Classical Studies with a Year in Industry

Classical Studies focuses on the literature of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, along with the cultures that created it.

Studying this four-year BA degree will allow you to read all kinds of texts in translation from around the ancient Mediterranean and develop an understanding of Greek and Roman culture from the archaic period to the fall of the Roman Empire and beyond.

You will explore the stories and mythology of Greece and Rome and learn how to perform close analysis with an eye for detail. You may investigate familiar texts, such as epics and tragedies, as well as often overlooked genres from the ancient world, including novels and satire.

Through our unique on-campus museum, The Egypt Centre, you will be able to access cultural artifacts and gain first-hand practical experience.

You will also be able to input into work undertaken across our established research groups. KYKNOS – the Centre for Research on the Narrative Literatures of the Ancient World and OLCAP (Object-and Landscape-Centred Approaches to the Past), which focuses on material culture in research and teaching.

Classical Studies at Swansea University was ranked 3rd in the UK for Student Experience (Times Good University Guide 2024). Through the course you will be part of a close-knit student community and will have the opportunity to join in with many clubs and societies including The Society for Ancient Studies and our Egyptology Society which organise social and cultural events, including museum trips. We also have an active guest speaker programme.

The third year of your course will be spent gaining valuable skills to boost your future career with a Year in Industry and throughout this course, we aim to equip you with skills that enhance your future employability. The feel for the creativity of ancient authors and flair for in-depth analysis which we hope to inspire in you will set you apart in the eyes of employers. Our graduates have entered a wide range of sectors including education, business, media and public relations and marketing.

Course Modules

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Of Gods and Heroes - Greek Mythology, Ovid's Metamorphoses: The Transformations of Mythology, Greek History and Society.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Reading Classical Civilisation, The Roman Comic Novel, Cicero, Myths and Society in the Greek World, Gender in the Roman World.

In Year 3, you undertake a Year in Industry.

In Year 4, you will typically study areas including: Culture and Control in Roman Britain, Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius, Poetry in the Twentieth Century, Philosophy, Mental Health and Illness. You will also undertake a Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Dissertation.

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:

• Object-focused practical work
• Creative work (rewritings of myth in modern contexts, film scripts, staged debates, mixed media projects, animations, various kinds of artistic endeavour)
• Article summaries and critical reviews of scholarship
• Blogposts for a lay audience
• Presentations
• Group projects, sometimes assessed by self-reflective essays
• Commentaries

Throughout your undergraduate Classical Studies degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/classics-ancient-history-egyptology/ba-classical-studies/
or get in touch with us at study@swansea.ac.uk