Greek and or Latin Languages and Literature (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

MSt
The MSt in Greek and/or Latin Languages and Literature is a nine-month taught course offering advanced study in classical texts, languages, and scholarship methods. It is aimed at a level between undergraduate and doctoral study.

The MSt is the main Master's course in Classical literature and the one which the faculty recommends unless there are particular reasons for preferring the MPhil in Greek and/or Latin Languages and Literature.

The majority of students take the course as preparation for a research degree, and for such students it might offer, for instance, linguistic training; the opportunity to become acquainted with an ancillary discipline such as papyrology or palaeography; engagement with a particular author's texts at a deeper level; and a first introduction, via the dissertation, to extended research and the extended presentation of a scholarly argument.

MPhil
The MPhil in Greek and/or Latin Languages and Literature is a 21-month taught course offering advanced study in classical languages and literature with a substantial thesis element. The course is designed as a foundation for future doctoral study.

The majority of students take the shorter MSt, which the faculty recommends as the default master's choice in Greek and/or Latin languages and literature. However, the MPhil is often taken by two groups of students and designed with them in mind: those who feel that they would benefit from two more years of taught education in Classics before embarking on a doctorate; and those who have a clear idea of the topic that they hope to research eventually for their doctorate, and who wish to start extensive work on this topic already in their master's dissertation.

Most students take the course as preparation for a research degree, and for such students it might offer, for instance, linguistic training; the opportunity to become acquainted with an ancillary discipline such as papyrology; engagement with a particular author's texts at a deeper level; and/or textual criticism of Greek and/or Latin; or, reception studies. The MPhil also offers, through an obligatory dissertation, the first steps in actual research and the extended presentation of a scholarly argument.

For the full descriptions, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas