Classics/Music

Classics and music represent two of the richest and most durable traditions in human cultural history. Classics opens the world of ancient Greece and Rome, encompassing literature, philosophy, history, and art, giving access to the foundational texts and ideas of Western thought. Music as an academic discipline examines the history, theory, and analysis of musical traditions, from the intricate polyphony of the Renaissance to the concert music of the twentieth century, alongside the cultural and social contexts in which music is made and heard.

Together these subjects reward students who want depth and range, and who are drawn to the past without losing sight of its relevance to the present.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time degree allows you to pursue both disciplines at an advanced level. In classics you will have the opportunity to study Latin and/or ancient Greek, engaging with primary texts in their original languages alongside the literary, historical, and philosophical content of the ancient world. In music you will develop your analytical and historical understanding of musical works and traditions, exploring repertoire from multiple periods and cultures and developing your capacity to write about music with precision and insight.

The programme includes a year abroad, broadening your academic and personal horizons through study in a different cultural and educational environment.

The two disciplines share a commitment to close, attentive engagement with complex material, whether that material is a Latin poem, a Greek philosophical argument, or a fugue by Bach. Both train you in precision, sustained concentration, and the capacity to interpret human creativity in context.

Graduates move into careers in education, the arts, journalism, publishing, the music industry, heritage, and cultural administration, as well as in the civil service, law, and many other fields where analytical rigour and cultural breadth are valued. Postgraduate study in classical studies or musicology is a natural continuation for those drawn to research or academic careers.