Ancient History BA

The Department offers modules that span over 5,000 years of history, with specialisms in the history of the ancient Middle East and the Mediterranean, the Americas, Europe’s cultural and intellectual history, and imperial and transnational history.

Our modules involve project work, essay writing, and active engagement with historical resources to encourage creative lateral thinking about the past. You study key developments in the discipline of history from the ancient to the modern world, develop an understanding of the practice of history, and study the evolution of the discipline from Herodotus and Thucydides to the twenty-first century.

The flexible course structure allows you to tailor the degree to match your intellectual interests. You can choose from various modules in ancient history, archaeology, anthropology, ancient languages notably Greek and Latin, Sumerian, Akkadian, or Hittite and their literature. Explore a complete list of Ancient History modules.

You learn in a supportive and inclusive environment. Our Year 1 curriculum supports your transition into higher education, introducing fundamental historical approaches and giving you the tools to write, analyse, and communicate history.

London is `the world’s third best city for students’ according to QS Best Student Cities 2026. In addition to UCL’s museums, including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, you have access to some of the world’s premier cultural institutions and collections, such as the British Library and British Museum. As part of the degree, you use these resources as primary source materials, participating in a public history group project in Making History.
 

UCL’s exceptional strength and formidable range of expertise in ancient history, ranging from ancient warfare to religion, epigraphy and law,  means you have great scope for choice.

Our renowned academics bring their research expertise into their teaching, so you benefit from a dynamic curriculum informed by cutting-edge historical research. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework assessment, our research was ranked first in London and fourth in the UK.

You benefit from small class sizes and receive detailed assignment feedback in one-to-one tutorials.

This degree provides excellent preparation for many diverse careers. You build a portfolio of desirable, transferable skills and have access to a dedicated careers support course, industry connections and an alum network.

You may also apply to study abroad in your third year, but only if you have taken the ‘Approaching History’ module in Year 1.