Purpose Statement

The department serves undergraduate students as well as residents of Nebraska through its research, teaching, and service in both Classics and in Religious Studies. We are a research-intensive community of scholars whose members are committed to productive and high-quality interdisciplinary research that provides conceptual windows into diverse societies and traditions, both living and historical. In so doing we provide intellectually challenging and stimulating courses that support our own majors, the college distribution requirements, and the ACE curriculum, as well as promoting both global awareness and a greater sensitivity to cultural and religious diversity within the university community and the state. The department is committed to recruiting and retaining highly motivated, high-achieving undergraduates by offering them a high-quality curriculum, undergraduate research opportunities, and study abroad experiences.

Our History

A Greek professor and a Latin professor were among the five professors in residence when the university opened its doors in the fall of 1871. The university's original 1867 charter also called for the appointment of a Professor of Theology and the History of All Religions. In 1998 the original intention of the university's founders was fulfilled when the department became the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, two humanities fields of study that share common interests in text, language, history, and material culture.