From posters to precedent, humanities scholars showcase their research
Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.
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Although it gets its core identity (and its name) from the "great books" that it quite rightly teaches again and again, Classics survives and thrives by striving to encompass the classical Mediterranean under many aspects and methodologies, so that its faculty all represent other fields of study as well: archaeology, art, philosophy, religion, history, linguistics, comparative literature or theater.
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Classics News
Ph.D. graduates overcame obstacles to find success
Cornell’s newest Ph.D.s found success even through the unexpected events of the last few years, President Michael I. Kotlikoff reminded nearly 400 doctoral graduates at the 2025 Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony on May 23 at Barton Hall.
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Cornell Undergraduate Classics Journal Releases Its First Volume
Elaïnos Volume 1 was released Spring 2025.
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'My thesis analyzes both ancient and contemporary literature'
Sarah Stephenson is majoring in English and classics.
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'I am prepared to approach life’s challenges with both curiosity and a sense of responsibility'
Cristina Kiefaber is a Classics major.
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Esther Brenner '26 awarded Caplan Travel Fellowship
The prize will help fund her project that combines her academic training with her artistic practice.
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Historian Barry Strauss wins 2025 Bradley Prize
The award carries a stipend of $300,000; Strauss will receive the award at a ceremony on May 29 in Washington, D.C.
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War, love and loyalty: The ‘Iliad’ in Ithaca on March 12-13
A virtual event with translator Emily Wilson and a daylong community reading of portions of Homer’s epic poem highlight the spring Arts Unplugged event.
Read moreAcademic pursuits
Undergraduate Program
Coursework in Classics can involve everything from learning to read ancient tragedies in their original languages (and even performing in them yourself) to studying what archaeobotanical evidence can tell us about climate change on the millennial scale.
Graduate Program
Our doctoral program fully promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the ancient world. We offer all students an opportunity to develop a comprehensive course of study within one of our five concentrations: ancient history, ancient philosophy, classical archaeology and art, classical literature and philology, and Greek and Latin languages and linguistics. We support a strong series of colloquia in which faculty, guest speakers, and graduate students are presented with current work in our field of study.
Classics Events
Aug
21
Thursday
01:30 PM
Latin Placement Exam
Goldwin Smith Hall
142
Sep
18
Thursday
04:30 PM
Oct
16
Thursday
04:30 PM