BA in Latin
Program Mission
The Latin Major program develops students' all-around proficiency in Latin, while providing a grounding in all of Latinity from its classical form to its use in the Catholic Church today. Students devote equal time and attention to each of these two major currents of Latin. In upper-level courses, students read original Latin source-texts essential to a Liberal Arts education as Western Christian civilization has formed it.
Teaching is grounded in the living Latin pedagogical method pioneered by Hans Ørberg. Students understand Latin hearing and reading it, and use it in speaking and writing. First-year courses (LA101 and LA102) are taught in BAC classrooms, while subsequent course offerings are provided in live, synchronous format online by BAC's partner institution, the Veterum Sapientia Institute (VSI). Student also enjoy on-campus academic support and enrichment activities provided by the Vivens Latin Club.
The Latin major is a fully articulated, stand-alone degree program which provides its students credentials appropriate for graduate work in a wide variety of disciplines, and for entry into careers in education, the law, pastoral ministry, and many other fields. It also pairs well as a double-major with such disciplines as English, History, Philosophy, Politics, and Biology.
Program Learning Goals:
- Mastery-at-level of reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension of Latin proper to each successive stage of the program.
- Familiarity with essential texts of Latin literature from the classical era to the present.
- Enthusiasm for sharing the intellectual riches of the Latin tradition with others.
Student Learning Objectives:
- To acquire the essential vocabulary of classical and Christian Latinity.
- To demonstrate command of Latinity morphology and syntax in reading, writing, and speaking.
- To identify the different styles of Latin prose (oratory, epistolary, etc.)
- To demonstrate understanding of the rules of Latin poetry of all historical periods.
- To identify characteristic features of the Church's prayer style as found in liturgical Latin.
To remain in good standing in the program, students must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 and receive no more than two passing grades below "C" in courses submitted for major credit.
Curriculum Requirements
To remain in good standing in the program, students must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 and receive no more than two passing grades below “C” in courses submitted for major credit.
It is the responsibility of the student to see to it that all degree requirements are fulfilled before expected graduation.
The Core Curriculum (46-53 hours)
Please reference the
Core Curriculum for traditional students or the
Core Curriculum for ADP students, depending on your program.
Major Program Requirements (41 hours)
The Latin major program does not require a thesis. It does require passage of a standardized Latin reading comprehension test, normally VSI’s Latinitas Proficiency Examination (LPE). The cost is $10 per student, per test. A minimal passing grade is a rating equivalent to ACTFL Intermediate Low. In exceptional circumstances, the Program Director may substitute another written standardized test or an oral examination for the LPE. Passage of the LPE or equivalent constitutes successful completion of the College-wide capstone requirement which applies to every BAC major. It is logged on the transcript as a one-credit class, LA435 Capstone Examination.
Note: If the students has not already, or will not otherwise, taken a W class, BU315W MUST be one of the two selected electives in fulfillment of the College-wide Writing intensive graduation requirement.
| LA101 | Fundamentals of the Latin Language - Level I | 3 |
| LA102 | Fundamentals of the Latin Language - Level II | 3 |
| And | |
| LA110 | Beginning Latin Lab | 1 |
| Or | |
| LA112 | Beginning Latin Lab II | 1 |
| And | |
| LA201 | Fundamentals of the Latin Language - Level III | 3 |
| LA202 | Fundamentals of the Latin Language - Level IV | 3 |
| LA301 | Latin Composition | 3 |
| LA302 | Intermediate Ecclesiastical Latin Reading | 3 |
| LA421 | Classical Latin Poetry | 3 |
| LA431 | Classical Latin Prose | 3 |
| LA450 | Catechism | 3 |
| LA460 | The Mass | 3 |
| LA470 | Magisterium | 3 |
| LA435 | Capstone Examination | 1 |
| Choose two electives from the following (6 credits): | |
| BU315W | Business Communications | 3 |
| a 3-credit summer immersion workshop | 3 |
| LA401 | Latin for Theology | 3 |
| LA480 | Patristics | 3 |
| GK101 | Fundamentals of the Greek Language - Level 1 | 3 |
| GK102 | Fundamentals of the Greek Language - Level 2 | 3 |
| EN260 | Found of Language: Intro to Linguistics | 3 |
| EN360 | History of the English Language | 3 |
| EN405 | Old English Language and Literature | 3 |
| HI308 | History of the Book | 3 |
| HI328 | The Roman Empire | 3 |
| HI350 | History of the Benedictine Tradition | 3 |
| HO204 | Greek Tragedy | 3 |
| HO205 | Greek Histories | 3 |
| HO302 | Augustine & Aquinas I | 3 |
| HO303 | Doctors of the Church | 3 |
| MU201 | The Church and Music | 3 |
| TH384 | The Virgin Mary | 3 |
| TH401 | Paul and his Letters | 3 |
| TH402 | The Gospels | 3 |
Courses not included in the listing above may, in exceptional circumstances, be substituted for listed elective courses at the discretion of the Program Director.
ADP students pursuing the Latin major are exempt from the LA110/LA112 requirement.
General Electives (24-31 hours)