该系着重于以原始语言阅读希腊和拉丁文学，并提供从基础到研究生水平的希腊和拉丁课程。这项工作得到了希腊和罗马文明以及特定主题（例如悲剧和喜剧，希腊宗教，奥古斯都时代，妇女与性别，神话）的英语授课课程的补充。
The Department puts its primary emphasis on reading Greek and Latin literature in the original languages, and it offers courses in Greek and Latin from the elementary to the graduate level. This work is supplemented by courses taught in English on Greek and Roman civilization and on particular topics (e.g., Tragedy and Comedy, Greek Religion, Age of Augustus, Women and Gender, Mythology). The Department has been educating students in Greek and Latin language, literature, and culture since the University was founded. Located in Cocke Hall on the historic Lawn, the Department is home to an internationally renowned faculty and a strong and varied group of graduate students and undergraduate majors. The research specialties of the faculty span classical antiquity and extend to the Middle Ages. There is moreover a large group of affiliated classical faculty in the Departments of History, Art, Religious Studies, English, Politics, and Philosophy. The Department offers the B.A. in Classics, the M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics, and (in cooperation with the Curry School of Education) the M.T. in Latin.