Taught courses

You will take several courses across two semesters of teaching, including a compulsory course and a range of optional courses.

The compulsory course (Skills and Methods in Classics – 20 credits) will provide you with the key methodological and practical skills required of researchers in all Classical subjects, while the 20-credit option courses offer a level of flexibility, allowing you to both develop or cement your language skills and explore a diverse range of in-depth historical topics. You can also take courses in archaeological and literary topics.

Core course

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.

Compulsory courses previously offered include:

Course nameCredits
Skills and Methods in Classics20

Optional courses

You’ll be required to take 5 option courses (20 credits each), subject to availability. Each year we offer ancient history courses in topics that our staff are currently working, ensuring that we provide Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique options. Greek and Latin language courses are always offered.

Please note: at least three of your option courses must be on ancient history topics. You may be able to take one classics language course and/or one online course

 

Option Courses 2024-2025

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

 

Course nameCredits
Elementary Greek (PG) 1 #20
Elementary Latin (PG) 1 #20
Intermediate Greek (PG) 1 #20
Intermediate Latin (PG) 1 #20
A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 1 #20
A Topic in Late Antique and Byzantine History 2 #20
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Basics and Beyond #20
Ancient Philosophy Seminar I #20
Ancient Superpowers: The Armies and Military Monuments of Rome and Persia #20
Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation in History and Culture (PG) #20
Archaeology of 'Celtic' Europe: Communities and Interactions #20
Archaeological Illustration20
Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy ^20
Bronze Age Civilisations of the Near East and Greece #20
Conflict archaeology: materialities of violence20
Constantinople: The History of a Medieval Megalopolis from Constantine the Great to Suleyman the Magnificent #20
Greek Pastoral Poetry ^20
Greek Palaeography & Manuscript Culture20
Greek Philosophy (Plato's Republic)20
Greek Text Seminar 320
Hellenistic Art and Archaeology20
Herod the Great and the End of Hellenism (online) *20
Issues in Egyptian Archaeology: the Second Intermediate Period until the end of the Late Period (1650-332 BC)20
Latin Epic ^20
Latin Satire ^20
Latin Text Seminar 1 #20
Religion and War in Archaic and Classical Greece20
Mariners, Monks and Mobility: the archaeology of the early medieval Atlantic Archipelago #20
Plato's Republic ^20
Popular Culture in the Roman World (Online) *20
Scottish Latin Literature #20
The Archaeology of Children and Childhood #20
The Art and Archaeology of Sparta and Laconia #20
The Athenian Akropolis (online) *20
The Hellenistic City #20
The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation #20
The Jewish Diaspora under the Roman Empire #20
Themes in Egyptian archaeology: the foundations of the state to the end of the Middle Kingdom #20
Women, Writing, Greece: From Sappho to Virginia Woolf and Beyond20

# You must choose three Ancient History 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.

 

Teaching and assessment

You will develop your skills in critical thinking, clear writing and research, verbal presentation and critical analysis.

Most 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 4,500 words.

 Further information

You can see more details about the 2024/25 programme structure on the Degree Programme Table for the MSc in Ancient History. We expect the 2025/26 programme structure to be available from May 2025.

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