Classics, BA (Hons)

Teaching

During the first and second year (or second and third year, if you are taking the 4-year course), you usually have 8 to 10 lectures and at least 2 small-group supervisions in which you discuss your work, each week. You will also have language classes as needed.

In the third or fourth year you may have Faculty seminars, as well as lectures. Your College supervisions give you the opportunity to research essay topics of your choice, in depth.

Assessment

Assessments take place through end of year exams and submitted essays. In your final year you can substitute an exam for a dissertation.

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Preliminary Year (first year of the 4-year course)

This year will focus on bringing your Latin language up to speed. You'll learn through dedicated language classes that will have you reading original texts as quickly as possible. You will also have options from a whole range of Classical topics and be introduced to the basics of Ancient Greek.

Year 1 (Part IA)

You study texts in the original Greek and Latin from the most familiar periods of ancient literature by central authors such as:

• Homer
• Euripides
• Plato
• Virgil
• Ovid
• Cicero

You also study elements of:

• ancient history
• archaeology
• art
• philosophy
• philology
• linguistics

You also study modern usages of the classical tradition, to build the broadest possible understanding of the ancient world and our relationship to it.

Reading and language classes directed by specialist language teachers, as required, will extend your knowledge of the ancient languages.

End of year exams will test your linguistic and literary comprehension and essay writing skills. You will also submit 2 essays on non-literary topics for assessment.

Your language exams will be adapted to take into account your language ability when you started the course. This way your results will accurately reflect your progress over the course of the year.

Year 2 (Part IB)

You study 2 compulsory papers:

• Greek translation
• Latin translation

You will also choose papers from a range of subjects, including:

• Greek Literature
• Latin Literature
• Greek Philosophy
• Greek and Roman History
• Classical Art and Archaeology
• Classical and Historical Linguistics

Further optional papers on prose or verse composition in both languages are available if you wish to develop your confidence and creativity in manipulating language.

You will take end of year exams and submit 2-4 essays for assessment. For language exams, different streams are adapted to different entry levels to make sure results reflect the progression made over the course of the year.

Year 3 (Part II)

You can specialise in one discipline, such as archaeology, or choose a range of disciplines according to your individual strengths and interests.

You choose 4 papers from a broad range of options:

• literature, for example Greek poetry of the Roman Empire
• philosophy, for example Greek and Roman Philosophers on Beauty
• history, for example The Age of Civil War
• art and archaeology, for example Beyond Classical Art
• historical Linguistics, for example Greek in the Bronze Age
• a multidisciplinary paper, for example Gods of Greece and Rome
• papers from another degree course

At the end of the year, you take exams in these subjects. Or, you can substitute one paper with a dissertation on a subject of your choice within the field of Classics.

Past dissertations have covered:

• cross-dressing in antiquity
• modern receptions of Sappho
• Milton as a Latin poet
• gods in Pindar
• Greek tragedy and politics
• Roman statues and canons of beauty
• Indo-European poetics
• the nature and role of pleasure in human life
• urbanism in Roman Egypt

For further information about this course and the papers you can take see the Faculty of Classics website.

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

• take part in an interview
• complete an admissions test
• produce some written work
• achieve a particular grade in your current studies
• do some catch-up work
• start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Faculty website.

You can also apply to change to:

• Management Studies at the Judge Business School

You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.