Accreditation
The National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency awarded with the highest rank the Department of Classics in the planned accreditation of professional field 2.1. Philology for a six year period, respectively for the educational and qualification degrees “Bachelor” and “Master” with protocol №2 from 23.01.2008 and for the educational and scientific degree “Doctor” with protocol №15 from 28.05.2008 for the scientific specialties Classical Studies (05.04.22), Theory of Translation (05.04.16), General and Comparative Linguistics (05.04.11), Literature Theory and History (05.04.01), Literature of the Peoples of Europe, America, Africa and Asia (05.04.06). The programs, the academic staff, the three educational degrees, and our work and approach to the students all received their well-deserved recognition. This accreditation makes the Department of Classics the only educational unit in Bulgaria which prepares bachelors, masters, and doctors in Classical Studies.
Programs and Curriculum
Our programs and curriculum allots a four-year education in the Bachelor’s program, which ends with the acquisition of the educational and qualification degree “Bachelor” in Classics, and “Master” in the master’s program Ancient Literature and Culture with a three- and five-semester educational period. Here students with prior experience as well as beginners study Ancient Greek and Latin. The courses in Classical Languages and Authors during the four-year span of the program lead the students into texts of basic genres of Greek and Latin literature. The compulsory courses in Grammar and History of Classical Languages, in Culture and Literature of the Greco-Roman civilization broaden the minds of the students and give the opportunity for a comprehensive rationalization of its humanistic massages and legacy. The elective courses in Epigraphy, Dialectology, Ancient Culture, Literature, Philosophy, Archeology, and Paleography, add an additional specific qualification. Students can choose also courses from the other specialty in the Department of Classics – Modern Greek Philology, where they can enrich their knowledge of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. Particular attention is paid to the students’ ability to work with secondary literature and their use of academic language and writing. They have the opportunity to read and receive books from one of the richest and oldest branches of the University Library – the Library of the Classics Department, as well as to use the resources of all other branches of the Central University Library.
About The Staff
The academic staff of the Department of Classics continues the high standards and traditions of the oldest Department of Philology at Sofia University, which was founded in the academic year 1921/1922. We have 15 regular lecturers, three of whom are Professors and six are Associate professors. Four of them are Dr. Habil. and eight – PhD. Many of the lecturers are awarded scholarships by international foundations like Fulbright, Onassis and Mellon. Our lecturers are specialists with prominent qualification in Linguistics, Epigraphy, Literature, Cultural History and Ancient Philosophy and are recognized experts and sought-after researchers with varied scholarly production.
Students
Students are admitted to the Department of Classics by taking either of an end test in Greek or Latin in case they are students at the National High School for Ancient Languages and Cultures, or of an entrance exam in modern languages at Sofia University. They have the opportunity to shape their curriculum of compulsory and elective courses themselves; in addition, they can choose from the courses of the other departments, which contributes to a more broad and interdisciplinary education in the Arts and Humanities. Students have the right to transfer to an individual form of education, which shortens the course of education. Given the small number of students admitted, the correlation between students and staff is exceptionally individual towards our students. They have the opportunity to broaden their education by taking part in the Erasmus Program for International Student Transfer at the Humboldt University in Berlin, the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, and the Université libre de Bruxelles, as well as continue their education in the Athenian University after finishing their first year here. All male students who have finished their first year can continue their education for a year at the Latin Academy Vivarium Novum in Italy. Our students take an active part in the Department’s research projects, conferences and field trips