Classical Studies Department

Boston University and the Department of Classical Studies have grown together. Greek and Latin were required languages for our college’s first graduates, and all students had to learn Ancient History as well. Along the way, we were home to some pioneering alums, such as John Wesley Edward Bowen, who studied Greek and Latin and was the first Black man born into slavery to earn a PhD in the United States (1887), and Helen Magill, who earned a PhD in Classical Greek in 1877, and was the first woman to earn a doctorate in any subject in the United States.

Since then, we have continued to grow, evolve, and thrive. Today, our students take classes not only in Latin and Greek but in Greek drama and film, the history of medicine, ancient sexuality, the history of race and ethnicity, and Greek and Roman history of all periods. Our Undergraduate Classics Association organizes all manner of exciting performances and events – as well as weekly teas! – and students live in our residential Classics House. The money we raise on Giving Day will continue to enhance students’ experiences through career fairs, undergraduate research opportunities, dramatic performances, and graduate and undergraduate travel to conferences and other events.