Ancient and Modern History

Magdalen maintains a strong tradition in the Joint School of Ancient and Modern History, with one or two undergraduates in each year.

The course allows undergraduates either to concentrate on ancient and medieval history or to extend the range of options offered by History to include the study of Greek and Roman History before A.D. 284.

The structure of the course is identical to that of History, but a paper in Greek or Roman History replaces the British History paper in Mods, and the Foreign text papers are based on Herodotus or Sallust. In the Final Honour School, a second paper in classical history is offered instead of a modern period paper; and either the further or the special subject (or both) is chosen from a range of ancient options, including some archaeological ones. Neither Latin nor Greek is required, although either may be optionally studied from the beginning up to intermediate level and will extend the options available to candidates both in Mods and in the Final Honour School.

Tuition

For the modern parts of the course, most of the teaching is provided by the four tutors in History, as for undergraduates reading History, and many of the ancient options are taught within College by the tutor in Ancient History. In both Ancient and Modern History, students may be taught elsewhere for special and further subjects.

Entry procedures

No previous knowledge of ancient history is required from students, but candidates are normally studying or have studied either modern or ancient history at A2, AS or equivalent level.

All candidates must sit the History Aptitude Test (HAT), as for admission to History. Details are available on the Undergraduate Admissions website at: HAT, and on the History Faculty website: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/prosundergrad/applying/hat_introduction.htm

All candidates must also submit three copies of one recent school essay on a historical topic. These must be sent directly to Magdalen College, c/o Tutor for Admissions, to reach the College no later than 10th November. The three copies should be secured with a paperclip only and have a completed cover sheet. The essay should be written in English, even if the candidate comes from a country in which English is not the first language. The cover sheet accompanied by a School stamp must clarify the conditions under which the essay was produced. Interviewed candidates will have two separate interviews. They will be asked to read a short passage in the half hour prior to their interview with the History tutors. This passage will be discussed with them in the course of that interview, and any History topics covered in the submitted work are also likely to be discussed. There will also be an interview with the Ancient History tutor, also involving discussion of a short passage or the like. No specialist knowledge of Ancient History will be expected for this: the aim will rather be to ascertain the strength of each candidate’s general skills and interest in pursuing this course. Questions may also be asked about any Ancient History topics covered in the submitted work. Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their submitted essay, HAT score, UCAS report and interview performance.

The tutors do not wish to prescribe particular A or AS level combinations and are open-minded about different combinations, provided that, in normal circumstances, History is one of the subjects studied at A-level.

Pre-A level candidates can expect the conditional offer to be not lower than AAA for the three subjects offered at A2, with one A in History. Unless there are special circumstances, post-A-level candidates should have obtained an A grade in History in order to merit serious consideration.

Please note that Magdalen cannot normally consider deferred entry for this course.

Enquiries

The tutors welcome enquiries by letter from candidates or schools about the course and about the College. They are particularly pleased to see candidates both individually and in groups during the annual Open Days. Enquiries should be addressed to Dr Alfonso Moreno, the Tutor in Ancient History, or to the Tutor for Admissions.

External links