Undergraduate

Duke students abroad in the ruins of Paestum in Italy
Duke students in the ruins of Paestum in Italy

If you wish to expand your intellectual horizons and are interested in your development and growth as a person (and who wouldn't be?), Classical Studies may just be the choice for you. And if your career path includes medicine or law, you can't do better than to major (or double-major) in Classics. Consider this quote from the Princeton Review:

"We can't overestimate the value of a Classics major. Check this out: according to Association of American Medical Colleges, students who major or double-major in Classics have a better success rate getting into medical school than do students who concentrate solely in biology, microbiology, and other branches of science. Crazy, huh? Furthermore, according to Harvard Magazine, Classics majors (and math majors) have the highest success rates of any majors in law school. Believe it or not political science, economics, and pre-law majors lag fairly far behind. Even furthermore, Classics majors consistently have some of the highest scores on GREs of all undergraduates." (read more)

As a Classical Studies major, you will read some of the most fascinating and intellectually searching texts ever written; and you will explore the history and material cultures of ancient Greece and Rome in all of their enticing richness. Faced with the achievements and failures of our cultural forebears, you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your place in the world. The inter-disciplinary study of Greco-Roman antiquity will cultivate your cross-cultural fluency, hone your analytical skills, and impart critical research competencies. The requirements of the two majors will give you an understanding of the discipline as a whole, while allowing you the flexibility to develop your own interests.

Explore Majors & Minors in Classical Studies