Classics II and English

Classics and English at Oxford, in its second variant, combines ancient Greek and Latin literature with English literary study, bringing the two foundational bodies of writing in the Western tradition into sustained dialogue. Classics, at the level offered here, involves reading the great texts of ancient Greece and Rome in their original languages: Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, and many others. English literature at Oxford encompasses the full sweep of writing in English, from the medieval period to the present, studied with the analytical rigour and close attention to language that the tutorial system enables.

At the University of Oxford, this four-year, full-time degree reflects the depth and ambition that Oxford's teaching makes possible. The tutorial system means you are regularly working through your ideas in close conversation with specialists in ancient and modern literature, developing not just knowledge but the intellectual habits of careful argument, close reading, and critical responsiveness to opposing views. The combination of ancient and modern literature is philosophically and aesthetically rich: you encounter the genres and themes of English literature in the context of the traditions they grew from and often consciously responded to, while the ancient texts gain new resonance when read alongside later writers who engaged with them.

A typical entry tariff of 184 UCAS points reflects Oxford's selective admissions standards.

The degree develops exceptional reading and writing skills, broad literary knowledge, linguistic competence in ancient languages, and the analytical discipline that studying at Oxford at the highest level requires.

Graduates pursue careers in law, publishing, journalism, the civil service, academia, education, the cultural sector, and the diplomatic service. Many proceed to postgraduate research in classical literature, English, or comparative literary studies.