Classics is the study of the ancient Greek and Roman world in all its breadth and fascinating detail, ranging across literature, history, language, philosophy, art and archaeology, as well as the influence and transformations of classical antiquity in more recent times.
You will be able to explore a culture in the round and will be able to specialise in areas that intrigue you. These may include famous figures like Homer, Plato or Augustus and you can choose less familiar topics like the history of the Greek language, Latin literature under Nero, lyric poetry or Roman wall-painting. You will learn (or continue to study) at least one of Latin and Greek and will be supported to reach a level where you can read a wide range of ancient literature in the original. The Oxford Classics course offers both a thorough grounding and unrivalled choice.
In a typical year we admit eight students across the various Classics-related courses, the majority of them for single-honours Classics, but we are flexible. You will be taught in College for most of your chosen options, and always by experts in the particular field.
The College Library (which recently has been completely renovated as well as expanded) maintains an unusually strong classical section, and all incoming students are offered copies of the Oxford Latin Dictionary and the Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon on loan for the duration of their studies. The College has generous book and travel grant schemes, and Classics students have often used the latter to help fund trips to ancient sites.
Employers highly value the Classics degree. Magdalen Classicists have gone on to a wide variety of careers, such as law, school-teaching, finance, media, the creative arts and indeed academia.
Magdalen teaches almost all the Classics-related courses: Classics (referred to as ‘Literae Humaniores’), Classics & English, Classics & Modern Languages, Classics with Oriental Studies, Classical Archaeology & Ancient History, Ancient & Modern History.
The Classics Faculty plans to introduce a new curriculum for the first part of the Classics course from October 2025. There will be a single course with distinct language streams for one or both languages depending on your experience at school. We welcome applications from candidates with no previous knowledge of Latin or Greek (as well as from those who have studied it before), though it’s important that you are enthusiastic about learning an ancient language as this will form a large part of your study. The degree takes four years. You can read more about the structure of the Classics course on the Classics Faculty website. The study of the Greek and Latin literature and language here is supervised by Professor Laura Swift, whose particular interests are Greek tragedy and lyric. Dr Antony Smith, an expert in Seneca, teaches Greek and Latin language. Our Fellow in Ancient History is Dr Alfonso Moreno, whose special interest is Greek economic history.
Philosophy is supervised by Professor Paul Elbourne. Classics students work particularly closely with Dr Ralph Walker, whose teaching specialisms include ancient philosophy (Plato and Aristotle).
Classics and English
Classics and English make ideal literary partners as subjects for a joint degree. Quite simply, without the Classics, there would be (almost) no English literature.
The structure of this joint course reflects this symbiosis: it is a truly integrated degree. As well as choosing papers taken by Classics or by English students (e.g., specific periods or specific authors) you will also study themed options that combine Classical and English literature, such as Epic and Tragedy, which trace the respective genres from Homer to Milton and Walcott, and from Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Albee.
There are two versions of the course, depending on your previous experience of ancient languages. The course takes three years if you have already studied Greek and/or Latin to A-level standard, and you will take exams at the end of the first and the third year. If you arrive with neither Greek or Latin, you will choose one language to learn intensively in a further year at the beginning of the course. If you have one language to A-Level standard but not the other, you may choose whether to apply for the three year course (where you have the option to learn the second language later in the degree) or for the four year course (in which case you will learn the second language intensively from the start).
You will find further relevant information on the Classics and the English pages.
Classics and Modern Languages
Classics and Modern Languages make a natural pair. Greek and Latin literature play an important role in modern literatures in all European languages; the languages themselves can be usefully studied side by side; and the skills you will learn on the two sides of the degree are related too.
The degree combines one modern language (a full list is available on the University admissions page) with either Greek or Latin or both. You do not need to have either Greek or Latin to apply, but you will normally be taking A-level or equivalent in your chosen modern language (certain modern languages can also be studied ab initio here in Oxford). You can choose between the following paths through the degree:
Option A. You will divide your time equally between Classics and your modern language from the start of the degree. On the Classics side of the course, you will focus on the language and literature options. This degree lasts three years (plus a year abroad) if you have studied either Latin or Greek at school, and four years (plus a year abroad) if you have not.
Option B. You will focus on Classics for the first two years and choose from the same inter-disciplinary set of Classics options as the single honours Classics students. This means you will have the opportunity to study philosophy, ancient history, art and archaeology, or comparative linguistics. On this path, you will not begin the study of your modern language in your third year. This degree lasts four years (plus a year abroad).
In most years, Magdalen admits one candidate for Classics and Modern Languages, but we are flexible. Applications for deferred entry are not considered.
You will find further relevant information on the Classics and the Modern Languages pages.
Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is a fascinating degree, which allows you to study the languages, literatures and cultures of Greece and Rome together with those of more or less closely related non-Western civilisation of your choice. Options include Sanskrit, Arabic and Egyptian; a full list is available here.
The degree takes four years. For the first two years you will follow the same course as those taking single-honours Classics. You will start work on your chosen non-Western language in your third year, and three of the eight options you study for you final exams will be concerned with that language and the literature in that language. The other five options are chosen from the range of papers available to single-honours Classics students.
Tuition for the Asian or Middle Eastern side is organised centrally by that Faculty. For further information on the Classics side of the degree see the Classics page.
Like straight Classics, Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies can be studied without prior knowledge of any of the languages involved. However, it is important to realise that this is a language-heavy degree and will suit those who are strongly motivated by linguistic study.
Entry requirements
Test
All applicants must sit the Classics Admissions Test (CAT).
Written work
Two essays, normally in areas relevant to Classics.
Specific subjects
From 2025 there will be no requirements for particular subjects. After admission, there will be distinct language streams for students who have studied Latin and/or Greek to A Level.
Deferred entry
Applications for deferred entry for the Classics course may be considered, although not for the Classics and English or Classics and Modern Languages joint degrees.
