The Antiquity MA: Byzantine Studies pathway allows you to study the political, cultural, social economic and literary history of the Byzantine Empire.
This programme offers an ideal opportunity to pursue your interests in greater depth and also provides an ideal foundation for further research at doctoral level. This is one of several pathways available on the Antiquity MA.
Times Higher Education ranked us among the top five departments of Classics in the country for our performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise.
This is the degree for you if you enjoyed studying the ancient world as an undergraduate, and would now like to study Byzantine Studies in greater depth and at a higher level; or if you want to explore this aspect of antiquity and it wasn’t included in your first degree.
It allows you to specialise, but also encourages you to branch out into related disciplines and to consider interdisciplinary approaches.
You will choose two core language modules, at least one which should be Greek, from a range of which includes:
You will also study a third core module: Methodologies in Byzantine Studies.
You will also choose three optional modules, at least two of which should relate to Byzantine Studies. Options available may include:
Full module descriptions are available below.
Assessment
Modules are typically assessed by written assignment, other than language modules which may be assessed by examination. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a subject of your choice.
The course is delivered through a range of teaching and learning methods, including lectures and seminars. You will also receive one-to-one supervision to support you in the development of your dissertation.
Support with academic writing
As a postgraduate student in the College of Arts and Law, you have access to the Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) which aims to help your transition from undergraduate to taught Masters level, or back into academia after time away. The service offers guidance on writing assignments and dissertations for your MA/MSc programme with individual support from an academic writing advisor via tutorials, email and the provision of online materials.
International students can access support for English Language development and skills through the Birmingham International Academy (BIA).
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
Graduates with a postgraduate degree in Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies can boast a wide combination of skills that can be applied in many types of work and which employers regard very positively. Many graduates have gone on to pursue academic posts at institutions such as Dumbarton Oaks (Harvard University), University of Birmingham and University of Warwick.
Over the past five years, 91% of MA Antiquity postgraduates were in work and/or further study six months after graduation.
Learning how to make new discoveries that will contribute to a better understanding of the historical and social significance of works of art, artefacts and other cultural products from classical antiquity to the present.
Art is an expression of the human spirit. The study of art deals with cultural, social, religious, political and aesthetic meaning in the time it was created, the present and the eras in between. Think of how the Greek mythology of Narcissus – who has been portrayed in countless sculptures and paintings over the ages – was used by Freud to name a psychological disorder and is today used by politicians to symbolise the flaws of modern society. And think of how the destruction of art, be it by Byzantine iconoclasts, sixteenth-century Dutch protestants, or present-day adherents of IS, teaches us that the emotional and political significance of art goes far beyond the loss of objects.
The research Master’s in Art and Visual Culture studies the relationship between art, the past and the present from various angles, including the interpretation of the cultural contexts of visual expressions and their transformations throughout the ages up to now. This programme is geared towards classical archaeologists, art historians and cultural scholars alike. You’ll gain insight into general humanities methods and theories as well as those specific for those three fields. You can then go to focus on your own topic in the field of Art-Historical, Cultural Studies and Archaeology.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/arts-culture ;
The programme welcomes students with interest in all forms of art and visual culture. Our own research primarily focuses on Europe and ‘its worlds’, including how European artefacts interact with and differ from the rest of the world. Our research studies artefacts in the broadest sense, ranging from the more traditional forms as sculptures, paintings and architecture to modern ones as film, digital art, the performing arts and even fashion. All our research is performed in collaboration with scientists from other fields within the Institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS). We are joined in thirteen themed research groups .
- We teach you to look at the physical, artistic and visual qualities of an artwork or artefact, seen from the perspectives of three different disciplines: Classical Archaeology, Cultural Studies and Art History.
- In your first year, you take several courses with students from the other HLCS research Master’s specialisations in Historical Studies, and in Literary Studies. This unique construction will allow you to view your own field from the perspective of the other humanities.
- A personal tutor will guide you throughout the entire programme. He/she will give you advice on how to tailor our programme to best suit your interests, act as a sounding board for your research ideas, and help you make the right connections in the academic arena.
- You’ll receive thorough preparation for PhD research, including the writing of a publishable scholarly article and a proposal for a PhD project.
- This programme strongly encourages you to go abroad for at least a semester. Students can use our connections to other universities (IRUN network ) and research institutes to find a place that meet their academic interests.
