Bachelor of Classical Studies

From 2010, the ANU will be offering an exciting new degree, the Bachelor of Classical Studies (BClassStudies).  This new degree will make the ANU one of the most attractive places in Australia to study the history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.

Ancient Greece and Rome laid the foundations for European civilisation.  Since the Renaissance, educated men and women have embraced the study of Greek and Latin, so that they could read the great authors of antiquity in their own words.

But the study of the ancient world goes far beyond the languages.  Students of Classics have the opportunity to read some of the world’s greatest literature.  Students of Ancient History study two of the world’s most fascinating societies, connected with our own, yet very different.  They meet individuals as varied as Achilles, Socrates, Cleopatra; Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.  In seeking to understand the ancient world, Classicists embrace many disciplines: archaeology, anthropology, art history, linguistics.  With the perspective of distance, students study all aspects of the classical world.

The Bachelor of Classical Studies will allow high-performing students to achieve a comprehensive classical education, while still allowing them to specialise in either history or languages.  The degree will provide the best possible preparation for future employment as an academic or a teacher in the field.  But it will also provide a preparation for life, whatever direction each student takes in the future.

Students in the Bachelor of Classical Studies will gain a deep understanding of the ways in which societies can be different from our own; of how languages work; of the problems of interpreting evidence; of the joys available from literature and art.  These are benefits for life, but they are also skills which employers value highly.  Students of Classical Studies can be found in all walks of life, successfully applying the skills they learnt in their studies, enriched as people by their understanding of another world.

Classics has been taught at the ANU for over 50 years.  Students in the Bachelor of Classical Studies will benefit from a warm and supportive teaching environment, excellent library resources, and a vibrant student culture.

For more information, please contact the Classics’ Student Centre (Ground Floor, AD Hope Building,
e: classics@anu.edu.au)