The program in Classical Civilization offers the student the most flexibility of any program in the Department, but also requires the greatest vigilance on the part of the student. A student may proceed to doctoral level work through this program, but must take care to have raised his or her languages to a suitable level of competency. If the student hopes to do advanced work in archaeology, he or she must take care to acquire a background in archaeology sufficient to meet the requirements of doctoral programs in classical archaeology. Students in this program can easily combine language study with courses in archaeology and history. Graduates of this program have also gone on to teach in the schools, but, again, that opportunity requires that the student acquire sufficient skill in Latin. It is also possible to pursue this degree in order to prepare for further work in fields other than Classics (such as comparative literature or humanities), and some students select this degree program for personal enrichment. This program may be taken under the course option or the thesis option. The Department recommends the course option.

There are no comprehensive or translation examinations in this degree program. Students may, however, sit one of the translation exams in Greek or Latin, and that fact will be noted in letters of recommendation.