Any research done by students of the Master’s in Art and Visual Culture will be supervised by a researcher at the Institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS) in Nijmegen. HLCS research focuses around the theme Europe and its Worlds and questions whether ‘Europe’ consists of different worlds, how it is addressed, how it differs from the rest of the world, and how it interacts with other worlds. Researchers from a variety of humanities disciplines collaborate in thirteen different thematic groups to explore the spaces, cultural practices, beliefs, texts and ideas related to Europe and its World.
Thematic research groups
There are art and cultural scientists in many of these thematic groups. Although all the groups could be of interest to an art and cultural researcher, our experience is that the following generate a lot of interest among the Art and Visual Culture students:
- Matter And Culture: Analysis, Discourse & Aesthetics of/in Material Culture
The common framework of this group is research into material culture as the bearer of meaning in the broadest sense.
- Creative Industries: Society, Culture and Aesthetics in the 21st century
This group aims to gain a socio-cultural understanding of the creative industries. The group views the creative industries as a dynamic sector of autonomous and applied arts that range from theatre, music, media, literature and museums; to gaming, film, fashion and television, as well as to design, arts education, heritage and festivals.
- Memory, Materiality and Meaning in the Age of Transnationalism
This group studies the material as well as immaterial media and forms of embodiment through which we create memory through meaning-making and performative practices.
Master’s thesis topics in Art and Visual Culture:
For their Master’s thesis research, students can work together with researchers from one of the HLCS research groups or choose a topic in a non-related area. A small sample of thesis topics that you could research in this programme:
- Understanding the Post-Pompeian Era: Wall painting in the Roman Empire (AD 79-395)
- Crime in a Nordic Space: The Production of Space in Forbrydelsen
- William Marlowe in his time: an eighteenth-century view painter rediscovered
- Unravelling the Fabrics of Time: A New Materialist Perspective on Slow Fashion Becomings
- A Pyramidal Structure along the Via Appia. Documentation and reconstruction
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/arts-culture
This course offers advanced study of Greek and Roman art and archaeology and is an intercollegiate programme with options taught at King's, UCL and Royal Holloway, with close links to the Institute of Classical Studies.
It gives you with the unique opportunity to acquire technical skills provided by optional modules in papyrology, epigraphy and palaeography.
Leads to further research or careers in education, journalism, finance, politics and cultural sectors.
Through this Classical Art & Archaeology MA you will examine painting, pottery, sculpture and mosiaics and explore the craftsmanship that produced archologically significant works. Traditionally, classical archaeology has focused on the art history of Classical Greece and Italy, but has more recently branched out geographically and chronologically. Archaeology has also become more theoretical in recent decades.
This course explores the relationship between humans and their material environment. We consider engagement in field projects as essential for the continuing health of the discipline. All trends are well represented here at King's.
Classical Art & Archaeology at King's
Our expert staff cover wide range of specialisms including Bronze Age, Aegean, Byzantine Cyprus, Roman Britain, Persian monuments, Greek pottery and Roman mosaics, while many other staff members employ art historical and archaeological methods in their work.
London has been a centre for the collection and display of ancient art and artefacts for many centuries, a cultural engagement that has in turn had a great influence on British heritage. There is a strong commitment at King's to exploring the role that ancient art and archaeology has had and continues to have in this local context of a global capital.
MA Classical Art & Archaeology
The MA course consists of a wide range of optional modules and a research dissertation. The compulsory colloquium, Undertaking Research in Classical Archaeology, taken as preparation for writing the dissertation, provides particularly concentrated training in research techniques and methodology. Modules are taught both with texts in the original languages and with translated texts. If you intend to pursue further research in classical archaeology or art history, you may find particular value in the unique opportunities to acquire technical skills in the handling of documentary evidence provided by modules in Greek Papyrology, Greek & Roman Epigraphy, and Greek & Latin Palaeography.
As well as archaeological and art-historical topics, students can also choose modules from other MA programmes at King's, including Ancient History, Classics, and Late Antique & Byzantine Studies. Students also have the opportunity to study Latin and Ancient Greek.
The MA programme in Classical Art & Archaeology is organised on an intercollegiate basis, combining the expertise of staff in all three of the participating colleges - King's, UCL and Royal Holloway. It centres on the University's Institute of Classical Studies, which not only contains a world-class research library, but also hosts the richest programme of seminars, conferences, and occasional lectures for this subject area in the UK.
Research seminars
In the Department of Classics we run a research seminar series (which MA students are encouraged to attend), where you will learn about the current research of our academic staff and PhD students. The Department regularly hosts major research conferences with speakers from around the world. There are also University of London research seminars organized through the Institute of Classical Studies, for example in Literature, Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, where you will be able to listen to and meet leading scholars from around the world. There is also the Late Antique & Byzantine Studies seminar, which is organized by the Centre for Hellenic Studies.
