Classical & Ancient Studies

Types of Degrees Classical & Ancient Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many classical and ancient studies graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	11
Doctor’s Degree	6

What Classical & Ancient Studies Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, classics majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Classics Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in classics should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Classics Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to classics:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Classics Majors

Classics majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Classical & Ancient Studies Major?

People with a classics degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Historians	6.1%	$61,140

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Classical & Ancient Studies?

The major attracts more women than men. About 73% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of classics majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	5
International Students	4
Other Races/Ethnicities	2

Geographic Diversity

Classics appeals to people across the globe. About 36.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Italy
• Canada
• India
• Slovakia

How Much Do Classical & Ancient Studies Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to classics is $66,380. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Classical & Ancient Studies

Some careers associated with classics require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for classics careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	9.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	15.2%
Some College Courses	18.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	20.4%
Master’s Degree	23.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.7%

Online Classical & Ancient Studies Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 74 schools offered some type of classical and ancient studies program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	11	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Classical & Ancient Studies Worth It?

The median salary for a classics grad is $66,380 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 66% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $529,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Classical & Ancient Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to classics.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	2,491
Sustainability Science	1,547
Nutrition Science	1,496
Behavioral Science	1,358
Computational Science	1,063
International Studies	918
Human Computer Interaction	822
Data Analytics	793
Museum Studies	696
Gerontology	655
Biological & Physical Science	639
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	522
Systems Theory	461
Dispute Resolution	416
Interdisciplinary Studies	402
Data Science	373
Mathematics & Computer Science	290
Historic Preservation	266
Science, Technology & Society	198
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	176
Cultural Studies & Analysis	161
Cognitive Science	123
Marine Science	104
Natural Sciences	76
Holocaust Studies	54
Medieval Studies	46
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	28
Human Biology	18
Earth Systems Science	13
Maritime Studies	9
Accounting & Computer Science	8
Linguistics and Computer Science	6
Environmental Geosciences	6
Linguistics and Anthropology	2
Biopsychology	0
Thanatology	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Benh LIEU SONG under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.