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Department of Classical Languages - Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (2026-2027)

In service of Christ and His kingdom, we sustain the critical, appreciative, and practical knowledge of the classical languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin) within the contexts of their histories, cultures, and legacies. We offer a commencement to a career as a specialist or a devoted, life-long learner of any vocation.

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Classical Languages Major

The Classical Languages major immerses you in original texts from Jewish, Classical, and Christian traditions. You'll master ancient languages while developing critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and precision in interpretation.

You can start this major as late as your junior year — no prior language experience required. It's an ideal fit if you're headed toward graduate work in Classics, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies, or ministry. Our alumni have gone on to careers in education, medicine, law, business, the military, and more.

What You'll Study

  • Achieve intermediate competency in two of three languages: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin
  • Concentrate in one language through upper-division coursework
  • Complete a capstone course

Transfer & Prior Knowledge

If you have intermediate knowledge in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew that isn't approved transfer credit, you may — with departmental approval — substitute those core hours with equivalent coursework.

Want to Go Deeper?

Students seeking a more rigorous language foundation can pursue the Classical Languages Honors Program.

See the Classical Languages Major Courses and Requirements

Classical Languages Integrated Majors

Wheaton College offers several Integrated Majors that pair classical languages with a companion discipline — letting you pursue both interests at once.

How It Works

  • 24 hours of required Classical Languages courses (including the 101, 102, 201 sequence)
  • 16 hours in a companion discipline such as Biblical & Theological Studies, Philosophy, Art, or English

Flexibility Built In

12 of the 16 companion discipline hours can count toward a second major, maximizing your degree efficiency.

The integrated major gives you a solid foundation in Hebrew, Greek, or Latin alongside meaningful coursework in a related field — a natural combination given how deeply classical languages are woven into theology, philosophy, literature, and the arts.

Want to Go Deeper?

Explore a description of all the integrated major options available to you!

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Courses and Requirements

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Classical Languages Honors Program

The Classical Languages Honors Program is for accomplished CL majors who wish to extend and deepen their learning experience, augment their qualifications, and increase their potential for the effective application of their training. In addition to further course work, candidates will develop their research writing skills by completing a thesis (a copy of which will be added to the college library's collection) and will grow as public speakers through a public presentation and defense of their research.

Learn More About the Honors Program

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Certificate in Latin for Classical Christian Education

The Certificate in Latin for Classical Christian Education will provide you with a specialized interdisciplinary educational preparation for teaching Latin in a classical Christian environment. The program proceeds from the belief that the best preparation to be a teacher of Latin in a Christian school is the intensive reading and analyzing of the monumental works of Latin literature with an eye to how they communicate the great ideas of the past to us today. Wheaton’s Latin certificate program is unique in its integration of Christian faith and classical learning, asking whether and how Christ and the Christian virtues might be found in the (pre-Christian) classical world. Upon completing this program, you will have broad preparation to teach Latin and the classical tradition in primary and secondary schools.

Learn More About the LCCE Certificate

Meet Our Classical Languages Faculty

See Faculty Profiles and Scholarship
Wheaton College IL Hassell Bullock Professor of Hebrew Bible

C. Hassell Bullock Award for Excellence in Hebrew 

Each year, one undergraduate student enrolled in first-year Hebrew (HEBR 101-102) will receive the C. Hassell Bullock Award for Excellence in Hebrew. This award acknowledges outstanding achievement in the study of Classical Hebrew and is given in honor of C. Hassell Bullock, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Emeritus, who taught Hebrew language and biblical studies courses at Wheaton College from 1973 to 2009.

Brynna Jones, Wheaton College IL Classical Languages alumna
Alumni Testimonials

Preparation For A Variety of Careers and Vocations

Whether our classical languages alumni go on to graduate school, missionary work, or various other careers, their studies have provided them a strong framework with which they can build on for future endeavors.

"By far, the greatest gift an ancient languages degree has is that it puts flesh and blood onto the past. . . . The people of ancient Greece and Rome lived very different lives, had very different values than we, yet we still tell their stories as our own. And there's nothing, absolutely nothing, like hearing the story from the mouth of the teller." 

Brynna Jones '08, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of North Florida
Read Alumni Testimonials
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Exegetically Speaking Podcast

Hosted by Dr. David Capes, Exegetically Speaking features language experts who discuss the importance of learning the biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and show how reading the Bible in the original languages “pays off.” 

Learn More and Listen
Gerald Hawthorne

Gerald F. and Jane E. Hawthorne Endowed Scholarship in Greek Studies

In spring of their junior year Classical Language majors and minors with an outstanding academic record are invited to apply for the Gerald F. and Jane E. Hawthorne Endowed Scholarship in Greek Studies. The award is given in the spring of senior year to a student (or students) going on to graduate studies in Greek, either Old or New Testament or classics. This scholarship recognizes the lifelong contributions of both Hawthornes who served the Wheaton College community from 1958 to 1995.

History of Greek at Wheaton College

In honor of beloved Professor Emeritus Gerald F. Hawthorne, long-time teacher of Greek at Wheaton College (1958-1995), Professor of New Testament Greek and Greek Exegesis Emerita Dr. Karen Jobes and her assistant Charlie Trimm compiled a detailed history of the role of Greek and Hebrew teaching at Wheaton.  Read the History (PDF) >

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Information for Prospective Students

Interested in studying with the Classical Languages Department at Wheaton? Request more information or start your application today.

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