Personal tutor
We will assign you a personal tutor in the Department of Classics, who will advise you and help you decide which modules to take, and can answer any questions or concerns you may have whilst at King's.
Dissertation supervision
During your first term at King's you will need to decide on your MA dissertation subject, if you have not done so before you arrive. The dissertation can be related to work you are doing for a taught module, or it can be in a completely different area. On the basis of your chosen subject area you will be assigned a supervisor within the Department of Classics who will discuss the topic with you, and oversee your work on it.
This programme offers advanced study of Greek and Roman archaeology and art; it is intended either as a further year's study after a first degree or as training in the technical disciplines needed to undertake doctoral research.
Teaching
We will typically provide you with six to eight hours of teaching through lectures and seminars each week, and we will expect you to undertake 35 hours of independent study. For your dissertation, we will provide five hours of supervision from a member of the Department, depending on your chosen topic, who will oversee your work on it. We will expect you to undertake 575 hours of independent study.
Assessment
We typically assess our modules through a combination of coursework and examinations, and the amount of coursework we expect you to produce will be greater for modules which are worth more credits. For your dissertation module you will write a 12,000-word thesis.
This programme is intended for students who have a background in Byzantine Studies and, normally, some knowledge of Greek.
It comprises a major individual research project, supervised by a specialist in the field of study, and taught elements which provide the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of Byzantium through a range of modules in archaeology, art, history, literature and numismatics.
MRes programmes offer a unique opportunity to deepen and develop your knowledge of the subject by combining taught elements with research training and an independent research project.
The MRes Byzantine Studies features three taught modules which will prepare you for your research. All students take a core module in Methodologies of Byzantine Studies, and your remaining two modules are optional so you can focus on areas of specific interest.
Topics available to study and research include art, history and archaeology. Full details of available modules can be found in the Modules section below.
Assessment
Taught modules are typically assessed by written assignment. You will also complete a 20,000-word thesis on a topic of your choice, with support from a supervisor.
The Byzantine Studies MRes forms part of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies (CBOMGS) which is the only centre in the UK to bring all of these subjects together within a single unit.
CBOMGS aims to provide a stimulating environment for cross-disciplinary research and inter-cultural dialogue for the wider research community. You will benefit from the insight of academic staff and peers from across the College of Arts and Law.
The Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies has a large postgraduate community which organises an annual international postgraduate colloquium. Postgraduates also participate in the bi-weekly General Seminar of the Centre and in the Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies. A Medieval Greek Summer School, the only one of its kind, takes place at Birmingham, end of July-August.
You will also become part of, and contribute to, the lively international community of the College of Arts and Law Graduate School, which offers dedicated research resources and a supportive working environment. Our team of academic and operational staff are on hand to offer support and advice to all postgraduate students within the College.
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
Graduates with a postgraduate degree in Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies can boast a wide combination of skills that can be applied in many types of work and which employers regard very positively. Many graduates have gone on to pursue academic posts at institutions such as Dumbarton Oaks (Harvard University), University of Birmingham and University of Warwick.
The end of classical antiquity in the Mediterranean and the Middle East witnessed the formation of polities, institutions and ideologies which define and continue to influence our world to the present day.
By combining a diverse, yet cognate range of research interests, this programme offers an exceptional selection of linguistic and disciplinary expertise in the study of the late antique, Islamic and Byzantine worlds, embracing archaeology, art history, history, languages and literatures, and auxiliary disciplines such as palaeography, numismatics, and sigillography. It presently provides training in the following source languages: Greek, Latin, Arabic, and/or Hebrew.
This programme provides you with excellent preparation for graduate research in historical, archaeological, literary or art-historical topics focusing on the Mediterranean and western Asia from late antiquity into the early middle ages.
You will have access to the expertise of academics who are all passionate about their area of study. Drawn from several schools across the University and brought together in the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the team comprises specialists in the various branches of late antique, Islamic and Byzantine studies.
The MSc comprises seminars, language classes and tutorials, which will include seminar discussion and debate, presentation to peers, directed and independent reading, as well as interactive language teaching. You will complete one compulsory course and select a further two language courses and an additional three options from a wide range on offer.
The compulsory course is:
Option courses previously offered include those listed below. Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:
The programme emphasises acquisition of essential language skills for original research and close work with key historical and/or literary sources of evidence and grounding in the issues surrounding them.
