History and Classics have been areas of strength at the University of Alberta ever since its establishment in 1908. Classics is the interdisciplinary study of the ancient cultures and civilizations of the Mediterranean world, such as those of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Near East. History is the study of change over time within and across human societies.

Today, History and Classics is a single department housing undergraduate and graduate degree programs in both disciplines, as well as unique interdisciplinary offerings bridging the two. Among our forty professors are specialists whose expertise covers regions throughout the world, from ancient times to the present day.