Classics and Philosophy

Classics and philosophy brings together two of the most demanding and intellectually rewarding disciplines in the humanities. Classical study gives you direct access to the literature, thought, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome in the original languages, engaging with texts that have shaped Western civilisation for over two thousand years. Philosophy develops your capacity for rigorous analytical thinking about the most fundamental questions: what can we know, how should we act, what is the nature of reality and mind.

The combination is natural, since so much of the philosophical tradition is rooted in the Greek and Roman world, and reading Plato or Aristotle in the original Greek is an experience that translation can only approximate.

The four-year full-time Classics and Philosophy programme at the University of St Andrews develops your Latin and Greek language skills alongside your engagement with philosophical thought from antiquity to the present day. Greek and Latin literature is among the most moving and thought-provoking writing produced in any world culture, and to study it in the original is to enter the thought-world of two vibrant societies which have profoundly influenced cultures around the world. The MA at St Andrews will develop your skills of literary and cultural analysis alongside the philosophical rigour needed to engage with complex arguments and problems.

A year abroad gives you the opportunity to extend your studies in a different academic environment.

With a typical entry tariff of 168 points, the programme is demanding and attracts students who combine linguistic ability with genuine philosophical curiosity. Graduates from classics and philosophy programmes pursue careers in law, academia, the civil service, journalism, publishing, education, and a wide range of roles where the analytical precision and cultural depth the degree develops are valued. Postgraduate study in philosophy, classics, or law is a common continuation.