Classics and Comparative Literature

Classics and Comparative Literature brings together two disciplines that have, at their heart, the same question: how do human beings use language to make sense of experience, and what can the literature of different times and places teach us about ourselves? Classics gives you access to some of the most moving and thought-provoking writing produced in any world culture, read in the original Greek and Latin. Comparative Literature extends that analytical perspective across traditions and languages, placing texts from different national and historical contexts alongside one another to examine what they share and how they differ.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year, full-time honours degree develops your Greek and Latin language skills progressively, allowing you to engage directly with ancient texts rather than through translation alone. Alongside your language work, you will develop skills in literary and cultural analysis that are powerful tools for understanding complex texts and problems across periods and traditions. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the chance to pursue study in an international academic environment and to encounter literary traditions and critical approaches that complement what you study at St Andrews.

The combination of rigorous philological training, broad literary knowledge, and advanced critical thinking that this degree develops is valued across an exceptionally wide range of careers. Graduates pursue roles in publishing, journalism, education, law, the civil service, arts administration, and the cultural sector, as well as in international organisations where the ability to think across languages and cultural contexts is a genuine asset. Many also go on to postgraduate study in classics, ancient history, comparative literature, or literary theory, where the foundations of close reading and cultural analysis laid by this degree provide an excellent platform for advanced research.