Classics

Classics is one of the oldest and most demanding of university disciplines, concerned with the languages, literature, history, philosophy, art, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome. To study classics in the original languages is to enter the thought-world of two civilisations that have profoundly influenced the political institutions, philosophical traditions, literary forms, and aesthetic sensibilities of the Western world and beyond. Greek and Latin are not merely means of accessing these traditions: studying them develops an analytical precision and depth of attention that transforms how you read and think.

At St Andrews this four-year MA (Hons) programme develops your Latin and Greek language skills alongside the literary and cultural analytical tools that allow you to engage with ancient texts as complex documents rather than simple historical sources. You will read some of the most extraordinary literature ever written: Homeric epic, Greek tragedy, Platonic philosophy, Ciceronian rhetoric, Virgilian poetry, and much more besides. The degree also engages with the archaeology, art history, and cultural history of the ancient world, and with the reception of classical culture in later periods.

A year abroad is embedded in the programme, giving you the opportunity to study classics in a different international environment.

Graduates pursue careers in academia, law, the civil service, politics, journalism, publishing, education, heritage, and the cultural sector. Classics graduates are consistently sought after by the most competitive employers precisely because the discipline is so demanding and the skills it develops, including linguistic precision, close argument, and cultural breadth, are so genuinely transferable. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in classics, ancient history, or classical archaeology.