Classical and Oriental Studies

Welcome

Hunter College is the hub of language studies in the CUNY system. More languages are taught here at Hunter and more students study languages at Hunter than on any other CUNY campus. Hunter's historic support of the study of foreign languages and literatures has produced not only the strongest programs in CUNY in both the traditional and less commonly taught languages, but a heightened visibility for Hunter both inside the university and in the larger academic world.

About

The Department of Classical and Oriental Studies offers programs in Arabic, Chinese, Classics, Hebrew, Japanese, and Russian.

With over 20 full-time faculty and approximately 20–25 adjunct faculty, the department is able to offer ten B.A. degrees: Arabic, Chinese, Classical Archaeology, Classical Studies, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Latin and Greek, and Russian. In addition, the department offers a three-year sequence in the Japanese language, and―in joint sponsorship with the Kosciuszko Foundation―a wide range of courses in Polish language, literature and culture. The department participates in several interdisciplinary programs, including Religion, Women and Gender Studies, Comparative Literature, and Jewish Studies.

All the programs of the department have as their common goal the teaching of the foreign languages and literatures, traditionally viewed as one of the cornerstones of the liberal arts curriculum. This goal is met in several ways. Each of the languages helps fulfill the 12-credit (normally four-semester) foreign-language requirement. The six-credit requirement in literature may be satisfied in part by a course in literature in the original language or by a course in literature in translation.

Hunter College students sitting in the auditorium.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate majors are given a solid grounding in foreign languages and literature study in order to prepare them both for careers in which they will use these skills and for further study on the graduate level.