Classical Literature and English

Classical literature and English is a combination that places the literary traditions of ancient Greece and Rome alongside English literature from the medieval period to the present, asking you to understand the full sweep of the Western literary tradition from its origins. Classical literature gives you access to the works that have shaped European thought, storytelling, and poetic form for more than two millennia: Homer and Virgil, Sophocles and Seneca, Sappho and Ovid. English literature allows you to trace how those traditions were received, transformed, and reimagined across the centuries, from the Renaissance engagement with the classics through to contemporary writers who continue to find in ancient stories the terms for understanding modern experience.

At the University of Leeds, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving you an unusual combination of academic depth and structured professional experience. You will engage with texts in translation and, depending on your background, may work with ancient languages directly. You will develop skills in close reading, literary history, critical argument, and independent research, spanning texts from antiquity to the present.

The range of the combination develops a breadth of cultural knowledge and a sensitivity to how literary traditions evolve that is unusual among English graduates, and that is genuinely valued by employers who prize intellectual range.

Classical literature and English graduates pursue careers in publishing, journalism, teaching, the civil service, law, arts administration, museums, and broadcasting. The combination of classical and contemporary literary knowledge is particularly valued in publishing and editorial roles, where understanding the full range of the literary tradition informs judgement about contemporary work. The analytical and communication skills the degree develops are transferable across a very wide range of professional contexts.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in English literature, classical studies, comparative literature, or publishing, and some pursue academic research in classical reception, literary history, or related fields.