Most of our students will have had little chance to explore Ancient History at school or college, so our initial focus will be on helping you adapt to new ways of working. Our focus on understanding ancient civilisations will include exploring primary sources, such as Classical, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian texts which have survived to the modern day, or the monuments and objects that the members of those civilisations themselves created – a steadily growing resource as new discoveries are made.

First year

You’ll gain a grounding in Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Near Eastern culture and societies, as well as opening up some wider interdisciplinary perspectives.

Second year

Our Greek and Roman core modules develop your analytical skills and introduce you to advanced historical theory and methodology. You’ll engage in-depth with key periods and problems in ancient history, and examine the process of writing history itself. For instance, we’ll investigate the consequences of empire – at political, social, economic and cultural levels – for conquerors and conquered alike.

Reading texts in the original is a great advantage and you have the opportunity, if you wish, to learn one of the ancient languages – Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek or Latin. You can also choose from our unique range of options. A special feature of the second year is the study tour to Egypt, Turkey, Greece or Italy in the Easter vacation. The trip is subsidised by the university.

Third year

The core modules focus on Ancient Egypt and Western Asia. Beginning with the origins of agriculture, you’ll follow the development of these great civilisations down to the Middle Bronze Age, investigating their history, archaeology, art and literature. Once again, you’ll choose from our list of options, which changes from year to year. The highlight of the final year is your dissertation: a substantial research project on a subject of special interest to you. 

How will I be taught?

As a Birmingham student, you are joining the academic elite and have the privilege of learning from world-leading experts in their fields. Your learning with us will be your own voyage of discovery. This will be through small group projects in the first year, seminars in the second and third years and a dissertation in the third. In each year you’ll be guided by an expert in the subjects you’ve chosen, learning to research and analyse a variety of different source materials, to construct coherent arguments and to present the story orally or in writing. At first, you may find these new ways of working and learning a challenge, but we’ll help you to make the transition and you’ll soon be benefiting from some of the most highly regarded teaching in this subject in the country.

Support

Personal Tutor

From the outset, you will be assigned your own Personal Tutor who will get to know you as you progress through your studies, providing academic and welfare advice, encouraging you and offering assistance in any areas you may feel you need extra support to make the most of your potential and your time here at Birmingham.

Student Mentor and Buddy Scheme

Our enthusiastic established students act as mentors to our new Ancient History students.  This provides you with a friendly face to help you settle in. 

Academic Writing Advisory Service

The Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) will provide you with individual support from an academic writing advisor and postgraduate subject-specialist writing tutors.  You’ll guidance on writing essays and dissertations at University-level which can be quite different from your previous experiences of writing.  Support is given in a variety of ways, such as small-group workshops, online activities, feedback through email and tutorials.

Learning settings

Lectures?explore a particular topic, text or context, often involving brief factual descriptions and outlining major questions and interpretations. Their main purpose is to challenge and stimulate, encouraging you to come to your own conclusions based on further reading and seminar debates.

Small-group tutorials/personal tutorials run alongside the lecture course, addressing any individual problems you may have and allowing you to consolidate lecture material, engage in constructive debate and expand your understanding. Some options and all final-year special subjects are also taught in small seminar groups.

Discussion classes are designed to provide the background to your understanding of each subject area introduced in our lectures.

Supervised self study. In your final year you’ll undertake your dissertation, a substantial piece of independent research. We support you in this through a series of workshops, as well as one-on-one supervisions with a tutor who’ll be an academic expert in your chosen topic

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is an excellent tool for supporting our academic courses, allowing you to share thoughts on assignments with other students via the discussion group facilities, and even submit your work electronically.

Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) means that learning is driven by the shared enquiry of students and tutors. We will guide you in methods of research, give you feedback on each task, help you improve your style of writing and your use of referencing. We’ll show you how to examine the views of scholars critically as well the evidence they have used. Gradually, you’ll come to rely on the evidence you have found for yourself and the judgements you have formed about it more than the text books you started with. Soon it will be natural to question rather than accept, to argue your own theories and to be unafraid to disagree with us as well as your classmates.

The skills of an ancient historian – research, analysis, organisation, self management and reasoning – are highly attractive to employers. Our graduates are also capable of working independently and as part of a team, and eloquently articulating judgments and arguments, which makes them highly sought-after employees.

Graduates in Ancient History go on to careers in a wide range of areas such as law, business, education and the media, with employers including central and local government, museums, cultural and heritage organisations, charities and a range of commercial companies. Specific jobs include PR and communications, human resources, legal work, library work, events planning and tourism.

Whether you have a clear idea of where your future aspirations lie or want to consider the broad range of opportunities available once you have a Birmingham degree, our Careers Network can help you achieve your goal. This is a unique careers guidance service tailored to your academic subject area, offering a specialised team (in each of the five academic colleges) who can give you expert advice. This includes individual careers advice and events to give you insight into the professions and employers of interest to our graduates, inlcuding our ‘Careers in heritage, archaeology and museums’ event.

We also hold events covering careers in teaching, event management, law marketing and working with charities. The newly developed optional professional skills module allows students in their second year to gain experience in a working environment which can lead to the development of further valuable skills. Placements are offered with the support of local employers, and we are developing links with heritage and cultural organisations to create more opportunities for students.

In addition, our students are encouraged to apply their skills in the workplace by undertaking internships in the summer; the work experience bursary scheme enables students to apply for funding for those career areas where placements are often unpaid. You can even apply for our ‘Global Challenge’ to work overseas on an expenses paid placement during your summer vacation.

Extra-curricular activities

To enhance your career prospects even further, you will need to think about engaging in some extra-curricular activities while you're at university to broaden your skills and your network of contacts. This can include the many societies at the Guild of Students and also the many voluntary opportunities offered with local arts organisations. Our employer-endorsed award-winning Personal Skills Award (PSA) recognises your extra-curricular activities, and provides an accredited employability programme designed to improve your career prospects.

Our College of Arts and Law undergraduate research scholarship scheme enables interested students to work on a current academic research project being run by one of the College's academic researchers. Undergraduate research scholars gain work experience over the summer after their first or second year and have the chance to develop skills in both collaborative and independent research.

Cultural Internships

Our innovative Cultural Internships offer graduates the opportunity for a six month paid internship at a leading cultural institution in the West Midlands. These internships are a unique opportunity to learn fundamental, transferable business and interpersonal skills, through experience of real work in an established cultural institution. Our current partners include Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust and the Library of Birmingham. We have plans to expand the scheme to include our own major cultural assets, such as Winterbourne House, the Lapworth Museum, and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. This scheme will give you professional experience to set you apart in a competitive graduate market.