BA Classics

• Explore the literature, culture, and history of the Greek and Roman worlds. You will also take specialist courses in ancient literature, history, religion, philosophy, art, Egyptology, or archaeology.
• Study the legacy of the ancient world and uncover its impact on modern culture.
• Take Greek or Latin (or both) at any level, including beginner, but language study is not compulsory.
• Study at a top 10 UK university for History, Philosophy and Theology (THE World University Rankings 2024).
• Book your place on our October and November taster webinars to learn more about your subject areas!

Our BA Classics course will let you study Greek and/or Latin language and literature. You will also explore the political, social, and intellectual history of the ancient Greek and Roman societies. You can learn either or both ancient languages. You can tailor your course to focus on Greek or Latin language and literature together with Ancient History, depending on your interests.

The course is set up so you start your study of ancient languages in the right place for you. Your starting point depends on your past experience. You can study Latin, Greek, or both languages. The only rules are that (a) you must continue with at least one language for all three years, and (b) you can't take the year-long beginners' course in both languages in the same year. Experience shows that this is almost always harmful. For example, if you have no experience with either language, you could take our intensive beginners' Latin course. Do this during your first year.

In the second year, you would progress to the Advanced Latin 1 unit and could, if you so choose, take the intensive beginners' Greek course at the same time. Another option would be to pick up the intensive beginners' course in Greek only in your third year, alongside Advanced Latin 2. If you have already gained A-level Latin or equivalent before arriving, you would take Advanced Latin 1 in your first year, reaching Advanced Latin 3 by your third year. Alongside Latin, you could (but are not required to) take the appropriate level of ancient Greek, starting at any stage.

You can also take all the routes described above in reverse with both languages. This is mutatis mutandis ('with the things that need to be changed having been changed').

Where appropriate, the texts for literary and historical course units are studied partly in the original language.

Study with us and you'll have access to special resources such as the John Rylands Research Institute and Library's Special Collections. They hold papyri, medieval manuscripts, and early printed books. These include very early copies of the Homeric poems. You'll also have access to the Manchester Museum, the University's own on-campus holdings. It has world-class Egyptology collections.

You'll be taught by experts in Greek and Roman language, literature, culture and history. You will be able to choose from course units covering topics such as Latin love poetry, Greek myth, ancient epic and the literature of exile. Optional units are also available in a wide range of topics in Ancient History and Archaeology and in areas as diverse as Greek philosophy and Egyptology.

34 points overall. 6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects

All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency. The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:

• GCSE/iGCSE English Language grade C/4 or;
• IELTS 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in any one component, or;
• An acceptable equivalent qualification.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language iGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications or achieve a higher grade in your iGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.

The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student from outside the UK and the EU must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language in order to be granted a UK visa (Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level. This level is often referred to as the 'B2 level'.

Additionally, our individual Schools may ask for specific English Language proficiency levels that are necessary for their academic programmes. In most cases these requirements are likely to be higher than the B2 level. Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found here .

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