Ancient History and Philosophy (BA)

Applicants come from a diverse range of backgrounds and we accept a broad range of qualifications. Examples of other qualifications we recognise include QAA-approved Access to HE courses, in which we expect students to receive a minimum Pass grade, and the Greek Apolyterion, for which our standard offer is 18/20.

Students from overseas should visit the International| pages for further information on the entry requirements from their country and English language requirements.  Royal Holloway International offers an International Foundation Programme and English language pre-sessional courses, allowing students the opportunity to develop their study skills and English language before starting their undergraduate degree.

We make decisions based on achieved or predicted grades, personal statements and references. More information on how your application will be assessed, and tips for your personal statement can be found on our Applying| pages.

Most applicants will also be invited for interview on a UCAS day before an offer is made. UCAS days offer you the opportunity to visit the College and the Department, to sit in on a first year lecture and to attend a presentation by the Admissions Tutor, as well as a friendly and informal individual interview with a member of academic staff. Some applicants will receive offers without interview, particularly those with high achieved/predicted grades and those who live a long way from Egham, including overseas applicants. Those with offers are still welcome to attend a UCAS day if they can, but rather than being interviewed, they can participate in a group question-and-answer session with academic staff and students.

• The course contains a wide range of options including classical archaeology and ancient philosophy as well as ancient history and classical literature.
• The opportunity to study Latin and/or Greek – at all levels from beginner’s to advanced – for one, two or three years.
• The flexible course structure.
• You will be taught by internationally recognised experts in the field.
•  You will have the opportunity to access key philosophical ideas and debates that will enhance all your studies.
• You will become part of a friendly and supportive Department with a tradition of good pastoral care.

Each year you will take two course units in each subject.

In Ancient History, you will learn about the history and society of antiquity, from the beginnings of Classical civilization in the seventh century BCE to the fall of the Roman empire in the seventh century CE. You will study politics, social developments, military history, cultural history, economics, and the history of personal relations, including gender and family. You’ll get a grounding in methodologies: how to read primary and secondary sources, how to balance evidence and ways of thinking about historical and social issues. Our courses bring you close to the primary material, the writings and artifacts from antiquity, and allow you to develop your knowledge and skills.

For Philosophy you will take two introductory half-unit courses in the first year and then choose from a wide range of course units in years two and three. These cover ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato as well as specialist fields such as the philosophy of art and radical political theory.

Throughout the course, you will:

• learn to compare different ancient institutions and societies
• develop the skills necessary to study the structure and evolution of institutions and societies
• develop your understanding of key philosophical texts
• acquire interpretative and analytical skills in dealing with a variety of primary and secondary literary, archaeological, documentary and legal source material.

All undergraduate degree courses at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study, while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent and developmental structure. In the case of combined degree courses, this approach also makes it possible to change the balance of your subjects during your time at Royal Holloway.

See the Department’s website| for further information.

The course has a modular structure, whereby students take 12 course units at the rate of 4 units per year. At least 4 units of Ancient History must be taken over the three years of the degree, two units at year 2 level, and two at year 3 level.

You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and individual tutorials, depending on the subjects studied. Outside classes, you will undertake group projects and wide-ranging but guided independent study, including reading prescribed and open material and preparing for seminar presentations (these are not usually assessed). Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally.

Assessment takes place by a flexible combination of essays, projects, examinations and tests, various methods being employed depending on the nature of the course unit and the intended learning outcomes. In the third-year, students can complete a guided and extended piece of independent research, a 10,000 word dissertation, on a historical or philosophical subject.

Choosing a Classical subject at Royal Holloway will equip you with a broad range of skills, such as the ability to analyse and summarise content, critically evaluate resources and construct coherent arguments in the written and spoken word. Studying an intellectually demanding discipline will demonstrate to employers that you enjoy being challenged and are able to understand complex issues. You will also develop the transferable skills valued by employers:  communication and presentation skills, teamwork, time management and critical thinking. From 2013 (subject to validation) we will be adding a new ‘skills’ module as part of the degree programme, as well as a competitive new work placement scheme – the only such scheme in a UK Classics department.

Our recent graduates have very successfully entered a wide range of careers including law, government, publishing, finance, teaching, marketing and the media. Many have also progressed to postgraduate study in a variety of fields. To find out more about what our students are doing now, please visit the department’s website|.