长期以来，经典一直是约翰·霍普金斯大学人文研究的核心：1876年，新成立的大学任命的第一位人士是希腊语教授Basil L. Gildersleeve。Gildersleeve采用了当时最有效的奖学金模式-德文研讨会，该课程将教学与研究结合起来，作为培训霍普金斯大学学生的基础。这种革命性的结构对于约翰·霍普金斯大学开创的“研究型大学”的新模式至关重要。研究生课程反映了这些特征。它是基于对古希腊和拉丁语言和文学的深入研究而建立的，但它还需要在古代历史，艺术，考古学和哲学等领域进行严格的工作，同时要有很大的灵活
Classics has long been at the heart of humanistic studies at Johns Hopkins University: the very first person appointed to the faculty of the newly founded University in 1876 was Basil L. Gildersleeve, a professor of Greek. Gildersleeve adopted the most effective model of scholarship at the time-the German seminar, which combined teaching with research-as the basis for training students at Hopkins. This revolutionary structure was central to the new model of the ''research university'' that Johns Hopkins University pioneered. The graduate program reflects these characteristics. It is founded upon intensive study of ancient Greek and Latin language and literature, but also requires rigorous work in such fields as ancient history, art, archaeology, and philosophy, while allowing considerable flexibility to accommodate individual interests. The program aims to produce broad, versatile scholars who have a holistic view of ancient cultures and of the evidence by which those cultures are comprehended.