Ancient History

Ancient History explores and examines the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, and their interactions with the world beyond. Such civilisations may appear distant but remain influential even today.

Studying this three-year BA degree will introduce you to theories, methodologies, and sources (including archaeology) to help you grasp the variety of lived experience in the ancient world, enabling you to develop the skills and knowledge required to open up a range of exciting career opportunities across a broad range of professions.

You’ll have the chance to get to grips with Greek and Roman history and society, architecture and archaeology, warfare and empire, gender, religion, politics and economics, or to learn about ancient Egypt. You can also choose to learn ancient Greek or Latin.

To enhance your career prospects, we offer the opportunity to sign up for various employability and engagement-related placements, such as the Week of Work. Our staff have contacts in the heritage sector, and you can volunteer at local museums while you are here, including our own fabulous Egypt Centre, which houses over 5,000 archaeological objects.

We are based in our stunning Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula.

We also have a study trip module which affords you the opportunity to bolster your in-depth study of classical lands overseas by seeing one in real life. Closer to home, the first-year heritage module will, should you choose to do it, give you insight into the past in its place here in fertile and storied Wales.

If you have teaching in mind as a career, you can gain valuable experience with our Schools Placement module, in which you can, as part of your degree, instruct pupils in local schools in the culture of the classical world.

In year 1, you will study two compulsory and four optional modules, with a range of topics typically available, including Greek, Latin, Ancient Philosophy and Rhetoric, Medieval Europ and The Early Modern World

Year 2 consists entirely of optional modules, allowing you to shape your own learning, with topics typically including Archaic Greece, The Heirs of Rome, Gender in the Roman World, Plato’s Republic, and Alexander and the Hellenistic World. You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake a School’s placement module teaching history and ancient languages, and a guided research project.

Year 3 of your studies again gives you free choice to select your own modules, which can include advanced levels of Greek or Latin, as well as modules on the Ancient and Medieval Monarchy, Culture and Control in Roman Britain, all culminating in a Classics, Ancient History and Egpytology Dissertation.

If you decide to undertake a Year in Industry or a Year Abroad, these will take place between your second and third years of study, making your degree four years total.

For the full programme structure and module breakdown, please visit our webpage at: www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/classics-ancient-history-egyptology/ba-ancient-history

Your degree programme will be delivered through lectures, seminars and research supervision; we offer numerous creative and engaging modes of tailored assessment, including blog posts, presentations, and website design, alongside exams, essays, and the third-year dissertation.