classics at oxbridge

i’ve been researching the classics courses at both oxford and cambridge university, and while neither of them require prior knowledge of latin or ancient greek, it seems as though the entrance exam requires latin and greek translation exercises. have i misunderstood something, or are you expected to walk into this exam with no prior knowledge of latin or greek and be capable of translating them?

@elilast ! 🙂

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by ther0sesaredead

i’ve been researching the classics courses at both oxford and cambridge university, and while neither of them require prior knowledge of latin or ancient greek, it seems as though the entrance exam requires latin and greek translation exercises. have i misunderstood something, or are you expected to walk into this exam with no prior knowledge of latin or greek and be capable of translating them?

My understanding for Oxford is that if you're applying to course II (no language background) you take a different assessment. I believe if you have some of one or the other language they can ask you about that though (e.g. if you did a GCSE in one or the other) in interview. I presume the prelim year at Cambridge would have similar arrangements.

(edited 4 weeks ago)

Reply 3

melancollege

17

Original post by ther0sesaredead

i’ve been researching the classics courses at both oxford and cambridge university, and while neither of them require prior knowledge of latin or ancient greek, it seems as though the entrance exam requires latin and greek translation exercises. have i misunderstood something, or are you expected to walk into this exam with no prior knowledge of latin or greek and be capable of translating them?

I'm not sure about Oxford, but for the Cambridge 4-year Classics course, the admissions assessment is based on linguistic aptitude and understanding of grammar

See page 5 of:
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/classics_admissions_assessment_specificationrevjuly23.pdf

Reply 4

elilast

12

Original post by ther0sesaredead

i’ve been researching the classics courses at both oxford and cambridge university, and while neither of them require prior knowledge of latin or ancient greek, it seems as though the entrance exam requires latin and greek translation exercises. have i misunderstood something, or are you expected to walk into this exam with no prior knowledge of latin or greek and be capable of translating them?

I believe the admissions test might be changing next year, but I find it hard to believe they will change dramatically - and very hard to believe they will try to make you do Greek and Latin if you've never studied it! At the moment Course II students take the CLAT which sounds similar to what @melancollege has said about the Cambridge admissions test. It comes at the end of the CAT paper but you only have to do that section if applying for Course II, and it basically tests your ability to pick up grammar from a made up or unfamiliar language, which you're not expected to have any knowledge of. So you're definitely not expected to know Latin and Greek if you've never studied them formally!!

Reply 5

elilast

12

Original post by ther0sesaredead

i’ve been researching the classics courses at both oxford and cambridge university, and while neither of them require prior knowledge of latin or ancient greek, it seems as though the entrance exam requires latin and greek translation exercises. have i misunderstood something, or are you expected to walk into this exam with no prior knowledge of latin or greek and be capable of translating them?

I believe the admissions test might be changing next year, but I find it hard to believe they will change dramatically - and very hard to believe they will try to make you do Greek and Latin if you've never studied it! At the moment Course II students take the CLAT which sounds similar to what @melancollege has said about the Cambridge admissions test. It comes at the end of the CAT paper but you only have to do that section if applying for Course II, and it basically tests your ability to pick up grammar from a made up or unfamiliar language, which you're not expected to have any knowledge of. So you're definitely not expected to know Latin and Greek if you've never studied them formally!!

(and thanks @The_Lonely_Goatherd for the ping)

Reply 6

elilast

12

I believe the admissions test might be changing next year, but I find it hard to believe they will change dramatically - and very hard to believe they will try to make you do Greek and Latin if you've never studied it! At the moment Course II students take the CLAT which sounds similar to what @melancollege has said about the Cambridge admissions test. It comes at the end of the CAT paper but you only have to do that section if applying for Course II, and it basically tests your ability to pick up grammar from a made up or unfamiliar language, which you're not expected to have any knowledge of. So you're definitely not expected to know Latin and Greek if you've never studied them formally!!

(and thanks @The_Lonely_Goatherd for the ping)

classics at oxbridge

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