Classics/Social & Public Policy

Classics and Social and Public Policy is a combination that may seem unexpected at first glance, but its logic becomes clear quickly. Classics involves the systematic study of the literature, history, art, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the languages that carried those civilisations into writing. Social and Public Policy, meanwhile, examines how contemporary societies organise themselves, distribute resources, and respond to the needs of their populations.

Together, the two subjects offer a long historical view alongside a rigorous analytical framework for understanding the present.

Studying at the University of Glasgow, you will explore Greek and Roman texts in their original languages if you choose, or engage with them in translation, depending on your prior experience. The Classics strand gives you practice in close reading, historical interpretation, and understanding how ideas travel across time. The Social and Public Policy strand asks different but complementary questions: what causes poverty, inequality, or social exclusion, and how have governments attempted to address them?

You will develop your capacity to analyse institutions, evaluate evidence, and think critically about political and social structures. The programme includes a year abroad, broadening your perspective further and giving you direct experience of a different academic and cultural environment.

This discipline combination prepares you for roles that require both analytical depth and a wide frame of reference. Graduates pursue careers in policy analysis, civil service, international organisations, journalism, teaching, law, and the charitable sector. The ability to read primary sources critically, synthesise complex information, and understand long-run social change is valued wherever careful thinking about human affairs matters.

Postgraduate study in classical studies, ancient history, social policy, or public administration is a common route for those who wish to specialise further.