Classics: Greek & Roman Studies

In Classics, you’re in an excellent position to take full advantage of an Augustana liberal arts education: Classics is a broad, interdisciplinary field focused on the study of ancient Greece and Rome, and encompassing everything from language and literature to history, religion, philosophy, art history, archaeology, mythology, drama, poetry, and much, much more. 

Students can major or minor in Greek & Roman Studies to take advantage of this disciplinary breadth. We also offer a Classics major with a more intense focus on the Greek or Latin languages for students interested in going on to graduate school in Classics.

Many of our students add a second major or minor: programs focused on Greek and Roman antiquity pair well with almost any field, and are a practical background for careers in law, medicine, publishing, seminary, and library sciences, while providing benefits in more unexpected fields as well. Graduates with degrees in Classics and Greek and Roman Studies develop transferable skills in critical thinking and analysis, while getting a solid background in cultures that have had a profound influence on our own art, architecture, literature, political and legal systems, narratives, and ideologies.

Known for their superior problem-solving, graduates in Classics and Greek and Roman Studies catch the attention of employers. Recent Augustana grads entering positions in accounting, business, data analytics and health care have stood out for their major and for their skills. If your passion is purely Classics, you might pursue teaching or graduate study in Classics or archaeology, ancient history or philosophy, New Testament studies, museum studies, comparative literature, or art history.

In Classics, there is something for everyone.

Distinctions

• Classics majors may be invited to join Augustana’s chapter of the national Classics honor society Eta Sigma Phi, as well as our own honorary society Glaux Aquila. Members and other interested students also may join Collegia Classica, a student group that hosts activities in appreciation of and to promote interest in Greek and Roman civilizations and cultures.
• Augustana’s international programs range from 3-week June or January terms to year-long exchange programs. Classics majors often participate in Augustana’s faculty-led programs in Greece and Rome, while some take advantage of archaeological field schools in Greece, Italy and Bulgaria or the College Year in Athens program. A $2,000 Augie Choice grant can help pay travel expenses.
• Thanks to devoted friends and professors emeriti, the Department of Classics hosts annual and ongoing events. The endowed Harry S.B. Johnson Fund and the Terence Fund for Classics are in honor of former Professor of Greek Harry S.B. Johnson and former Professor of Classics Jane Borelli, respectively. These endowed gifts support guest speakers and the Classics Club, Collegia Classica; provide institutional membership dues to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, as well as individual student and contingent faculty memberships to the AIA; host a Classics banquet for majors, minors and prospective students; support student attendance at Classics conferences and events; and fund end-of-term dinners.

Recent grads

• Iratze Aceves '25 is a health and nutrition manager at Community Action of Eastern Iowa and a behavioral health technician at Balance Autism in Davenport, Iowa.
• Laurence Pavlik ’24 is a graduate student in Classics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he serves as a teaching assistant in a class on minority receptions of Classics.
• Kira Banks '23 is community outreach coordinator at Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network, as well as a graduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago pursuing a Master of Public Health. Her concentration is on health policy and administration, and she is also working toward a Global Health certificate. In the summer of 2025, she conducted public health research in Morocco.
• Ezekiel Aurelius '22 received a 10-month Masa Israel Teaching Fellowship and is teaching English to elementary or middle school-aged students in Bat Yam, Israel.
• Shawn Geison '21 is a rhetoric teaching assistant at the University of Iowa.
• Sarah Litwin ’20 Greenberg is a research and development manager for Meridian Adhesives in Chicago.
• Jamie Suiter '20 is a chiropractor at Stanfield Chiropractic in Effingham, Ill.
• Katelyn Farrell '19 is a lead internal auditor at John Deere in Joliet, Ill.
• Allan Daly ’18 is an analytics consultant at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
• Ethan Doan '18 is an ordained minister Candidate of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Philadelphia.
• Victoria Karnes '18 is a senior library specialist at the Governors State University Library in University Park, Ill.
• Eileen Ruppel-Doan '18 is the pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Montgomeryville, Penn.
• Chris Saladin ’17 is an assistant professor of history at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J.