Ancient History MA (Honours)

Program Overview

Ancient History MA (Honours) 2025 entry

Overview

The MA (Hons) in Ancient History explores the history of Greece and Rome, and that of neighbouring peoples such as the Persians and Carthaginians. Students study the period from the beginning of Greek writing and urbanism in eighth century BCE through to the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Geographically, the subject is centred on the Mediterranean world, which at times extends from the Persian Gulf to the Clyde and from the Crimea to the Sahara.

Thematically, the course deals not only with political and military history, but also with topics such as gender and sexuality, slavery, colonisation, religion, cultural contacts between peoples, and the ecology and economy of the ancient Mediterranean. Students will also study the nature of ancient evidence and the way that the Greeks and Romans represented the past and reinvented it to meet their changing needs.

Entry Requirements

Standard Entry Grades

• SQA Highers: AAAB
• GCE A-Levels: AAA
• IB points: 36 (HL 6,6,5)

Minimum Entry Grades

• SQA Highers: AABB
• GCE A-Levels: ABB
• IB points: 36 (HL 6,5,5)

Gateway Entry Grades

• Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

General Entry Requirements

• All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.
• SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Applications of Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology
• GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology

Course Details

The MA (Hons) in Ancient History is a four-year course run by the School of Classics. In the first year, no previous experience of ancient history or classical languages is required; any student is eligible to take ancient history.

Modules

• First year:
  • Ancient Empires: explores how imperial states built and maintained their power; the experiences of other populations and cultures that were conquered or incorporated into ancient empires; and the contested legacies of imperial states, both in antiquity and today.
  • Cities and communities in the ancient Mediterranean: explores urbanisation by examining changing physical as well as social relations between people, as well as between people and their environments.
• Second year:
  • Ancient Societies: Gender, ethnicity, and inequality in the ancient world: surveys the fundamental divisions that gave shape to ancient social life, examining issues like gender, inequality, and ethnic identity through a broad range of sources and methodologies.
  • Narratives of antiquity: examines influential narratives from the ancient world and their reinterpretations in later periods, from the nineteenth century to the present day, and how they continue to shape the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves for better or for worse.
• Honours:
  • Approaches to Ancient History: a core module that explores the nature of ancient evidence and the way that the Greeks and Romans represented the past and reinvented it to meet their changing needs.
  • A variety of advanced options, including modules from a wide range of periods that showcase different historical approaches.

Teaching

• Teaching format: lectures, tutorials, seminars
• Assessment: coursework, research essays, source analysis, oral presentations, written examinations
• Support: the School aims to provide feedback on assessments and coursework within two weeks to help you improve on future assessments.

Fees

• Scotland: £1,820
• England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man: £9,535
• EU and overseas: £31,670

Joint Honours Degrees

You can also take Ancient History as part of a joint Honours degree in which you will take core modules of your chosen subjects.

Careers

Ancient history students at St Andrews have traditionally progressed into a very wide range of careers on graduating. Some continue their academic careers via a postgraduate training degree to doctoral study either in St Andrews or at another university. Other students have progressed to postgraduate qualifications in teaching, museum studies or archaeology.

Recent ancient history graduates have moved into careers including:

• NHS
• civil service
• financial industry
• human resources
• conference management
• heritage management
• video game design

A degree in ancient history will provide you with transferable skills that will equip you for a future career in many sectors. These skills include:

• understanding a range of viewpoints and critical approaches
• flexible thinking
• exercising reflection and critical judgment
• gathering, memorising, organising and deploying information
• time management
• project planning
• independent work
• group work
• oral and written expression