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Ancient, Medieval and Modern History

Entry requirements


A level

A*,A,A

Specific subjects/grades required for entry: History at grade A. Ancient History is acceptable as one of three A levels but History A level must also be taken. Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking. Information: Applicants taking Science A-levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This refers only to English A Levels.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). At least 12 credits must be taken in History at Level 3 and passed with distinction.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D2,D3,D3

Must include History.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

38

With 666 in higher level subjects, including History, Ancient History is only acceptable in conjunction with History.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H1,H2,H2,H2,H2

To include History

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

D*DD

Additionally an A Level in History at grade A OR OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma DDD, and an A Level in History at grade A* Where A Levels are unavailable we also accept IB Higher Levels and Cambridge Pre-U’s as an alternative. Please contact us if you have a different Level 3 qualification you wish to use.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D*DD

Additionally an A Level in History at grade A OR BTEC Extended diploma DDD, and an A Level in History at grade A* Where A Levels are unavailable we also accept IB Higher Levels and Cambridge Pre-U’s as an alternative. Please contact us if you have a different Level 3 qualification you wish to use.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A,A

General information on subjects/grades required for entry: Must include History.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,A,A

We will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. If an applicant has not been able to take 3 Advanced Highers, offers may be made with a combination of Advanced Highers and Highers, or on a number of Highers.

At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds.  We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level.  Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/.

UCAS Tariff

152-168

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Classical studies

This joint degree enables you to combine modules from our Ancient History course with modules in medieval and modern History offered by the Department of History. The balance between the two departments is broadly equal, but by the third year you can weight your choice of modules more to one side than the other, depending on your interests.

In your first year we will introduce you to the world of the ancient Greeks and early imperial Rome, seen from a variety of perspectives (not just historical), and to different forms of evidence. This will prepare you for a wide range of more specific historical modules about politics and society in the ancient world in your second and third years. This can also be enriched by the study of ancient literature, language and philosophy.

In the Department of History, you will study modules in medieval, early modern and late modern history, with electives available in the study of cultures from around the globe.

You will bring all your knowledge and skills together in your dissertation. You will be able to concentrate your studies in an area that fascinates you, and really blossom as an independent learner. Through this you will engage, at an advanced level, with creative research at the forefront of these historical disciplines.

You will be encouraged to attend an extensive programme of research-related activities in both departments, including research seminars, public lectures from high-profile guest speakers, and events organised by the student-run History Society and Classics Society.

Modules

Year 1
Core modules:
Monuments and Memory in the Age of Augustus gives you an introduction to Roman history and culture and Latin literature. You will investigate a central, transitional epoch in the history of ancient Rome, from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Introduction to the Greek World examines ancient Greek history, society and thought, by focusing on how the classical Athenians engaged with their past. It will introduce you to the central themes, topics and terminology in the study of Archaic and Classical Greece, and equip you to use the intellectual resources available to assist that study.

Examples of optional Ancient History modules:
The Craft of the Ancient Historian

Lives of Objects – Greek and Roman Antiquity.
Examples of optional Classics modules:
Early Greek Philosophy
Language, Translation, Interpretation
Intermediate Latin or Greek.
Examples of core Medieval History modules:
Decline and Crisis? Europe, 1300-1500
Transformations in the Late Antique Mediterranean, c.300-c.700 CE.
Examples of core Early Modern History modules:
Connected Histories: Early Modern Europe, c. 1450-1750
The Atlantic Archipelago, c.1500-c.1750.
Examples of optional History modules:
Modern Times: A Cultural History of Europe, c. 1860-1960
Power in Africa
Imagining East Asia in the Modern World
Wars and Welfare, c. 1900-1945
The Rise and Fall of American Slavery, 1607 – 1865.
Year 2
Examples of core Ancient History modules:
Ancient Political Thought and Action
Emperors and Dynasties
Living in the Classical World
The City of Athens
Crisis of the Roman Republic
Examples of optional Classics modules:
Traditions of Epic
Interpreting Greek Tragedy Today
Alexandria
Classical Receptions and Contemporary Cultures
Dialogues with Antiquity
Beginners, Intermediate, or Advanced Greek and/or Latin language.
Examples of History modules:
The Court: Art and Power in Early Modern Europe
Hard Times: British Society, 1815-1902
International Human Rights since 1945
Wildlife Conservation in African History
Socialising the Household in Late Medieval Cities
Food and Culinary History of Southern Africa, the Past and Present
Black British History
Native Americans and Minority Rights in the US, 1914-2000
Rive, Race, Religion, and Revolt in Colonial Myanmar
Early Modern Hospitality in Global Comparative Perspective
Gender and Sexuality during Britain’s Long Twentieth Century.
Year 3
Core modules:
Dissertation. The dissertation is a significant piece of work in which you research and analyse an area of Classics or History in depth and write up your findings and conclusions.

Examples of core Ancient History modules:
Greeks and Persians, c. 560-336 BC
The Later Roman Empire
The History of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean.
Examples of optional Classics modules:
Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced Greek and/or Latin language modules
Roman Law and Latin Literature
The Origins of Civilisation
Comedy and Tragedy, Laughter and Sorrow
Lives and Afterlives of The Greek and Roman Poets
Sing Me, O Muse.
Examples of single modules in History:
Interpreting Conflict in Post-Colonial Africa
Revolution and History
Liberty, Equality, Democracy: Progressive Thought in Nineteenth-Century Britain
History and Its Audiences
Empires and States in Early Modern Asia: Nomads, Slaves, Scholars, Rulers
Health, Wealth and Happiness: Investigating Standards of Living and Wellbeing in the Past
Beyond Feudalism
Fascism/Anti-Fascism.
Examples of triple modules in History:
1688: Monarchy and Revolution in Britain
Engineering Armageddon: Visions of Scientific Apocalypse
Voice and Silence in South Africa’s Liberation Struggle
From War to Cold War: US Foreign Policy, c.1944–1948
Beyond the Holocaust: Poles, Jews, Turks and Germans from the Nineteenth Century to the present
The American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850–1876
A World Turned Upside Down: Radicalism and the English Revolution
Sexual Revolutions: The Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Britain and Beyond, 1920s–1970s.

Assessment methods

We use various types of assessment, designed to test the different skills you have gained through your studies: essays, commentaries, translations and (in some modules) presentations or projects.

In your final year, you will write a dissertation on a subject of your choice, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your skills in independent learning and research and your ability to tie together areas of learning from across the entire course.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£25,500
per year
International
£25,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course locations:

Durham City

College allocation pending

Department:

Classics

Read full university profile

What students say


How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classical studies

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
45%
Male students
55%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A*
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£25,000
high
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
50%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

25%
Business, research and administrative professionals
12%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
12%
Managers and proprietors in other services

This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Classics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£29k

£29k

£40k

£40k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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