You will gain an appreciation of the associated material cultures, including issues surrounding its recovery, survival and curation, which will prepare you for future academic research and prospective careers in aspects of museums and heritage management.
Our students view the programme and a graduate degree from Edinburgh as an advanced qualification valued and respected by many employers. Those interested in long-term academic careers consider the MSc as preparation for a PhD.
The MSc provides a toolkit of transferable skills in organisation, research and analysis that will be highly prized in any field of work. It can form a stepping stone to many careers, such as further academic research, museum and art curation, literary translation or analysis, education or public heritage. Graduates of related programmes are putting their skills to use as tutors, archivists, writers and conference coordinators for employers including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
This programme studies the ancient Greek and Roman worlds from the Iron Age to the late Roman and early Christian period through their material remains including sculpture, funerary art, topography and visual cultures.
Focusing on the ancient Mediterranean world, broadly defined, you’ll explore not simply the archaeology of Greece and Rome but also the near east and north-western Europe.
Through our interdisciplinary approach, you’ll also be able to work with staff from all areas of the School. Several members of classics have ongoing excavations in Italy, Georgia and Macedonia, which students are welcome to attend.
The programme aims to familiarise you with the various methods used in the study of classics, enabling you to work in a manner that is theoretically and methodologically engaged.
We offer a 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.
You will complete one compulsory course and select a further three skills courses and an additional two options from a wide range on offer, followed by a dissertation.
The compulsory course is:
Option courses previously offered include those listed below. Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:
The programme aims to:
Our students view the programme and a graduate degree from Edinburgh as an advanced qualification valued and respected by many employers. Those students interested in long-term academic careers consider the programme as preparation for a PhD.
The programme provides a toolkit of transferable skills in organisation, research and analysis that will be highly prized in any field of work. This programme can form the stepping stone to many career options, such as further academic research, museum and art curation, literary translation or analysis, education or public heritage. Recent Classics graduates are now putting their skills to use as tutors, archivists, writers and conference coordinators for a range of employers including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
This programme will give you the opportunity to study specific periods and regions of classical civilisation, analyse the literary significance of texts, and develop your language skills in Greek and Latin.
Drawing on the diverse interests of our academic staff (which number more than 20 in this area), the programme content is highly flexible, allowing you to choose a specialised path or a more interdisciplinary approach. We have specialists in the central areas of Greek and Latin literature and thought, Greek and Roman history, and Classical art and archaeology. We also take a broad view of the discipline with, for example, expertise in late antiquity, and reception history.
We provide opportunities for you to hear from distinguished speakers in the weekly classics research seminar series and to share your research with your peers at the classics graduate seminar.
Studying Classics in Edinburgh is the perfect marriage; known as the Athens of the North, Edinburgh is a stunningly beautiful city with a worldwide reputation as a cultural and academic capital.
You will complete one compulsory course and select a further three skills courses and an additional two options from a wide range on offer. The modular structure of the programme allows you to concentrate on areas of particular interest while still providing breadth of coverage. Your required course equips you with the independent skills you need to complete your dissertation.
The compulsory course is:
Option courses previously offered include those listed below. Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:
Students who follow this programme will gain:
Our students view the programme and a graduate degree from Edinburgh as an advanced qualification valued and respected by many employers. Those students interested in long-term academic careers consider the programme as preparation for a PhD.
The programme provides a toolkit of transferable skills in organisation, research and analysis that will be highly prized in any field of work.
This programme can form the stepping stone to many career options, such as further academic research, museum and art curation, literary translation or analysis, education or public heritage. Recent graduates in Classics are now putting their skills to use as tutors, archivists, writers and conference coordinators for a range of employers including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The MSc by Research in Classics provides a grounding in the methods and techniques of investigation while at the same time allowing you to pursue your own research and complete an extended thesis.
We welcome applications from anyone keen to work on topics that overlap with the research interests of our academic staff, including Greek social history, Greek law, classical literature and art, Hellenistic history and archaeology, Roman slavery, Roman art and architecture, the Roman economy, late antique and Byzantine literature, history and archaeology.
We provide you with opportunities to hear from distinguished speakers in the weekly classics research seminar series and to share your research with your peers at the Classics graduate seminar.
When applying, you must submit a research proposal explaining your plans and demonstrating your knowledge of your chosen field: this will be closely scrutinised as part of our admissions process. Two supervisors will be appointed to work with you on the project and it is a good idea to consult with prospective supervisors in advance of an application.
