Taught courses

We offer a modular range of courses, which has been designed to reflect the research interests of our lecturers and help you develop a particular topic of interest for your dissertation.

Core courses

You will take a compulsory course, which will provide a general introduction to graduate study in classics and give you the opportunity to develop your research skills.

Course nameCredits
Skills and Methods in Classics20

Optional courses

You will choose a further 100 credits from a wide selection of optional courses, subject to availability. 

Please note: at least three of your option courses must be on archaeological topics. 

Option Courses 2025-2026

* * Please note that the list of courses below is provisional and subject to change.  

Further information and course details can be found on the Degree Programme Table.

Course name
  • A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 1
  • Advanced Ancient Greek (PG) 1 #
  • Advanced Ancient Greek (PG) 2
  • Advanced Latin (PG) 1 #
  • Advanced Latin (PG) 2
  • Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Basics and Beyond #
  • Archaeological Illustration #
  • Archaeology of 'Celtic' Europe: Communities and Interactions #
  • Archaeomaterials Analysis #
  • Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece #
  • Centre, Province and Periphery in the Age of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos: Byzantium and its Neighbours in the Tenth
  • Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence #
  • Data Science for the Past: Statistical Thinking & Visualization
  • Early Greek Philosophy ^
  • Elementary Ancient Greek (PG) 1 #
  • Elementary Ancient Greek (PG) 2
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 1 #
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 2
  • Epicurus and Epicureanism
  • GIS and Spatial Analysis for Archaeologists #
  • Greek Text Seminar 1 #
  • Greek Tragedy ^
  • Heritage Studies and the Archaeology of the Contemporary World: Investigating How the Past Shapes the Present #
  • Homer ^
  • Island Worlds: Prehistoric Societies in the Mediterranean Sea from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age #
  • Jewish Texts through the Ages
  • Judaea under Roman Rule #
  • Latin Tragedy: Medea on the Roman Stage ^
  • Lucretius, 'De rerum natura' ^
  • Marine Archaeology #
  • Popular unrest, revolts, and rebellions in the Byzantine world #
  • Roman Archaeology #
  • Seafaring and Society in the Ancient Greek World (Online) *
  • Space, Place and Time: the archaeology of built environments #
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood #
  • The Athenian Akropolis #
  • The Hellenistic City
  • The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation #
  • The Jewish Diaspora in the Roman Empire (Online) *
  • The Latin Manuscript: Palaeography, Codicology, Textual Criticism
  • The Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A World between Empires #
  • Themes in Egyptian archaeology: the foundations of the state to the end of the Middle Kingdom #

 

# You must choose three Classical Art and Archaeology courses

^ A maximum of one Level 10 course can be chosen. Priority for Level 10 courses goes to undergraduate students.

* A maximum of one online course can be chosen.

 

Select exactly 60 credits of the following Classical Art and Archaeology courses

  • Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Basics and Beyond
  • Archaeological Illustration
  • Archaeology of 'Celtic' Europe: Communities and Interactions
  • Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece
  • Conceptualising the Neolithic
  • Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence
  • Constantinople: The History of a Medieval Megalopolis from Constantine the Great to Suleyman the Magnificent
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 1
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 1
  • Hellenistic Art and Archaeology
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 1
  • Issues in Egyptian Archaeology: the Second Intermediate Period until the end of the Late Period (1650-332 BC)
  • Latin Text Seminar 1
  • Marine Archaeology
  • Religion and War in Archaic and Classical Greece
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood
  • The Art and Archaeology of Sparta and Laconia
  • The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation
  • Themes in Egyptian archaeology: the foundations of the state to the end of the Middle Kingdom 

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following Classics courses

  • A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 1
  • Ancient Superpowers: The Armies and Military Monuments of Rome and Persia
  • Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation in History and Culture (PG)
  • Archaeological Illustration
  • Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece
  • Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence
  • Constantinople: The History of a Medieval Megalopolis from Constantine the Great to Suleyman the Magnificent
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 1
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 2
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 1
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 2
  • Greek Palaeography & Manuscript Culture
  • Greek Philosophy (Plato's Republic)
  • Greek Text Seminar 3
  • Hellenistic Art and Archaeology
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 2
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 2
  • Issues in Egyptian Archaeology: the Second Intermediate Period until the end of the Late Period (1650-332 BC)
  • Latin Text Seminar 1
  • Religion and War in Archaic and Classical Greece
  • Scottish Latin Literature
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood
  • The Art and Archaeology of Sparta and Laconia
  • The Hellenistic City
  • The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation
  • The Jewish Diaspora under the Roman Empire
  • Urban Labour in Classical Attica
  • Women, Writing, Greece: From Sappho to Virginia Woolf and Beyond 

 

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following Level 10 Classics Language courses

  • Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
  • Greek Pastoral Poetry
  • Latin Epic
  • Latin Satire
  • Plato's Republic

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following online courses

  • Herod the Great and the End of Hellenism (online)
  • Popular Culture in the Roman World (Online)
  • The Athenian Akropolis (online)

Select exactly 60 credits of the following Classical Art and Archaeology courses

  • Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Basics and Beyond
  • Archaeological Illustration
  • Archaeology of 'Celtic' Europe: Communities and Interactions
  • Archaeology of Late Antique Religion
  • Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece
  • Classical Greek Sculpture
  • Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 1
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 1
  • Handling Greek Pottery
  • Human Evolution
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 1
  • Issues in Egyptian Archaeology: the Second Intermediate Period until the end of the Late Period (1650-332 BC)
  • Marine Archaeology
  • Space, Place and Time: the archaeology of built environments
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood
  • The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation
  • The Maccabaean Revolt
  • Themes in Egyptian archaeology: the foundations of the state to the end of the Middle Kingdom 

 

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following Classics courses

  • A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 1
  • A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 2
  • Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation in History and Culture (PG)
  • Archaeological Illustration
  • Archaeology of Late Antique Religion
  • Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece
  • Classical Greek Sculpture
  • Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence
  • Dispute Resolution in the Roman Empire
  • Egypt under the Ptolemies
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 1
  • Elementary Greek (PG) 2
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 1
  • Elementary Latin (PG) 2
  • Greek Philosophy (Plato's Republic)
  • Greek Text Seminar 2
  • Handling Greek Pottery
  • Honour in Ancient Greece
  • Human Evolution
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Greek (PG) 2
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 1
  • Intermediate Latin (PG) 2
  • Issues in Egyptian Archaeology: the Second Intermediate Period until the end of the Late Period (1650-332 BC)
  • Latin Text Seminar 2
  • Space, Place and Time: the archaeology of built environments
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood
  • The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation
  • The Latin Manuscript: Palaeography, Codicology, Textual Criticism
  • The Maccabaean Revolt 

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following Level 10 Classics Language courses

  • Early Greek Philosophy
  • Greek Literature of the Roman Empire
  • Greek Tragedy
  • Later Latin Poetry
  • Latin Poets From North of the Po
  • Lucretius, 'De rerum natura'
  • Lyric
  • Seneca the Younger
  • The Latin Manuscript: Palaeography, Codicology, Textual Criticism 

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following online courses

  • Honour in Ancient Greece (Online)
  • Roman Egypt (Online)
  • Sparta and Crete: Classical Greek Society Beyond Athens (Online)

Teaching and assessment

Teaching takes place in small groups with most courses taught via weekly seminars. The majority of the 20-credit courses are assessed by single pieces of coursework, usually essays of up to 5000 words.

Further information

You can see more details about the 2025/26 programme structure on the Degree Programme Table for the MSc in Classical Art and Archaeology. We expect the 2026/27 programme structure to be available from May 2026.

This article was published on