Why Should I Study Ancient Studies?
Maybe you already love Ancient Studies—the heroic stories, mischievous pantheons of gods and goddesses, or languages spoken thousands of years ago. Maybe you are searching for the next step in your life; what to study in college or what graduate school to go to. The Save Ancient Studies Alliance (SASA) is here to help. Ancient Studies has something for everyone. Every culture has an ancient history, an Ancient World behind the modern one. This Ancient World continues to influence our world today. Why is it beneficial to know about the Ancient World and where we came from?
One way to think about Ancient Studies is by imagining a building and its foundation. Can a building stand without a foundation? No. The modern world is the building and the Ancient World is the foundation. When we study the foundation, we can see how it shapes the building on top of it. The Ancient World is hidden, like the foundation of a building, but continues to influence the modern world that was built on top of it. This investigation of the Ancient World is Ancient Studies. But why get an education in Ancient Studies? Below is just a few of the important reasons why:
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Ancient Studies is interdisciplinary.
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While other fields of study are relatively narrow, Ancient Studies is extremely broad. Within Ancient Studies, there are the studies of cultures, languages, music, philosophy, religion, art, archaeology, history, and many more. Because of this interdisciplinary nature of Ancient Studies, scholars gain a wide variety of academic and professional skills. Students learn to engage with other cultures, analyze close readings of text, and understand ramifications of historical events.
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At many colleges and universities, you can personalize your degree path to your interests.
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Unlike other degree paths, a degree in Ancient Studies can lead to a lot of personalization. You can focus on art, law, literature, archaeology, whatever piques your interest. In the database below, you will be able to find specializations in Ancient Studies in colleges and universities across the globe.
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The study of the Ancient World leads to diverse opportunities.
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Ancient studies can take you anywhere, literally. There are opportunities all across the world. Those that get an education in Ancient Studies can go into almost any field - from law to politics to art. In every career field, there is someone in it that studied the Ancient World.
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The study of the Ancient World sets you apart from the competition.
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Many students choose a field that is common in their career path. Those who want to be lawyers, choose Political Science as their discipline. Those who want to go into medicine, often choose Pre-Med as their discipline. These fields do not show the student as an individual, which is crucially important for the next steps after college or university. Ancient Studies show a unique passion built into your transcript, while others will have to include extracurricular activities that show their interests.
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Scholars of the Ancient World are some of the highest performing experts in their fields.
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Students who major in the field of Classics routinely perform high on LSAT and have the highest GPAs of those that apply to law schools (National Jurist, “Classics, Philosophy Majors do Best When it Comes to Getting into Law School”). Students who have some kind of major or minor in Classics perform better in medical school. Even outside of the field of Ancient Studies, scholars benefit from a study of the Ancient World.
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So, now you want to go into Ancient Studies. How do you find the right school for you and your unique interests? Where do you go? Below is a list of every college and university in the world that offers some kind of degree program in Ancient Studies. You can look at degree types and specializations anywhere you want. The world, both ancient and modern, is at your fingertips.
