Ancient History

A combination of lectures and seminars will help you become an independent learner and researcher. You will get research skills training and access to an academic mentor for consultation about module choices, in line with your interests and aims, and any other issues.

Your dissertation gives you the richest opportunity to use your independent learning and research skills. You will be supported choosing a topic at the end of Year 2, with one-to-one supervisory support from an expert in the field through the writing process.

You will also be able to attend the Department’s research seminar series, guest speakers arranged by the student-run Classics Society, and events and workshops focused on your future career.

Assessment

We use various types of assessment, designed to test the different skills you have gained through your studies: essays, commentaries, translations and (in some modules) presentations or projects.

In your final year, you will write a dissertation on a subject of your choice, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your skills in independent learning and research and your ability to tie together your learning from across the entire course.

A level offer – AAA.

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – DDD.

IB Diploma score – 37 with 666 in higher level subjects.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or who may have had a break in their study. For more information or contact our Admissions Selectors.

• Classical subjects are not essential for any of our courses.

• We are pleased to consider applications for deferred entry.

Science A levels

Applicants taking Science A levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This applies only to applicants sitting A levels with an English examination board.

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications 

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

English language requirements

Country specific information

Full Time Fees

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Our students acquire many skills which are readily transferable to a whole range of professions. You will learn to search for, gather, and process information, to evaluate evidence and to express yourself clearly and succinctly, both verbally and in writing. 

Classics graduates have progressed to careers as diverse as computing, the Civil Service, gold dealing, teaching, journalism, law, accountancy, public relations and the theatre. A significant number of our students progress onto higher level study following their degree. Some remain within their academic field of interest and pursue a Master’s degree, either at Durham or elsewhere. Others choose professional postgraduate programmes in subjects such as law, finance and teaching.

Of those students who graduated in 2019:

• 87% are in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation across all our programmes

Of those in employment:

• 79% are in high skilled employment
• With an average salary of £23,000.

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

When you study at the Department of Classics and Ancient History you will join a large, forward-looking department that is genuinely diverse in both make up and outlook. We offer an intellectually stimulating learning environment in a welcoming community, and consistently rank highly for teaching, graduate employability and research.

We offer a range of flexible and challenging degree courses designed with the twenty-first-century student in mind. Each with a different emphasis, depending on which area you prefer to put at the centre of your studies: ancient languages, ancient history or ancient culture. We also offer joint honours courses with the departments of Archaeology and History.

Our degrees offer both academic rigour and an outstanding student experience, taught by a team of academic staff who between them specialise in the languages, literature, history, culture and philosophy of the Greco-Roman world, as well as its impact on later centuries up to the present day. The breadth of knowledge in the Department allows us to offer a wide range of study areas including ancient Greek and Latin languages from beginner to advanced level, surveys of the main periods and themes of Greek and Roman history, and teaching in all aspects of classical culture, such as philosophy, art and literature in translation.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 2nd in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023
• 2nd in The Complete University Guide 2024
• 4th in The Guardian University Gude 2023
• 8th in the QS World University Rankings 2023

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see the Classics and Ancient History Department pages.

Research Excellence Framework

• 4th in the UK for overall research quality (REF 2021).

Facilities

We are situated in the beautiful and historic centre of Durham next to the Cathedral and Castle and just two minutes’ walk from the city centre. The friendly and welcoming Department is housed in eighteenth-century buildings which includes dedicated study space and a library with an extensive collection of ancient texts and reference works. Our location, at the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is highly conducive to study of the subject.

The student body is a large, close-knit and highly engaged community. Our student-led Classics Society organises regular social and academic events, often in conjunction with staff from the Department.

More information about our facilities.

Find out more: