The Department of Ancient and Medieval Languages and Cultures, founded in 2025, is one of the newest units at Catholic University--but its programs are amongst the oldest.  Our department represents the joining together of the former Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures (founded in 1897, and now continued as our "Faculty of Semitics") with the former Department of Greek and Latin (now our "Faculty of Greek and Latin").  Greek and Latin as a department, in fact, also originated with a merger: beginning in 1891-1895, these two languages were taught in separate areas of the School of Letters (later part of Arts and Sciences), but were eventually brought together after 1918.

Also incorporated into Ancient and Medieval Languages and Cultures is the interdisciplinary Program in Medieval Studies, which offers graduate-level study for a Certificate and a rich array of programming that connects across the intellectual interests of this department--and beyond.

We are proud here to share the early histories both of the Faculty of Semitics and of the Faculty of Greek and Latin.