The Intercollegiate MA in Classics is central to Classics and Ancient History in London, and attracts students from across the world.
The UCL Library (which includes the library of the Institute of Archaeology) is excellent, and also contains a dedicated library of Egyptology. The British Museum and the British Library are both only ten minutes' walk away from UCL; even closer are the University of London Library at Senate House, the library of the Institute of Classical Studies, and the library of the Warburg Institute.
MA students enrolled at UCL are automatically members of the Institute of Classical Studies and entitled to use its library, one of the best in the world. We have a large staff of international experts in Greek and Latin literature, papyrology, ancient history, and classical art and archaeology; all are available to supervise or advise MA students in their research.
General Programme Information
- Programme Structure
The MA in Classics is an intercollegiate degree-programme, taught by the participating Departments of Classics, Greek and Latin, and History in King's College London (KCL), Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), and University College London (UCL). Modules within these MAs are available to students registered in any of the participating Colleges. Modules from the UCL MA in the Reception of the Classical World are also available to students in the Intercollegiate MA.
Students take a total of 180 credits divided as follows:
a) Modules to the value of 120 credits chosen from the list of modules approved for the Intercollegiate MA, offered at UCL, KCL, or RHUL. Each module carries 40 or 20 credits (i.e. each will have an assessment weighting of 22% or 11% respectively) Of these;
1. at least 40 credits must be from the current list of dedicated modules offered by UCL and approved for the MA in Classics (marked † in the list*).
2. at least 40 credits must test knowledge of Greek or Latin; this will typically be a module in which texts are read in the original language.
Note: both of these requirements may be satisfied by a single module.
*For the full list of intercollegiate modules which satisfy points 1 and 2 please see the List of modules available 2022-23 at the ICS website.
b) A compulsory module CLAS0051 Research Methods and Dissertation
Sample MA Dissertation Topic List
This module carries 60 credits (assessment weighting 34%), and has two components:
1. the core module in research methods, skills and resources in the first term. This module is compulsory for all students in the MA in Classics, but is not subject to assessment separate from the MA dissertation. An up-to-date schedule is available on Moodle. the choosing of a dissertation theme; discussion of the title;
2. the planning and writing of the dissertation of 10,000 - 12,000 words in the field of classical language, literature, or thought, or the classical tradition.
- Part-time students will normally take 80 credits worth of modules in the first year and modules worth 40 credits and the dissertation (worth 60 credits) in the second year (flexible study is also available by arrangement). Note that coursework deadlines for part-time students are the same as for full-time students.
- Candidates for the MA in Classics are expected to be able to use authors and sources in one or more ancient languages.
- Candidates who need to improve their knowledge of an ancient language, or to learn another one, may, subject to the approval of the Programme Director, take one language-learning module as part of the MA.
In addition, note that:
- Candidates may not take more than 80 credits worth of modules which make use of BA teaching (all such modules must have a 50% minimum MA component). Modules which make use of BA teaching are marked with an ⁂ in the list.
- Candidates may include, subject to the approval of their Programme Director and the Chair of Examiners, one module of up to 40 credits from any other MA programme within the University of London.
- Modules Available To Classics Students
Modules listed at the List of modules available 2022-23 at the ICS website are available to UCL students (and all Intercollegiate students at KCL and RHUL): note that modules taken by UCL students at KCL or RHUL are subject to the academic regulations and procedures of those Colleges. If you take a module at a different College, that mark will be reported to UCL and will be incorporated into your degree; but the rules under which the mark is arrived at are those of the College which provides the module.
- Modules in the UCL MA in the Reception of the Classical World are also listed below: all of these modules are open to Intercollegiate MA students.
- UCL students outside the Department of Greek and Latin may take any UCL modules listed as a 30 or 15 credit option, where applicable.
- Modules Available 2022-23
UCL GREEK AND LATIN
Students on the MA Classics will select modules with a credit value of 20 or 40 from the table below. All other students select modules with a credit value appropriate to their programme of study or home institution (in the case of affiliate students).
* Acceptable modules for the MA Reception of The Classical World
† Modules acceptable in order to meet the MA Classics language requirements
⁂ Modules make use of BA teaching (all such modules have a 50% minimum MA component).For the full list of intercollegiate modules which satisfy † please see the List of modules available 2022-23 at the ICS website.
(Please note that while core modules and language modules will run every year the availability of all other modules may change from year to year depending on staff availability).
Module Title Credit Value 15 Credit Value 20 Credit Value 30 Credit Value 40 Approaches to the Reception of the Classical World* CLAS0111 CLAS0117 CLAS0118 CLAS0116 Greek Drama† CLAS0062 CLAS0067 Greeks and Jews: Antiquity and the Modern World⁂* CLAS0164 CLAS0165 Ancient Rome on Film: From the 1950's to the 21st Century* CLAS0120 CLAS0121 Race: Antiquity and its Legacy* CLAS0160 CLAS0161 Greek Papyrology⁂† CLAS0058 CLAS0066 Hittite Texts ⁂† AMEL0005 AMEL0006 Latin for Research 1⁂ CLAS0154 CLAS0155 Latin for Research 2⁂ CLAS0156 CLAS0157 Ovid† CLAS0088 CLAS0094 Introduction to the History of Greek⁂ CLAS0078 CLAS0079 Ancient Greece on Stage* CLAS0124 CLAS0125 Introductory Sanskrit⁂† AMEL0003 AMEL0004
Timetables
❧ UCL Greek and Latin MA timetable 2022-23 (PDF)
❧ ICS intercollegiate timetable 2022-23