Career Opportunities for Classics Majors

Parents of Classics majors and students contemplating majoring in Classics sometimes are concerned that career options will be limited. The obvious choice of careers for Classics majors is teaching, but our majors have successfully entered many other types of careers. Here are a few of the options together with comments made by experts or our students who have entered those fields:

LAW

"I very definitely would recommend Classics as a major for someone considering law school. I found that many of my law professors presupposed a knowledge of history and classics....Those without any background in it were lost at first."
Jack Case Wilson, Attorney, Nashville, TN
(B.A. and M.A. Classics, The University of Mississippi)

"Classics is perfectly appropriate as a pre-law course of study. Not only our law school, but legal education in general, is looking for people who can write well and think in a discipline manner.... We like to have broadly-educated people."
Dr. Thomas Edmonds, Former Dean
The University of Mississippi School of Law

THE MINISTRY

"There is no better preparation for New Testament studies than a thorough education in Classics.... [It] gives one a historical perspective of the period in which the New Testament is set, and of course the language training is indispensable."
Dr. John Armistead, Author and Former Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church, Tupelo, MS.
(M.A. Classics, The University of Mississippi)

"My studies as a Classics major have helped prepare me for the ministry more than I expected. I like the freedom the faculty has given me to concentrate on my main interest, the New Testament."
James Richardson, Associate Pastor
Lee Acres United Methodist Church, Tupelo, MS.
(B.A. Classics, The University of Mississippi)

"During my seminary studies and since, I have often wished I had majored in Classics as an undergraduate. I cannot imagine a better preparation for seminary than a B.A. in Classics."
Mark Allen Frees, Southern Baptist Pastor
(Former Graduate Student in Classics, The University of Mississippi)

WRITING AND JOURNALISM

"It took Latin to thrust me into bona fide alliance with words in their true meaning. Learning Latin...fed my love for words upon words, words in continuation and modification, and the beautiful accretion of a sentence...."
Eudora Welty,One Writer's Beginnings, p. 31.

"As a writer who has been published almost daily for the past 20 years, I have found that no dictionary or thesaurus can adequately replace a background in Classical languages. Because English is so inextricably linked to Latin and Greek, a firm foundation in these tongues is an invaluable tool in the foundry of any wordsmith."
David Rushing, Former News Editor & Reporter
The Oxford Eagle
(B.A. Classics, The University of Mississippi)

MEDICINE

"So much of medical terminology is rooted in the Classics that studying Greek can facilitate study of anatomy for instance. But studying the Classics opens other doors that physicians tend to have closed just by the focused interest of their studies. Classics can be a vehicle for staying in touch with life--spiritual growth by reading the New Testament in its original language or cultural growth by reading the Iliad."
Dr. Eric Dahl, Director
The University of Mississippi Student Health Service
(B.A. Greek, The University of Mississippi)

TEACHING

"The Department of Classics receives phone calls and letters from school principals who are eager to hire Latin teachers, but are unable to find candidates with sufficient training. Recently a principal in Tennessee phoned and said he had spoken with Classics Department chairs in several states and national placement services, but was unable to locate a teacher. In the 1990s graduates who wish to teach Latin have had several offers from which to choose. One recent graduate is now teaching in a large, well-funded public high school in suburban Memphis which offers three years of Latin and employs two full-time Latin teachers. There is a nationwide demand for Latin teachers and tutors." Robert Moysey, Chair, Dept. of Classics, University of Mississippi
 
 

If you are thinking about any of these careers, or if your interest is in Ancient History, Linguistics, Art, Archaeology, Ancient Philosophy or Religion, or some other field in the Humanities, a Classics major or minor may be for you. The faculty of the Classics Department will help you design a program to meet your needs and interests.