BA Ancient History drafted draft

Program Overview

Ancient History at Bristol allows you to explore real-world issues like politics, the creation and spread of myths, and our relationship with the environment, by studying the dynamic cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean.

As Bristol is close to ancient sites like Bath and Caerleon, you will enhance your studies with field trips, and we also run regular trips to cities rich in ancient heritage, like Rome or Pompeii.

Being an ancient historian is about developing knowledge, learning to analyse historical evidence, and making effective arguments. These are skills highly prized by employers, so our students go on to succeed in a variety of fields, from teaching to technology, banking to broadcasting.

With our broad range of subjects and types of assessment, you will have the opportunity to explore your creativity, follow your ideas and research independently, and build innovative team projects.

Whether you are completely new to the subject or you have been inspired by previous study, you will discover new ways of exploring the ancient Mediterranean. Studying Ancient History at Bristol will expand your knowledge of Greco-Roman societies while enriching your understanding of the challenges facing us today.

Program Outline

This section describes which Units you will take in which year of study. It indicates which units are mandatory and where you will be able to choose. The overall pass marks you will need to achieve in order to progress or achieve an award are shown. The full regulations concerning progression and completion are held in the University's Regulations and Code of Practice. Any particular aspects of your programme that are unusual will be highlighted. If any Units are must pass this will be shown below. The linked unit specifications detail any additional requirements.

Progression/award requirements

Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:

For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.

For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.

Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.

Exit awards

All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.

Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.

The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).

Additional progress information

Marks from the first year do not contribute to the final degree classification.

Students are permitted to conditionally progress to the next year of study and make up a credit deficit where they have failed a particular unit or units provided this meets the conditions in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Course structure

You will develop the core knowledge and critical thinking skills of an ancient historian by combining mandatory units with optional ones. Our first-year units are specifically designed to introduce you to studying Ancient History at university level, no matter your previous experience of the subject. You will explore a huge range of source materials throughout your degree, including art, literature and archaeology. There is no requirement to read Latin or Greek, however, you will have the chance to study these languages, too. You will also have the option to take other units from elsewhere in the Arts faculty or beyond.

In your second year, you will take units which help you to think more deeply about the malleability of history - where are the borders of the ancient Mediterranean? How has classical history been represented in the past? In your third year, you can choose from an exciting range of specialist subjects based on our Department's world-class research. You will refine your skills in independent research by writing a dissertation exploring a topic of your choosing. You will also take the Applied Classics unit, which involves planning, marketing and executing a project inspired by what you love about the ancient world.