Classical Civilisation or English Literature A Level?

8

Im sure that I'd like to choose Ancient History and Philosophy, however, I'm stuck between Classical Civilisation and English Literature for my third subject. Personally, I'd prefer Classical Civilisation but I worry that it would make my subject choices too narrow, and I'm unsure how well perceived it is by Universities. English Lit, on the other hand, seems to be commonly chosen within the fields I'm interested in and is highly regarded by universities. Would choosing Classical Civilisation be risky?

Reply 1

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

17

Original post

by Venixrin

Im sure that I'd like to choose Ancient History and Philosophy, however, I'm stuck between Classical Civilisation and English Literature for my third subject. Personally, I'd prefer Classical Civilisation but I worry that it would make my subject choices too narrow, and I'm unsure how well perceived it is by Universities. English Lit, on the other hand, seems to be commonly chosen within the fields I'm interested in and is highly regarded by universities. Would choosing Classical Civilisation be risky?

Hi,

I’d recommend checking the entry requirements of the courses or universities you’re interested in, as these can vary.

If you want to keep your options open, English Literature is a good choice as it’s widely respected by universities and complements subjects like Ancient History and Philosophy. Classical Civilisation is really interesting and could be a great choice if you’re passionate about it, but it’s more niche and may narrow your options slightly.

You could also choose 4 A-levels, and then drop one later if it feels like too much. That way, you get to study something you enjoy while keeping your future options open.

Hope this helps,

Tayba
Student Rep

Reply 2

Venixrin

OP

8

Original post

by LJMUStudentReps

Hi,
I’d recommend checking the entry requirements of the courses or universities you’re interested in, as these can vary.
If you want to keep your options open, English Literature is a good choice as it’s widely respected by universities and complements subjects like Ancient History and Philosophy. Classical Civilisation is really interesting and could be a great choice if you’re passionate about it, but it’s more niche and may narrow your options slightly.
You could also choose 4 A-levels, and then drop one later if it feels like too much. That way, you get to study something you enjoy while keeping your future options open.
Hope this helps,
Tayba
Student Rep

Thank You! I'm not actually sure which University I'd like to attend, all I know is the general direction, which is history/classics based.

Reply 3

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post

by Venixrin

Thank You! I'm not actually sure which University I'd like to attend, all I know is the general direction, which is history/classics based.

You dont have to know which uni you want to attend. Look on a few unis websites, and check the courses you are thinking of doing to see what their requirements are.

Reply 4

Neri_56

8

Original post

by Venixrin

Im sure that I'd like to choose Ancient History and Philosophy, however, I'm stuck between Classical Civilisation and English Literature for my third subject. Personally, I'd prefer Classical Civilisation but I worry that it would make my subject choices too narrow, and I'm unsure how well perceived it is by Universities. English Lit, on the other hand, seems to be commonly chosen within the fields I'm interested in and is highly regarded by universities. Would choosing Classical Civilisation be risky?

I’m a year 13 who does both Classics and Philosophy and I’ve really enjoyed this combo as in my module for classics (love and relationships) you learn 1st year Philosophy topics in the 2nd year Classics so you already understand Plato/Seneca.
Classics is also very highly regarded and it’s in most of the Russel group’s lists of preferred subjects and it’s done by OCR.

You also do some English literature in Classics as well by reading two from the Odyssey/Aeneid or Iliad and analysing characters/themes, this paper is also 40% of the actual A-level grade. But you don’t necessarily expand on literary techniques as you would in A-level Eng Lit so I can see how this+ Ancient history would narrow your choices. From my experience it’s very similar to how it was at GCSE except you’re required to memorise a lot of context rather than actual quotes from the book so if you’d prefer expanding on English literature then that would be ideal.

In conclusion if you feel like you want to go down a more history route then pick classics, it’s really enjoyable and covers topics like ancient art, ancient literature and philosophy. But if you think you’d like to maybe study other humanities at uni than history based ones do Eng lit as you can always jump back to history through your Ancient History A-level but you can’t necessarily apply for Eng lit without the A-level.

Classical Civilisation or English Literature A Level?

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