Program Overview

As a student of AMRS, you'll study the history, literature, art, music, science, and religions that form the basis of western civilization, enjoying the benefits of our curricular and faculty strength.

Some of our students focus on a specific period in history. Others want to pursue themes or problems across periods, such as the concept of the holy man, the understanding of disease, the status of women, the development of ideas on slavery, or the architectural debt of the Renaissance to Etruscan and Roman art. We can tailor your course plan to your academic interest. Our program in uniquely characterized by its flexibility, teaching talent, and study opportunities, both on and off campus.

We offer you the proper methods and strategies to analyze the worlds that focused their energies on the Parthenon in Athens, the medieval cloister at Cluny, and the Renaissance palazzo in Urbino or Padua.

Ancient Studies

Students who are interested in Ancient Studies will study the heroic ethics of the Iliad and Gilgamesh, the development of democracy in Athens, the conquest of the Mediterranean by the Romans, or, perhaps, the philosophy of Plato.

Medieval Studies

If you are drawn to Medieval Studies, you will see how the ancient world was transformed (east and west), study the art of Anglo-Saxon Britain, the reign of Charlemagne, the horrors of plague and Viking raids, and the world of German monasteries.

Renaissance Studies

Renaissance Studies will offer you the rebirth of the Classical tradition, tensions and compromises of pagan past and Christian present in Spain, as well as the wars of the Italian city-states. Renaissance art, philosophy, and religion have all contributed to the shaping of the world that is now our own.

Academic and Research Opportunities

On Campus

In addition to lectures and faculty guided trips to museums, students may work on tutorials with their professors, while also taking full advantage of the University's excellent library facilities and private collections. The AMRS program awards an annual senior Book Prize to graduating majors and/or minors who have shown the highest level of academic achievement and intellectual promise. The D.N. Robinson Prize is awarded to a graduating Humanities-Classics (HMCL) major or minor, who can also have a AMRS major or minor.

Off Campus

Our students are encouraged to travel to Florence, Paris, London, and Athens for a semester or year's credit, and to get on-site experience in the art, archaeology, and topography of European lands. Students often do research for their capstone project in France, Italy, England, or Greece. Many Mediterranean and Northern European archeological digs welcome our students as pre-professional summer interns. Other off campus opportunities include study in Florence at Syracuse University's Florence campus; study at The Newberry Library in Chicago; internships at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a College Year in Athens.