account executive
- Archivist
- Attorney
- Editorial assistant
- English teacher
- Entrepreneur
- High school Latin teacher
- High school English teacher
- Human relations specialist
- Lawmaker
- Management consultant
- Museum educator
- Museum administrator
- Public services specialist
- Risk analyst
Where our ancient studies majors go to graduate school
- American University, School of International Service
- Georgetown Law
- North Carolina State University
- St. John’s University, School of Education
- University of Colorado-Boulder
- University of Kansas
- University of Pennsylvania