You will be assigned two supervisors who will provide expert academic guidance on your chosen research topic. You will meet regularly to discuss your progress and research plans, as well as drafts of your thesis/dissertation chapters, conference papers and potential articles.
In addition to individual supervision, you will also have access to research training and postgraduate seminars.
A long dissertation is the sole form of assessment. You will also attend compulsory training courses and may attend other courses that are relevant or of interest to you, such as our language options.
Our building offers you exceptional, modern facilities, resources and study spaces, in a stunning location.
Our postgraduate students have access to:
All of our facilities are in addition to the multiple libraries and computer labs provided across the University’s estate. Many of our rooms overlook the Meadows.
Our location, right in the heart of Edinburgh, means you will be based close to the city’s cultural attractions and facilities, including a wealth of libraries, archives, museums and galleries, which provide uniquely rich support for the disciplines we teach.
Our students view the programme and a graduate degree from Edinburgh as an advanced qualification valued and respected by many employers, others are interested in pursuing long-term academic careers and therefore consider the MSc as preparation for a PhD. The programme provides a toolkit of transferable skills in organisation, research and analysis that will be highly prized in any field of work. This programme can form the stepping stone to many career options, such as further academic research, museum and art curation, literary translation or analysis, education or public heritage. Recent graduates in Classics are now putting their skills to use as tutors, archivists, writers and conference coordinators for a range of employers including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
This programme offers you the opportunity to research one of the aspects of the fragmentation of the Roman World and its transformation into a myriad of new states as the result of internal pressures and barbarian invasion in the period AD 300–700.
The taught elements examine major debates about the period, tackling historical, textual, archaeological and art historical material as an essential foundation for your research topic.
Times Higher Education ranked us among the top five departments of Classics in the country for our performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise.
The MRes consists of 60 credits of taught modules and 120 credits achieved through a 20,000 word supervised research thesis on a topic of your choice in the late antique world. You should talk to a potential supervisor about this project before making your application.
Your taught modules would usually include Research Skills to support you with the thesis. You will then choose two ptions from a range of modules taught by the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology or the Department of History depending on your interests and research needs.
The MRes in Late Antiquity is taught by a large concentration of staff approaching the late antique world from a range of perspectives – archaeological, art historical, historical, philosophical and literary.
Staff within the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, work particularly on late antique North Africa and Augustine of Hippo, Britain and the western provinces, the Balkans and the East Roman/Byzantine empire. Relevant colleagues in the Department of History work on early Islam and on Scandinavia.
You will benefit from the large postgraduate community in the Department who work on all aspects of the ancient and late antique worlds. There is a particular concentration of students who work on the Byzantine period.
You will also become part of, and contribute to, the lively international community of the College of Arts and Law Graduate School, which offers dedicated research resources and a supportive working environment. Our team of academic and operational staff are on hand to offer support and advice to all postgraduate students within the College.
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology
Birmingham's Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology graduates develop a broad range of transferable skills including: familiarity with research methods; the ability to manage large quantities of information from diverse sources; the ability to organise information in a logical and coherent manner; the expertise to write clearly and concisely and to tight deadlines; critical and analytical ability; the capacity for argument, debate and speculation; and the ability to base conclusions on statistical research.
Many of our postgraduates enter roles for which their programme has especially prepared them, such as museum and heritage activities and archaeological posts. Elsewhere, a range of professions are undertaken by our graduates, from librarianship and teaching to accountancy. Employers that our graduates have gone on to work for include: AC archaeology; University of Birmingham; National Trust; and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.
This course explores the way the Classical world has been reflected in the art, literature and culture of later periods, and how the ancient world has shaped the modern.
It is taught in the Department of Classics, by experts in the field of Classical reception. The Department's research and teaching strengths stretch from the Aegean Bronze Age and the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome to Byzantine and Modern Greek literature and culture, giving the programme a breadth unmatched anywhere in the world.
The programme is interdisciplinary, and is open to students with no prior knowledge of ancient languages.
Our MA course focuses on the way the classical world has influenced the culture of later periods, and how it continues to do so. With a strong focus on research the course is taught in the Department of Classics by experts in the field of classical reception. Our Department’s research and teaching strengths stretch from the Aegean Bronze Age and the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome to Byzantine and Modern Greek literature and culture. This means we can offer you a breadth of expertise that is unmatched anywhere in the world. Through this advanced course of study, we will develop your literary, historical and archaeological analysis skills, and provide you with the opportunity to learn ancient and modern languages to extend these skills.
