MA in Classics and the Ancient World

This Classics and the Ancient World MA focuses on the literature, language, and culture of the ancient world and their later reception. In this degree, you can explore classical texts and thought in their ancient context to think about how the classical world has been reflected in later periods and consider how the ancient world has shaped the modern.

It’s an interdisciplinary master’s degree that doesn’t require any prior knowledge of ancient languages, as you can study texts in translation. However, you can choose to learn ancient Greek, Latin, or other ancient languages if you wish, and you will have the option to study ancient texts in the original.

This is an intercollegiate degree, which means you’ll be taught by the best Classics scholars from King’s, UCL and Royal Holloway. But by choosing King’s, you’ll join one of the largest Classics departments in the UK, ranked first in the UK for research excellence (REF 2021), while benefiting from its links to the Institute of Classical Studies and access to one of the best Classics libraries in the country.

Key benefits

• Learn from a Classics department ranked first in the UK for research excellence (REF 2021) and in the top five UK Classics Departments in the QS World Rankings 2024.
• Study in one of the UK’s largest and oldest departments of Classics. Classics has been taught on the Strand for over 200 years.
• Learn about the ancient world beyond Greece and Rome.
• Choose from an extraordinarily wide choice of modules that draw on the resources of the whole of the University of London.
• Enjoy an unrivaled location for the study of the ancient world thanks to London’s unique range of specialist libraries, museums, and galleries.
• Learn an ancient language, such as Greek, or Latin or enhance existing linguistic skills with optional language modules.

Course essentials

The KCL Classics and the Ancient World MA benefits from participation in an intercollegiate agreement with other London universities, through which we can offer modules from the finest Classics academics at King’s as well as UCL, Royal Holloway and the Institute of Classical Studies.

When you study classics and the ancient world at King’s, you’ll join the best Classics department in the UK for research excellence. Being part of one of the oldest Classics departments in the UK means you’ll be surrounded by numerous ancient world experts, which is particularly valuable for your dissertation project. You’ll also have access to the Institute of Classical Studies and one of the best Classics libraries in the country.

The intercollegiate nature of this MA also means you’ll get to choose from a much broader list of optional modules and enjoy teaching from all three institutions.

Your MA in Classics and the Ancient World will start with a required module that will train you in the essential research skills you’ll need for the rest of your studies. This includes learning how to approach the study of ancient literature from various methodological perspectives and how to explore the reception of the ancient world in later cultures through various media.

The rest of your Classics and the Ancient World MA is comprised of optional modules and a dissertation at the end of the year. You’ll get to choose from a broad list of options that covers the ancient world geographically from Britain to Persia and ranges chronologically from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity and beyond.

You can pick literature and reception modules from a curated list on a range of topics. At King’s, for example, topics range from Hellenistic poetry to ancient pantomime, from Roman comedy to the literature of the age of Nero, from explorations of Black Classicisms to Modern Greece's engagement with its past. You’ll also be able to select module options from related MAs at UCL, Royal Holloway, and the Institute of Classical Studies.

You can also draw on all the options in ancient history as well as art and archaeology. Example topics include Greek religion, Pompeii and Herculaneum, Roman frontiers, Christianity and Rome, late antique magic, the archaeology of the Roman Empire, ancient Greek sculpture, mosaics and painting, Constantinople, and the afterlife of Persepolis.

This master’s will also give you the chance to learn an ancient language from a beginner's level or enhance your existing linguistic skills. Opportunities to study epigraphy and papyrology will help you use your language skills to conduct research, as will the option to study a modern language with a module from the Modern Language Centre.

At the end of your Classics and the Ancient World degree, you’ll get to produce a substantial piece of research in the form of a dissertation. In this project, you’ll be supervised by a member of the Classics department and be free to tackle a research question of your choosing.

There are a number of ways to enhance your education outside the classroom, including enjoying taught sessions at nearby museums, like the British Museum and V&A.

You can also get involved with the Greek Play. Performed every year since 1953, it’s a fun way to get experience in production and performance. There are other exciting extracurricular opportunities available, such as those offered by the Classics Society.

Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time, September to September