Program Overview

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Classics BA

Overview

Build your love for the ancient world and take your understanding of it to new levels on this Classics course.

Investigate the culture and history of ancient Greece and Rome by critically examining original texts in Greek or Latin. Whether you're reading epic poetry, dramatic works or political speeches, you'll gain unique insights into how language and culture inform one another.

You’ll sharpen your critical thinking as you evaluate both ancient sources and modern interpretations. Classics students develop valuable skills in linguistic analysis, argument, communication, teamwork and presentation – qualities that employers highly value.

Why Choose This Course?

1. Top ten for Classics and Ancient History in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025)
2. 100% of students from the Department of Classics and Archaeology said the teaching staff were good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2024)
3. Beginners welcome! You do not need any prior experience of studying the ancient world – our year one modules are designed to give you a university-level foundation.
4. You will learn Ancient Greek and Latin; start from beginners’ level or continue from A-level
5. Gain practical and professional experience in our on-campus Museum of Archaeology and volunteer with local schools through our Nottingham Classics Out-and-about (NoCOut) outreach programme
6. Develop your creative and communication skills with modules including ‘Communicating the Past’
7. Collaborate with international students in our tri-campus ‘Silk Road’ module
8. Explore real-world challenges across interdisciplinary themes with our ‘Engaged Arts’ optional modules
9. Work with our dedicated Faculty of Arts Placements Team to assist with your employability skills development via a range of placements, internships and volunteering opportunities

Qualification

BA Hons

Entry Requirements

ABB

UCAS Code

Q800

Duration

3 years full-time

Start Date

September 2026

Fees

£9,535*

Additional Costs

• All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus.
• Essential course materials are supplied.
• You'll be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to buy your own copies of core texts. A limited number of modules have compulsory texts which you are required to buy. We recommend that you budget £100 per year for books, but this figure will vary according to which modules you take.
• For volunteering and placements e.g. work experience and teaching in schools, you will need to pay for transport and refreshments.
• Field trips allow you to engage with source materials on a personal level and to develop different perspectives. They are optional and costs to you vary according to the trip; some require you to arrange your own travel, refreshments and entry fees, while some are some are wholly subsidised.

Scholarship and Bursaries

• Faculty of Arts Alumni Scholarships
• International students
• Home students

Key Information

• Study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.

Indicative Modules

Year One

• Studying the Greek World
• Studying the Roman World
• Classical languages pathways
• Interpreting Ancient Art and Archaeology
• Interpreting Ancient History
• Interpreting Ancient Literature
• Global Receptions of the Classical World
• Arts Engaged in Health (Engaged Arts)
• Data, Culture and Society (Engaged Arts)
• Digital Projects: Data and Text (Engaged Arts)
• Digital Projects: Sound and Vision (Engaged Arts)
• Disease and Society (Engaged Arts)
• Exploring Digital Arts (Engaged Arts)
• Exploring Sustainability (Engaged Arts)
• Sustainability Action (Engaged Arts)
• The Critical Citizen: Modes of Thinking in Contemporary Society (Engaged Arts)
• Writing and Being: Academic, Activist, Professional, Creative and Personal (Engaged Arts)

Year Two

• Classical languages pathways
• Communicating the Past
• Studying Classical Scholarship
• Conquerors, Caliphs, and Converts
• Law and Society in the Greco-Roman World
• Performance and Display
• At Home with the Greeks and Romans
• The Lives of Ancient Objects
• Religion and the Supernatural
• Applying the Digital Humanities (Engaged Arts)
• Arts Work Placement Module (Engaged Arts)
• Community Engagement and Social Impact (Engaged Arts)
• Decolonisation and Justice (Engaged Arts)
• Employing the Arts (Engaged Arts)
• Issues in the Health Humanities (Engaged Arts)
• Living and Working in a Multi-Lingual World (Engaged Arts)
• Made in Nottingham (Engaged Arts)

Year Three

• Classical language pathways
• Christian Empire
• Coins, Cults and Cities
• Classics and Modern Media
• Classics Research Project
• Special Subject in Classics
• Introduction to Ancient Greek Medicine
• The Bronze Age Aegean

How You Will Learn

• You will be taught via a mixture of large-group lectures and smaller, interactive seminars.
• You might also be taught through tutorials and supervisions. These are one-to-one meetings or discussions with an academic tutor.

Support

• All new undergraduate students are allocated a peer mentor to help you settle into life at Nottingham.
• You are also assigned a personal tutor at the start of each academic year. Your personal tutor oversees your academic development and personal welfare.

Teaching Quality

• 88% of our class of 2020 graduated with a 1st or 2:1 degree classification. Source: UoN student outcomes data, Annual Monitoring (QDS) Analyses 2020.
• Nine academics from the Department of Classics and Archaeology have received Advance HE recognition for their contribution to education, becoming Teaching Fellows.

Teaching Methods

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Workshops
• Field trips

How You Will Be Assessed

• Our courses are modular, and range from full-year to semester-long modules.
• Assessment normally takes place towards the end of each semester, while beginners’ language modules are usually assessed by a coursework portfolio running throughout the semester.
• Assessment is based on a combination of coursework (including essays, close-reading exercises, translations, and the dissertation) oral presentations, and formal examinations. The precise assessments vary between modules and across the years of your degree. Some of our modules include the option of producing more artistic or creative coursework.

Assessment Methods

• Essay
• In-class test
• Portfolio (written/digital)
• Presentation
• Research project
• Text analysis and close reading
• Translation exercises
• Written exam

Contact Time and Study Hours

• You’ll have at least the following hours of timetabled contact a week through lectures, seminars and workshops, tutorials and supervisions.
• Year one: minimum of 12 hours
• Year two: minimum of 10 hours
• Final year: minimum of 8 hours

Careers Overview

• A degree in classics gives you a wide range of transferable skills, including:
  • Ability to process and critically evaluate data
  • Applying theoretical and scientific principles to problems
  • Critical analysis and argument
  • Experience of fieldwork, post-excavation and laboratory techniques
  • Ability to interpret spatial data numerical, statistical, IT and analytical skills
  • Strong team working
  • Written, oral and visual communication
  • Awareness of other linguistic cultures

Job Prospects

• 78.8% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Arts secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £23,974. HESA Graduate Outcomes (2017 to 2021 cohorts). The Graduate Outcomes % is calculated using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.