MSc in Classical Art & Archaeology

The taught MSc in Classical Art and Archaeology programme offers you the opportunity to study ancient Greek and Roman worlds from the Iron Age to the late Roman/early Christian period through their material remains.

The programme focuses on the ancient Mediterranean world broadly defined: not just the archaeology of Greece and Rome but also areas of the Near East and north-western Europe. Should your interests lie in a field that overlaps a related subject area, you’ll appreciate our interdisciplinary approach, which allows you to draw on the experience of staff throughout the School.

By choosing this degree, you’ll have access to the expertise of our academics who are all passionate about the classical period and its art, social history and archaeology. By choosing courses of interest to you, each student’s programme will be different, and a further element of personalisation is provided in the choice of dissertation topic.

Classical Archaeology students also attend the weekly Classics Research Seminars and form their own subsection of a lively graduate community in Classics.

Breadth of expertise

As a graduate student, you will be working closely with members of staff across Classics and Archaeology. The members of staff with an interest in Classical Art and Archaeology are:

• Prof. Eberhard Sauer, who works on the Roman military and Roman religion, and who is currently investigating the Sasanian military infrastructure; he directs fieldwork projects in Georgia and Iran
• Prof. Judy Barringer, who is an expert on the art and archaeology of Classical Greece
• Prof. Jim Crow, whose research focuses on topics ranging from Hadrian’s Wall to the water supply of Constantinople
• Dr Ben Russell, who works on Roman art, architecture and the economics of stone supply, and who excavates in Turkey and Italy

(Please note that individual members of staff may be on research leave in any given year.)

Programme structure

We offer a modular range of courses, which has been designed to reflect the research interests of our lecturers and help you develop a particular topic of interest for your dissertation.

There is one required training course in classical research methods and skills that runs across the two teaching semester (20 credits). This course is specially designed for classicists and aims to introduce you to areas of the discipline beyond your own specialities and to help you with the practical skills of finding and presenting information; it also equips you with the independent skills you need to complete your dissertation.

In addition, you will choose five courses from a list of options (20 credits each one), subject to availability. These enable you to work with increasing independence on advanced scholarship and prepare you for the final stage of the Masters, the dissertation (60 credits). At least three of your five options courses should be selected from the core Classical Archaeology modules but Greek or Latin or Ancient History courses can also be taken.

Taught courses

We offer a modular range of courses, which has been designed to reflect the research interests of our lecturers and help you develop a particular topic of interest for your dissertation.

Dissertation

You will undertake a research project and produce a dissertation which is submitted on an assigned date in mid-August.

Entry requirements

Find out about the admission criteria and required qualifications for the MSc in Classical Art and Archaeology.

You will need a UK 2:1 honours degree, US GPA 3.4 or another international equivalent, in a subject related to this programme. An undergraduate degree in classics, classical civilization, ancient history or classical archaeology is preferred. Applicants with an Honours degree in another subject will also be considered but will need to demonstrate in their personal statement why they are equipped to undertake the programme.

Relevant experience or professional or other qualifications will be considered.

Equivalency of international qualifications

Guidance on the equivalency of international qualifications is provided by the International Office. If you are unsure of the equivalency of your degree, the International Office provides information by country.

English language requirements

If you do not come from a majority English-speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration, you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your spoken and written English.

• IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.0 in each module)
• TOEFL-iBT: total 100 (at least 20 in each module)
• PTE(A): total 67 (at least 56 in each of the "Communicative Skills" sections)
• CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 169 in each module)
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components

Your English language qualification must be no more than two years old at the beginning of your degree programme.

Alternatively, we may also be able to accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country for entry (as defined by UK Visas & Immigration), provided the degree is no more three years old at the beginning of your degree programme. In such cases, we may additionally require you to take the University’s Test of English at Matriculation (TEAM). This test is designed to highlight any weaknesses you may have with your English and tuition will be provided for you free of charge.

Careers

Find out where your degree can take you.

After graduating, you will have the knowledge and skills in research methodologies that will put you in a good position to pursue doctoral research in classics or a related field, and ultimately an academic career. Museum work, cultural heritage and education also present a range of professional options that require a degree such as this.

The learning, organisational and leadership skills you gain from your studies will give you a vital edge in impressing any potential employer.