Course summary

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. As a Classics student, you’ll immerse yourself in the history, society and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, while learning how Classics has evolved as an academic discipline. This is a language-based course so, whether you're starting from scratch or building on existing knowledge, you will gain familiarity with both Latin and ancient Greek. After just one year of language study, you’ll work with ancient texts in their original language. You’ll discover how these ancient worlds shaped today’s societies by looking at literature, history, material culture and modern reception. You’ll also critically evaluate the evidence that supports modern views of the classical world. 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 You can also access this course through a Foundation Year. This may be suitable if you have faced educational barriers and do not expect to meet the entry requirements for direct entry to a degree course. Please see the UCAS page for the relevant Foundation Year course for further information. *Engaged Arts  * All students within the Faculty of Arts can select ‘Engaged Arts’ modules where you’ll approach real-world challenges across contemporary themes such as sustainability or equity and justice. These modules have been newly designed to help you gain the skills and analytical abilities that employers are looking for.   Learning Latin and Greek: Chloë’s experience “I see learning ancient languages like a puzzle, and I think that helps with problem solving. I have better initiative now, because I know how something fits in Latin and Greek and that can transfer to the everyday.” — Chloë Choong, Classics BA