Classics at UB

Classics students during a UB Winter Intersession in Italy.

Classics students visit the Ostia Antica Theater in Italy

Welcome to the only Department of Classics in the entire SUNY system! We offer comprehensive programs of study at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. Our students learn from nationally-prominent scholars in a collegial, close-knit environment, and frequently take advantage of both hands-on research and study abroad opportunities. 

PhD in Classics
MA in Classics
BA in Classics
Minor in Classics
Student Testimonials

"I began my classical studies at the University at Buffalo in 2005, pursuing a budding interest—the Romans. Needless to say, this interest flourished, spurred on by the outstanding professors and the fascinating classes they offered. Taking advantage of the many opportunities presented to Classics students, I traveled abroad twice. Nothing beats climbing to the top of Trajan’s Column or buying a one-Euro pizza in Naples. Six years after my first class (Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World), I was reluctantly parting ways with what quickly became my home away from home."
– Justin Prinzbach, BA '09

Classics students working on the IMPERO project.

Classics students working on the Impero Project in Italy

Why UB?

UB is a place where you can challenge yourself, find your community and build a future. As New York’s flagship public research university, UB gives you the power of an R1 institution and the support of a campus that feels welcoming from day one.

What you’ll experience at UB

  • Affordable excellence: Earn a top-tier education at a cost that supports your goals.
  • Collaborative community: Learn from faculty and peers who care about your growth.
  • Built-in opportunity: Get experience through research, internships and student clubs.
  • A vibrant place to live: Buffalo offers friendly neighborhoods, a lively arts and food scene and easy access to Toronto and New York.

The UB difference
 UB students get big-university advantages without losing the personal connections that make college meaningful. You’ll join a campus that encourages curiosity, celebrates different perspectives and gives you room to explore your path.

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Meet Our Faculty

  • John Dugan
    7/12/18
    Research Interests: Latin literature of the late Republic and Augustan period; ancient rhetoric and oratory; ancient and modern literary criticism and aesthetics
  • Timothy Boyd
    9/27/18
    Research Interests: Classical epic, mythology, and traditional oral narrative; classical language instruction; medieval and modern Irish literature; history of archaeology on the Western Coast of Turkey
  • Neil Coffee
    7/12/18
    Research Interests: Latin literature; epic; gift theory; digital classics; conversational Latin
  • Roger Woodard
    1/4/21
    Research Interests: Greek literature; Roman, Greek, and Indo-European religion and myth; anthropology of Greece and Rome; Greek alphabet and other writing systems; Indo-European linguistics; the interaction between the Near East and Greece
  • Jackie Murray
    5/18/23
    Research Interests: Ancient Greek Language and Literature, especially of the Hellenistic Poetry, its reception of Archaic and Classical poetry and its influence on Latin poetry and Greek literature of the Imperial period. Race studies and the Classics, Black Classicisms, and the reception of Greek and Roman Classics in African American and Afro-Caribbean literature.
  • David A. Teegarden
    7/12/18
    Research Interests: Ancient Greek democracy; classical and Hellenistic Greek history
  • Alessandro Sebastiani
    9/7/22
    Research Interests: Roman archaeology of the Mediterranean; Roman economy; Roman religion; Roman to early medieval countryside; Roman to early medieval cities; landscape archaeology; medieval archaeology; medieval pottery; GIS and IT sciences applied to archaeology

World-Class Research and Resources

Our faculty have particular research strengths in Roman Culture, Archaeology, Greek History and Digital Humanities. Additionally, the department is home to the Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology (IEMA), an interdepartmental institute established under the aegis of the UB2020 initiative that brings together eight faculty members and approx. 35 graduate students in the UB Departments of Classics, Anthropology and Art whose research focus lies in the archaeology of Europe and the Mediterranean.

The department also maintains an extensive artifacts collection and several research labs, and publishes the cutting-edge journal Arethusa, a contributor to Project Muse with Johns Hopkins University Press.

Learn More

What is Classics?
Meet Our Students
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