Literature, History, Archaeology: sample options

A pathway in the Classics and the Ancient World BA

BA Classics and the Ancient World: Literature, History, Archaeology

This programme is also available with a Year Abroad

This pathway in the BA Classics and the Ancient World offers a BA in the language, literature, history, archaeology and culture of the Graeco-Roman world and its neighbours for students who want to begin ancient languages from scratch (or at intermediate level). We also offer modules in intellectual history and the reception of the ancient world in the post-classical and modern worlds.

This page gives an overview of how our BA Ancient World works, with some sample modules. For a full description, see the UCL Undergraduate Prospectus for the Classics and the Ancient World BA.

UCAS code Q802 (after entering this programme code you’ll be sent a form to select the pathway).
This course is open to those who have no previous experience of Latin or Greek language.
Modules available to students taking BA Classics and the Ancient World BA

All students must take 60 credits in an ancient language during their degree.

They can take more if they want, and are free to specialise in ancient languages.

In the first year students must take
1. at least 30 credits of an ancient language.
2. the core course; and one History course and one Archaeology module
In the second year students must take
1. at least 30 credits of the same ancient language (to complete the 60 credit requirement).
In the third year students must take the Extended Essay option as one of their module choices.

(The structure for the BA Ancient World with Study Abroad Q803 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 reduces optional courses in the first year to 15 credits. 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	Year Three
1	30 credits of an ancient language	30 credits of same ancient language	Essay on an Approved Subject
2	Approaches to the Ancient World	(student choice)
3	Ancient History module	(student choice)	(student choice)
4	Approved Archaeology module	(student choice)	(student choice)
5	(student choice)	(student choice)	(student choice)
6	(student choice)	(student choice)	(student choice)
7	(student choice)	(student choice)	(student choice)
8		(student choice)	(student choice)

Sample Module Choices

Literature, History, Archaeology: Sample One

	Year One	Year Two	Year Three
1	Latin for Beginners A*	Intermediate Latin A*	Essay on an Approved Subject
2	Latin for Beginners B*	Intermediate Latin B*	The Roman Republic c.350 BC - 44 BC
3	Approaches to the Ancient World*	Roman Britain: History and Archaeology*	Greek Art & Architecture*
4	Greek Myth*	Greek Tragedy*	Race: Antiquity and its Legacy*
5	Introduction to Greek Archaeology*	Babylon from Hammurabi to Alexander (c.1800-300 BC)	Homer*
6	Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology*	Roman Love Poetry*	Painting and Society in Archaic and Classical Greece*
7	Sources for Greek History*	The Prehistoric Mediterranean*
8	Emotions in the Ancient World*

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 began the degree with no prior knowledge of Latin or Greek. For the 30 credits of compulsory language in their first year, they chose Latin for Beginners A and B. Another 15 credits were taken up by the compulsory Approaches to Classics and the Ancient World module. With their remaining modules, they pursued interests in classics, archaeology and ancient history, fulfilling the requirement for at least one module in archaeology and history. In their second year, they continued with Latin at Intermediate level, to fulfil the language requirement (60 credits in the same language). They then devoted most of their time to archaeology, while taking the compulsory 30 credits in literature or language modules. In their final year, they maintained a focus on archaeology and history.

Ancient World: sample two

	Year One	Year Two	Year Three
1	Greek for Beginners A*	Intermediate Greek A*	Essay on an Approved Subject
2	Greek for Beginners B*	Intermediate Greek B*	The Roman Empire from Augustus to Theodosius I
3	Approaches to the Ancient World*	Roman Love Poetry*	Homer*
4	Roman Life and Thought*	Greek Comedy*	Greek Tragedy*
5	Introduction to Greek Archaeology*	The Late Bronze Age Aegean*	Painting and Society in Archaic & Classical Greece*
6	Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology*	The Archaeology of Etruscan Italy*	Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics*
7	The Romans and their Past*	Augustan Culture
8	Italian Level 1*

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 also began the degree with no prior knowledge of Latin or Greek. For the 30 credits of compulsory language in their first year, they also chose Greek for Beginners A and B, and again, 15 credits were taken up by the compulsory Approaches to Studying Classics and the Ancient World module. The remainder of their first year modules were spread between classics, archaeology and history, fulfilling the requirement for at least one module in archaeology and history. In their second year, they continued with Greek at Intermediate level, to fulfil the language requirement (60 credits in the same language). They began to specialise in language and literature, and also took one half unit module (Italian language) from outside the Ancient World syllabus. The majority of their final year modules involved Classical literature, though they still kept an interest in history and archaeology.

Both students could have taken optional modules in Hittite, Akkadian, Sumerian or Sanskrit, or could have taken one of these languages as their compulsory language (45 credits).

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 chose Introductory Akkadian, an ancient cuneiform language, for their 30 credits of compulsory language in the first year. Another 15 credits were taken up by the compulsory Approaches to the Ancient World module. With their remaining modules, they pursued interests in Archaeology and Ancient History (fulfilling the requirement for at least one module in each). In their second year they continued with Akkadian, started Hittite, a cuneiform language from Anatolia, and pursued their interest in ancient Middle Eastern History and Archaeology. In their final year they took Sumerian, the earliest cuneiform language, and continued their study of Hittite. Their remaining modules reflected their interest in Archaeology (including a 15-credit module outside the area of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East).

Notes

Note that text modules and thematic modules are rotated each year in order to provide maximum choice. Sample courses not running in the current academic year are without a link.
Your first-year modules may include up to 30 credits, and your second- and third-year courses may include up to 30 credits altogether over the two years, of courses entirely outside the field of Ancient World studies, which is defined as including all courses that relate to any aspect of Graeco-Roman antiquity, the Ancient Middle East, ancient Egypt, the ancient languages of this area, and other ancient Indo-European languages.
See the list of modules available in the Ancient World at UCL.
Information on our degree programmes with year abroad.