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A pathway in the BA Classics and the Ancient World
BA Classics and the Ancient World: Language and Literature
This programme is also available with a Year Abroad
This pathway offers a BA in Classics with Greek and Latin language and literature at all levels, as well as a rich array of modules in the history, archaeology, art and philosophy of the Graeco-Roman world and its neighbours. Students can also choose modules in intellectual history and the reception of the ancient world in the post-classical and modern worlds.
- UCAS code Q802 (after entering this programme code you'll be sent a form to select the pathway).
- Modules available to students
- This BA pathway requires an A-level or equivalent in either Latin or Ancient Greek (the other language can be taken at Beginners or Intermediate level).
All students must take at least 60 credits of Latin-based modules and Greek-based modules in each year of study (30 credits of each in the first year; specialization in one language or uneven distribution is possible from year 2).
- i.e. Latin or Greek language, or modules which involve reading texts in the original language. Students choose courses at an appropriate level in accordance with their knowledge of the language.
In the first year students must take
- at least 30 credits of both ancient Greek and Latin
- the BA core module Approaches to Studying the Ancient World
- the Classics pathway core modules: (a) Interpreting Greek Literature, and (b) Interpreting Latin literature.
In the second year students must take
- at least 60 credits of ancient Greek and/or Latin (usually 30 credits in each language, but specialization in one language or uneven distribution is possible)
In the final year students must
- take least 60 credits of ancient Greek and/or Latin (usually 30 credits in each language, but specialization in one language or uneven distribution is possible)
- write a dissertation (30 credits) under the supervision of a member of staff.
(The structure for the pathway BA Classics (Language and Literature) Year Abroad is identical, except that in their first and second years students study also need to take 30 + 15 credits in the language of the country they wish to visit unless they can demonstrate proficiency: note that this excludes otherwise allowed optional modules outside the field of Classics and the Ancient World in the first year. They spend their third year abroad, then take their final year at UCL in their fourth year.)
This gives the following structure:
| Year One | Year Two | Final Year |
| 30 credits of Latin based modules | 30 credits of Latin based modules | 30 credits of Latin based modules |
| 30 credits of Greek based modules | 30 credits of Greek based modules | 30 credits of Greek based modules |
| Interpreting Greek Literature | (student choice) | 30 credits for the Dissertation |
| Interpreting Latin Literature | (student choice) | (student choice) |
| Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World | (student choice) | (student choice) |
| (student choice) | (student choice) | (student choice) |
❧ Sample Module Choices
Classics: Sample One
| Year One | Year Two | Year Three |
| Advanced Latin | Latin: Seneca* | Latin: Ovid* |
| Advanced Greek | Latin Prose Composition* | Latin: Late and Medieval Latin* |
| Interpreting Greek Literature* | Greek: Aeschylus* | Greek Comedy* |
| Interpreting Latin Literature* | Greek Translation* | Greek Papyrology* |
| Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World* | Classics and Literary Theory* | Dissertation |
| Greek Myth: Its Use and Meaning* | Latin Palaeography* | Roman Art and Architecture* |
| Augustan Culture | History of the Latin Language* | |
Total 120 credits per year. An asterisk indicates a 15 credit module (usually one term); all others are 30 credits (usually two terms).
This student arrived at UCL with A levels in Latin and Greek. In their first year they took Advanced Latin (reading selected texts with grammar review) as their compulsory 30 credits of Latin language, and Advanced Greek (reading selected texts with grammar review) as their compulsory 30 credits of Greek language. They progressed to specific author focused text modules in Latin in their second and in their final year, in which they also took a couple of other advanced level Latin modules. In Greek, they followed a similar progression: from Advanced Greek (reading selected texts with grammar review) in their first year to specific author focused text modules in Greek in their second and in their final year. Like all BA students in the department, they took the core module Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World. They also took the core Language and Literature survey modules Interpreting Greek Literature and Interpreting Latin Literature in the first year. As their interests were very much in the field of Classical languages and literature, almost all their module choices were modules offered by the Department of Greek and Latin, though in their final year they also decided to take a module from the Institute of Archaeology.
Classics: Sample Two
| Year One | Year Two | Year Three |
| Advanced Latin | Latin: Horace* | Latin: Roman Satire* |
| Greek for Beginners A* | Latin Translation* | Latin: Virgil* |
| Greek for Beginners B* | Intermediate Greek A* | Advanced Greek |
| Interpreting Greek Literature* | Intermediate Greek B* | Homer: Iliad* |
| Interpreting Latin Literature* | Classics and Literary Theory* | The Archaeology of Etruscan Italy* |
| Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World* | Augustan Culture | Dissertation |
| 17th and 18th Century Art in London Collections I* | Portraiture in Early Modern Europe* |
Total 120 credits per year. An asterisk indicates a 15 credit module (usually one term); all others are 30 credits (usually two terms).
This student came to UCL with Latin A level, and no prior knowledge of Greek. In their first year they took Advanced Latin (reading selected texts with grammar review) as their compulsory 30 credits of Latin language, progressing to specific author focused text modules in Latin in their second year (Horace) and third year (Roman Satire). In Greek, they progressed from Greek for Beginners in their first year, to Intermediate Greek in the second and to Advanced Greek (reading selected texts with grammar review) in their final year (in which they also took a module on Homer, read in translation). Like all BA students in the department, they took the core module Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World. They also took the core Language and Literature survey modules Interpreting Greek Literature and Interpreting Latin Literature in the first year. This student was also able to pursue their interest in art, taking two modules outside the Classical World syllabus in their first and second years, and to cultivate interests in archaeology and history.
Both students could have taken optional modules in Hittite, Akkadian, Sumerian or Sanskrit; they could also have pursued an interest in ancient history, papyrology, or linguistics.
❧ Notes
- Note that text modules and thematic modules are rotated each year in order to provide maximum choice. Sample modules not running in the current academic year are without a link.
- Your first year modules may include up to 15 credits, and your second and third year modules may include up to 30 credits altogether over the two years, of modules entirely outside the field of Classics.
- See the list of modules running in the current academic year in the Department of Greek and Latin, and all modules available in the Ancient World at UCL.
- Information on our degree programmes with year abroad.