Research seminars
In the Department of Classics we run a research seminar series (which MA students are encouraged to attend), where you will learn about the current research of our academic staff and PhD students. Further the Department regularly hosts major research conferences with guest speakers from around the world. There are also University of London research seminars organized through the Institute of Classical Studies, for example in Literature, Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, where you will be able to listen to and meet leading scholars from around the world. There is also the Late Antique & Byzantine Studies seminar, which is organized by the Centre for Hellenic Studies.
Personal tutor
You will be assigned a personal tutor in the Department of Classics, who will advise you and help you decide which modules to take, and can answer any questions or concerns you may have whilst at King's.
Dissertation supervision
During your first term at King's you will need to decide on your MA dissertation subject, if you have not done so before you arrive. The dissertation can be related to work you are doing for a taught module, or it can be in a completely different area. On the basis of your chosen subject area you will be assigned a supervisor within the Department of Classics who will discuss the topic with you, and oversee your work on it.
Greek Play
Every year (since 1953), students in the Department of Classics have produced and performed a Greek play - the only production in the UK to be performed annually in the original Greek. Read more about the Greek Play (and its history) at King's: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/classics/about/greek/index.aspx
Teaching
If you are a full-time student we will typically provide you with six to eight hours of teaching through lectures and seminars each week, and we will expect you to undertake 35 hours of independent study.
If you are a part-time student we will typically provide you with two to six hours of teaching through lectures and seminars each week, and we will expect you to undertake 17.5 hours of independent study.
For your dissertation, we will provide five hours of supervision, and we will expect you to undertake 575 hours of independent study.
Typically, one credit equates to typically 10 hours of work.
Assessment
We typically assess our modules through a combination of coursework and examinations, and the amount of coursework we expect you to produce will be greater for modules which are worth more credits. For your dissertation module you will write a 12,000-word thesis.
Regulating body
King’s College London is regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England
The advanced skills that we give you have proved very popular with employers in a wide range of professions, and many of our graduates use the skills and knowledge they develop with us to pursue further research in our Department. Others go on to excel in careers in teaching, journalism, cultural management or the financial sector.
This programme gives you the opportunity to study ancient history at an advanced level, developing your interest in the ancient world and providing an excellent preparation for further graduate research.
Edinburgh is one of the leading centres in the UK for the study of ancient history, in the chronological, geographical and methodological scope of the research interests of our staff. The range and content of our courses reflect staff research strengths in Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique topics. Greek and Latin language courses are always offered. Our particular strengths lie in the legal, institutional, social and economic history of the Greek and Roman worlds, as well as in political theory and practice, Hellenistic history, and late antique history.
As a student on this programme, you will develop your skills in critical thinking, clear writing and research, verbal presentation and critical analysis.
Most teaching takes place in small-group seminars and the programme is designed to allow both breadth of coverage and specialisation. The specialised compulsory course will provide you with the key methodological and practical skills required of researchers in all classical subjects, while the options offer a large degree of flexibility, allowing you to develop or consolidate your language skills and explore a diverse range of historical topics in depth. Independent research, in the form of a dissertation, forms a substantial component of the programme, challenging you to build on the material and approaches covered in the taught courses and develop your research skills.
You will complete one compulsory course and select a further three skills courses and an additional two options from a wide range on offer.
The compulsory course is:
Option courses previously offered include those listed below. Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:
This programme can form the stepping stone to many career options,such as further academic research, museum and art curation, literary translation or analysis, education or public heritage. Recent graduates in Classics are now putting their skills to use as tutors, archivists, writers and conference coordinators for a range of employers including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
This program is designed for applicants with a strong research agenda who already have an academic background in medieval history or related disciplines such as philology/literature, philosophy, art history or archaeology with a focus on medieval Latin, Slavonic, Byzantine or early modern Ottoman culture. Students in the program pursue an intensive, multidisciplinary study of Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, including an emphasis on modern research methodologies and the languages of medieval source materials.
The department provides intellectually challenging comparative and multidisciplinary postgraduate education on all aspects of the history and culture of the period between 300 and 1600 C.E. International faculty members cover Central and Western Europe as well as the Byzantine, Slavic, Jewish, Arab and Ottoman worlds.
Graduates find employment in education and research, cultural institutions, including museums, libraries and archives, as well as business and international organizations. Master’s students often continue their studies on the doctoral level at CEU and other international universities.
CEU is committed to attracting talented students and scholars from around the world and provides generous merit-based scholarships available to students from any country.
