Details
This is the degree for you if you enjoyed studying the ancient world as an undergraduate, and would now like to study Ancient History in greater depth and at a higher level; or if you want to explore this aspect of antiquity and it wasn’t included in your first degree. It allows you to specialise, but also encourages you to branch out into related disciplines and to consider interdisciplinary approaches.
You will study three core modules and three optional modules (from across all of the programme’s pathways), offering the opportunity for interdisciplinary study. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a subject of your choice, with one-to-one expert supervision.
Why study this course
Classical antiquity has been studied at the University of Birmingham for more than a hundred years. Particular current research strengths include: the ancient city, especially Rome and Pompeii; cultural memory; trends in the study and writing of study; religion; the life course; Greek colonisation; ancient slavery; reception of antiquity; performance and civic identity; Hellenistic Greece; Herodotus; and cultural contact between Greece, the Ancient Near East and Egypt.
With such a range of expertise available, you will be supported to explore your specific interests, particularly through the dissertation.
Modules
You will study three core modules:
Individuals in History
To understand ancient cultures, we need to explore how society and its members defined themselves. You will study texts from the late Republic through the development of Empire to the early Christian era. Using sociological and literary as well as traditional historical approaches, we ask how changing politics, fashion, religion and personal circumstances shape the individual voice. We consider how far ancient Rome had anything comparable to a modern concept of the individual, and how this question in turn affects our wider understanding of Roman history.
Research Skills
This module will help you to develop the skills necessary for graduate level research, introduce you to the latest methods and techniques for interpreting primary sources, and demonstrate how to make critical use of scholarly works. You will learn how to define and approach interesting research questions, and develop an overview of the fields of scholarship most relevant to your pathway.
Approaches to Images, Material Culture and Texts
This module invites you to experiment with interdisciplinary approaches. Linked to a series of research seminars by academic staff, the module is a forum in which staff and students work together to identify significant current directions in research, and to explore links, and differences, between academic disciplines
You will also choose three optional modules, from a range which typically includes:
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Ancient Greek or Latin Language (beginners, intermediate or advanced)
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Egyptian Culture in Context 1100–200 BC
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Empire and Identity: The City in the Roman West
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Age and Gender in the Roman World
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Herodotus and Ancient Worlds
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Myth and Text in Antiquity
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Research Project Development
Some of these optional modules will form the core of other pathways.
Fees and funding
We charge an annual tuition fee. Fees for 2013/14 are as follows:
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Home / EU: full-time - £5,130
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Overseas: full-time - £13,200
Part-time programme fees are one half of the full-time programme fees.
Learn more about fees and funding
Scholarships and studentships
Scholarships to cover fees and/or maintenance costs may be available.
For further information, visit the College of Arts and Law scholarships page or email financialsupport@bham.ac.uk
International students can often gain funding through overseas research scholarships, Commonwealth scholarships or their home government.
Entry requirements
Learn more about entry requirements
International students
Academic requirements
We accept a range of qualifications, our country pages show you what qualifications we accept from your country.
English language requirements
You can satisfy our English language requirements in two ways:
How to apply
When clicking on the Apply Now button you will be directed to an application specifically designed for the programme you wish to apply for where you will create an account with the University application system and submit your application and supporting documents online. Further information regarding how to apply online can be found on the How to apply pages
Apply now