Study Abroad

The Department of Classical Studies provides opportunities for students to experience Classics internationally. The department regularly offers The Vindolanda Field School, the Study Tour to Greece, and the Study Tour to Italy. 

The Vindolanda Field School

The Vindolanda Field School is an intense and very rewarding five-week experience for university students each summer. It is designed for motivated students of archaeology, Classics, and history with some previous knowledge of the Roman world. The field school aims to give students training in two aspects of archaeological inquiry: the techniques of field excavation and the archaeology and history of Roman Britain. Students participate in daily excavations on the site of Vindolanda, a military fort and settlement on the Roman frontier in Britain, which has had a thriving excavation and research program run by the Vindolanda Trust for over forty years. The Field School group also takes weekly field trips to explore the landscape around Hadrian's Wall and the north of Britain, in order to gain a broad perspective on a frontier and imperial landscape that thrived on the edge of the Roman Empire. 

Study Tour to Greece

The Study Tour to Greece is a 2-week long adventure-packed course with exciting trips to Greece's most important historical sites. Students will gain invaluable firsthand experience of the history, archaeology and culture of this fascinating country. Our classrooms will be the cities of Greece, first Athens where we will tour the impressive monuments of the sacred Acropolis, the Agora marketplace, the beautiful new Acropolis Museum, and the wonders of the National Archaeological Museum. We will then travel through Northern Greece to the cliff-top monasteries of Meteora, and then to Thessaloniki, from which we will explore the Macedonian royal tombs at Vergina. We will consult the famous oracle of Delphi and visit the historical battlegrounds of Marathon and Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans fought against an army of Persians before we move to the coastal town of Nauplion to stay among the Venetian-era buildings, castles, and beaches and travel to the major archaeological sites of the Peloponnese, including Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Olympia. 

Study Tour to Italy

The Study Tour to Italy is a 15-day guided trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples that introduces students to all the highlights of the monuments and culture of Rome and Italy. Students will visit iconic sites such as the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and the imperial palaces of the Palatine Hill. Our classroom will be the archaeological sites and extraordinary museums in Rome including the Palazzo Massimo, the MontemartiniMuseum, Palazzo Altemps, and the Baths of Diocletian. Our group will travel to the ancient port of Rome at Ostia to view the extremely well-preserved temples, churches, houses, and baths that once made up this vibrant multi-cultural city.