Program Spotlight

Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies is concerned with the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean world, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, and the peoples of Egypt and the Near East. The study of these civilizations includes their languages and literatures, history and politics, religion and mythologies, philosophies, and material culture.

Program Spotlight

Students in this major have interned with companies such as:

• Centre County Historical Society
• Richards Civil War Era Center
• Jewish Cultural Historical Museum
• Cengage Learning
• Wyoming Dinosaur Center
• Penn State Global

Program Spotlight

Popular destinations for students in this major:

• Italy
• Spain
• Greece
• Israel

Program Spotlight

Continuing Education

• Law school
• Graduate school to study classics, classical languages, history, library science, and archeology

Alumni Industries

• K–12 education
• Higher education
• Museum curation
• Project development
• Customer service

Student Spotlight

Instead of just reading about the ancient city of Rome, a group of Liberal Arts students, including Haven, got to experience the city and its surrounding wonders firsthand through a faculty-led course trip offered by the College of the Liberal Arts. Haven learned firsthand about Roman history and archaeology. She said the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom “significantly enhanced” her academic journey at Penn State.

Alumni Spotlight

John ’13 Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies is currently a Naval Officer for the United States Navy. John states that HIST/CAMS 100 was his favorite course at Penn State because it “simultaneously introduced me to the history and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies fields and began to satisfy my lifelong interest in Ancient Greece.”

Alumni Spotlight

Jay’s latest folk-rock-indie album touches on travel, philosophy, love, and the natural world—essential components of the Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar’s undergraduate education in the College of the Liberal Arts. Jay is a 2013 graduate who double-majored in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and History with minors in German and Global and International Studies.

Alumni Spotlight

“The small class sizes in the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies gave me the opportunity to learn from great professors in a more relaxed and personal environment,” said Robert, a 2022 Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies graduate.