2025 Summer Classes

Greek & Latin Intensive Language Courses
Session A8 (June 23 – August 15)
Overview

The UCLA Department of Classics offers in-person summer intensive language courses in Greek and Latin designed to prepare students to enter directly into upper-level language classes or to use the foundational skills they have acquired to continue their exploration of texts independently.

Replacing one year of regular language study, these immersive eight-week programs require a significant commitment of time and intellectual energy. Our instructors will cover the essentials of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary so that students are able to put this knowledge to work, reading extensively in selected texts (poetry and prose): for example, Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, the New Testament and more! In addition to attending daily lectures, students are expected to dedicate a significant number of hours reviewing the material and completing the homework assignments. We limit enrollment in order to ensure that students will receive individualized support.

Greek 16 Intensive First-Year Greek (Summer 2020 Sample Syllabus)

Greek 16 is an intensive eight-week course in classical Greek, the equivalent of the first-year introductory courses (Greek 1-3) at UCLA. The course fulfills the university language requirement for UCLA students as well as the language requirement for majors in Classical Civilization. Upon completion of Greek 16, UCLA students are prepared to take Greek 20. We will be covering in eight weeks as much material as UCLA’s year-long Greek 1, 2, 3 sequence covers in thirty weeks. New grammar and vocabulary will be introduced every day, so daily class attendance and participation are essential. No prior experience with learning a foreign language is required or assumed.

MTWRF 8:30-11:30am
MTWR 12:00-12:50pm
Instructors: TBD | *IN-PERSON*

 

Latin 16 Intensive First-Year Latin (Summer 2020 Sample Syllabus)

Latin 16 is an intensive, 8-week course on Classical Latin, which provides academic credit equivalent to the one-year introductory course in Latin offered by the Department of Classics. The course fulfills the UCLA language requirement, and the requirements for majors in Classical Civilization. After completing Latin 16, students are equipped to enroll in Latin 20. In this course, you will develop knowledge of the basic forms, grammar, and syntax of the Latin language, as well as the ability to read, understand, and translate sentences and passages in Latin. This course will also prepare you to read original texts and documents in Latin and introduce you to the culture and literature of the ancient Romans.

MTWRF 8:30-11:30am
MTWR 12:00-12:50pm
Instructors: TBD | *IN-PERSON*

 

Additional Course Offerings

Session A6 (June 23 – August 1)
Classics 20 Discovering the Romans (Summer 2019 Sample Syllabus)

This course offers an introduction to ancient Rome from its beginnings (c. 800 B.C.E.) to the rule of the emperor Constantine (3rd century C.E.). We will examine key historical phenomena including military expansion, class conflict, the transition from Republican to Imperial government, religion, philosophy, ethnicity, and gender/sexuality. We will also seek to contextualize Rome within the wider Mediterranean, broadening our understanding of cultural interaction in antiquity.

MWF 10:00-11:50am
Instructor: TBD | *ONLINE*

 

Classics 185 Origins and Nature of English Vocabulary (Summer 2018 Sample Syllabus)

Classics 185 is an intensive, 6-week course on vocabulary, particularly in the English language. We will cover the basic principles of historical and Indo-European linguistics, the origins of the English language, common Latin and Greek roots used in English vocabulary, the creation of new words in Modern English, and how and why words change meaning. This course fulfills the UCLA Philosophical and Linguistic Analysis GE requirement. After completing Classics 185, students are equipped to better understand language in general and to apply concepts and tools introduced in the course to their own fields and to other languages.

TR 10:45-12:00pm
Instructor: TBD | *ONLINE*

 

Session C6 (August 4 – September 12)
Classics 10 Discovering the Greeks (Summer 2020 Sample Syllabus)

Who were the ancient Greeks and why study them? We will attempt to answer these questions in our 6-week course Classics 10 “Discovering Greeks,” a general introduction to ancient Greek history and culture. In addition to the main events that shaped the history of ancient Greece from the Trojan War to the imperial conquests of Alexander the Great, we will discuss the most important, yet problematic, cultural achievements of this ancient civilization and bring them into conversation with our contemporary world. Among other things, we will learn how Greek democracy functioned and how it differed from modern democratic institutions. We will read several Greek dramas and reflect on the meaning of “tragedy” and “comedy” today.
We will examine what Sappho’s poetry reveals about the life of ancient women, and by extension, about the limits of the extant sources for reconstructing the lives of marginalized groups. In short, we will look at what we can learn from the ancient Greeks, while being alert to the risks of idealizing or dismissing what their testimony reveals about the human experience.

MWF 10:00-11:50am
Instructor: TBD | *ONLINE*

 

Classics 30 Classical Mythology (Summer 2020 Sample Syllabus)

In this course, we will study ancient Greek and Roman mythology through various media including: epic poetry, hymns, drama, history, philosophy, sculpture, and painting. We will follow a roughly mythological chronology (i.e. creation of the universe, birth of the gods, heroic age, etc.) as well as historical chronology (beginning with 8th-7th c. BCE poems by Hesiod and Homer and ending with the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in the 5th c. BCE).

MWF 1:00-2:50pm
Instructor: TBD | *ONLINE*

 

Session A8 (June 23 – August 15)
Classics 47 Medical Terminology (Fall 2021 Sample Syllabus)

Introduction to specialized vocabulary of health sciences, which is rooted in Greek and Roman languages and in those two cultures from which much of history of modern medicine is derived. Students gain working knowledge of fundamental terminology used in medicine and health sciences as well as how this terminology has been composed. Development of ability to interpret and pronounce words. Students apply linguistic rules and how they operate in English and field-specific vocabulary to understand new terminology in various health science fields. Study of etymological origins of fundamental terminology as mnemonic aid for learning and recalling this terminology, and also to serve as mechanism for connecting health/medical professions to humanistic origins.

Asynchronous
Instructor: TBD | *ONLINE*

 

Student Testimonials

“Greek 16 is the most rewarding class I have taken at UCLA Summer Session. While it is fast paced, it never feels unattainable. The instructors are knowledgeable graduate students who are rooting for you to succeed with coursework meant to strengthen Greek skills and exams that cover material fairly. I have even found that taking this class strengthened my oral and writing skills. By studying ancient languages, I have rethought (and reconsidered) how I approach English on a daily basis. After 8 weeks, it became fun to read Greek prose on my own. Furthermore, the course helped provide the strong foundational tools necessary as I continue my academic career in the Postbacc in Classics program.” — Andrew, Greek 16 student, UCLA (2023)

 

Funding Sources

The Department encourages prospective students to explore sources of funding for which they may be eligible.  Here are some to consider:

 

For more information, please visit the

Schedule of Classes

To register online, please visit:

UCLA Summer Sessions

For all other inquiries, please visit:

https://classics.ucla.edu/about/contact/