The Latin Annual Course spans two semesters. It begins in the fall semester and prepares students for the final Latin examination (at the end of the spring semester). The Latinum is equivalent to the Latin Matura at the Swiss Gymnasium.

The first course semester provides an introduction to the Latin language (morphology and syntax) and to translation technique on the basis of simple texts from antiquity and the Middle Ages.  It also offers insights into fundamental topics of Roman culture. The course is based i.a. on an educational resource designed for this course (Latinum electronicum) with grammar, example sentences and lesson texts. In addition, interactive exercises for grammar, vocabulary training and for the lesson tests as a concluding self-check are available online. Thus, familiarity with Latin grammar and basic vocabulary is acquired; moreover, the resource trains the ability to translate simple Latin texts.

The second course semester serves aims to consolidate, deepen and extend Latin language skills. Texts by Caesar or Cicero and from Ovid's Metamorphoses provide the basis. Topics include Latin prose, hexameter poetry, and the fundamentals of Roman culture (emphasis placed on the late Roman Republic and the Augustan period). During readings, special attention is paid to the linguistic analysis of the texts and accurate translation; the autonomous handling of dictionaries is practiced. The reading phase is also used to review select grammatical phenomena; individual practice is made possible with the help of the Latinum electronicum.

During the course, a tutorial is offered with the possibility of repeating and practicing class contents. During the lecture-free period before the spring semester, specific grammar chapters can be reviewed and practiced in small groups.

The Latin examination takes place at the end of the spring semester (May/June). It consists of a four-hour written exam on a Cicero text (translation from Latin to German with access to a dictionary, questions on the text and/or the reading) and a 20-minute oral exam on a text passage discussed during the second semester (translation without dictionary, questions on the text and/or the reading). The course is validated with 12 credits as a free elective. The examiners are lecturers of Latin at the university and/or at the Gymnasium.

Possibility of a repeat examination: before the beginning of the next fall semester (August/September).

The subject area Latin Philology offers regular reading courses in which important texts of Roman literature (e.g. Caesar, Virgil, Ovid, Augustine) are read. The courses are open to Latinum graduates and are each validated with 3 credits (as free electives) upon successful completion. They aim i.a. to consolidate the language skills acquired in the Latinum course by means of text examples and to introduce well-known texts of world literature in the original Latin.