Greek
College of Letters and Science
Learning Ancient Greek is a multidimensional cultural experience with numerous and various benefits. What better way to fully enjoy such seminal texts from Homer to the New Testament than to read them in the original language? As a vehicle of a marvelous culture, Greek has strongly influenced other languages — English included — and its cultural heritage is fundamental to many modern fields of study. Students of Greek improve their comprehension of English grammar and acquire excellent verbal and written communication skills. Approximately 65 percent of English vocabulary and 90 percent of the technical and scientific terminology are derived from Greek and Latin. Therefore, our students perform better in major exams (e.g. MCAT, LSAT, GRE) and are better prepared to engage in various fields such as medicine, biology, and other sciences, as well as law and humanities.
Learning classical languages requires a rigorous organization of knowledge and analytical thinking. The study of influential Greek texts — tragedy, philosophy, epic, historiography, lyric poetry, etc. — develops critical thinking, an acute sense of ethics, creativity, empathy, initiative. These are all greatly valued and highly employable skills useful for any career.
Minor Requirements