Study Abroad Opportunities

Academic year or semester

The Classics department strongly encourages students to take advantage of study abroad opportunities, both to internationalize the learning experience, and to bring an immediacy to our study of the ancient Mediterranean world. As a result, most of our students spend a term or summer conducting coursework or fieldwork in the Mediterranean.  

For example, we regularly send students to the premier study abroad program for Classics in Italy: The International Center for Classical Studies in Rome (Centro). While at the Centro, students study ancient languages, as well as "a comprehensive course, The Ancient City, which integrates the topography of ancient Rome with its social history, literature, and culture," and includes "many visits to archaeological sites and museums, both in Rome and its vicinity (e.g. Ostia, Cosa, and Hadrian's villa at Tivoli) and two longer field trips, one to the Bay of Naples (Pompeii, Herculaneum, Cumae) and the other to the temples, villas, and museums of Sicily."  

Our students also participate in well-regarded study abroad programs outside of Italy, including College Year in Athens, Oxford University, and St. Andrew's University in Scotland. For additional study abroad opportunities, see our summer programs, and the course catalogue for trips to Italy or Greece led by members of the Classics faculty during Spring Term in alternating years.  

Appropriate credit is awarded for work completed satisfactorily in any of these or other accredited international programs. For more information on these and other study abroad opportunities, see a member of the Classics faculty, or visit the International Studies Office.        

Summer Programs  

Fieldwork with Faculty  

Washington and Lee is a member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA), and our students have participated in the ongoing excavations of the ASCSA's Athenian Agora Excavations, where Prof. Michael Laughy has conducted fieldwork for over 20 years. Students also have traveled to Italy under the direction of Prof. Rebecca Benefiel to identify and gather graffiti in the ancient site of Herculaneum, and to participate in an international project digitizing the graffiti and producing critical editions.      

Study Abroad Programs

American Academy in Rome: Classical Summer School. This six-week program is designed to provide qualified graduate students, mature undergraduates, and middle school, high school, and two-year college teachers with a well-founded understanding of the growth and development of the city of Rome through a careful study of material remains and literary sources.   College Year in Athens. "Summer is an exceptional time to study in Greece with a choice of unique CYA courses tailored to combine academics with authentic experiences, taking advantage of the sun, the sea and the vibrant summer culture from Athens to the surrounding islands. Explore our country's rich history, get involved in archaeological excavations and delve into the anthropology of food in Greece, and so much more, this summer at CYA."   ASCSA Summer Sessions: "The Summer Session of the ASCSA is an intensive introduction to Greece from antiquity through the modern period.  The individuals selected for this program are normally graduate and advanced undergraduate students and high school and college teachers with clear evidence of interest in the Classical world as well as academic preparation in this area.  The program emphasizes the topography and monuments of Greece in their historical context, the interpretation of literature and historical writings, and how ancient sources may be used to interpret archaeological discoveries."      

Summer Fieldwork  

In addition to working with our faculty, students have taken advantage of fieldwork opportunities provided by a wide range of institutions, including the programs listed below. A fuller list of fieldwork opportunities can be found at the Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin, which is maintained by the Archaeological Institute of America.  

Kenchraeai Summer Field School in Archaeology "This four-week summer program introduces students to the archaeology, history, and culture of Greece through participation in a field school and accompanying seminars and excursions. The program provides a unique opportunity to learn about the past first-hand at one of Greece's most spectacular seaside archaeological sites - Kenchreai, the port of Corinth in southern Greece."    

Archaeological Field Work at Gabii, Italy This is a unique opportunity for field experience at an especially interesting site east of Rome. "The Gabii Project seeks not only to explore and understand the archaeology of the city of Gabii but also to situate and contextualize our understanding of Gabii in the wider orbits of Central Italy and the Roman Empire. It is also important to achieve a better understanding of the urban development of Gabii herself and the relationship that existed among the cities of Latium in antiquity."

Archaeological Conservation Institute - Classics The four-week summer Archaeological Conservation Institute engages students in the discovery, appreciation and preservation of tangible cultural heritage and introduces the field of conservation.        

Language Programs  

Latin/Greek Institute of The City University of New York will offer basic programs in Latin and Greek June through mid-August. These courses are intended for people with no (or very little) knowledge of the language. Two and a half to three years of college Latin or Greek will be taught in ten weeks of intensive, concentrated study. Twelve undergraduate credits will be awarded through Brooklyn College. The programs are team-taught by six faculty members, who are on 24-hour call. Students are trained in morphology and syntax and read representative ancient texts (through the Renaissance in Latin and Attic, Ionic, and koine texts in Greek).  

The Department of Classics of University College Cork, Ireland, offers an intensive 8-week summer school from June -August for beginners with parallel courses in Latin and Greek. The courses are primarily aimed at postgraduate students in diverse disciplines who need to acquire a knowledge of either of the languages for further study and research, and at teachers whose schools would like to reintroduce Latin and Greek into their curriculum. In each language 6 weeks will be spent completing the basic grammar and a further 2 weeks will be spent reading simple, unadapted texts.    

Postgraduate Latin Summer School, University of Reading, UK This summer school is open to students who have graduated or are in their final year of a BA. This is an ideal course for those planning to do postgraduate work or to pursue a career in Classics teaching. Students will be expected to have read to the end of section 3 of Reading Latin, or equivalent, before the summer school begins, and will complete a course of study designed to enable them to read unmodified Latin texts. The Summer School is supported by the Institute of Classical Studies and the Subject Centre for History, Classics and Archaeology, and is able to offer part-bursaries  

Bologna University Greek and Latin Summer School (June-July). The Department of Classics of Bologna University welcomes applications to its intensive Greek and Latin Summer School. The courses will be held in Bologna from June to July for a total of three weeks. The school offers Greek courses (for beginners only) and Latin courses (at different levels; beginners and intermediate) and the possibility of combining two courses (Latin & Greek) at a special rate. The teaching will be focused both on language and on literature; further classes will touch on moments of classical history and history of art, supplemented by visits to museums and archaeological sites (in Bologna and Rome).  

Intensive Workshops in Speaking and Reading Latin at Dickinson College (July). Professors Milena Minkova and Terence Tunberg will return to Dickinson for the second annual Conventiculum Dickinsoniense, a week-long total immersion seminar in active Latin, designed specifically for all cultivators of Latin who wish to gain some ability to express themselves in correct Latin.  

Conventiculum Latinum Lexintoniense, University of Kentucky (July) The Conventiculum Latinum Lexintoniense has become internationally known for providing a stimulating occasion in which participants can live for an extended period of time in an all-Latin environment, speaking and hearing no language but Latin. People who have never experienced Latin as a spoken language are cordially invited and welcome, but we ask that all participants be able to read Latin, and feel reasonably secure in their knowledge of basic morphology and syntax. The purpose of our seminars is to add an active dimension to the experience of those who already possess a certain passive knowledge of Latin. We also invite participants who are already experienced in the active use of Latin. It is our intention that the conventiculum will provide such participants with a pleasant opportunity to practice their skills in spoken and written Latin, and meet like-minded others. For further details, please see the Conventiculum website at or write to Professor Terence Tunberg at: terence.tunberg@gmail.com