Take advantage of one of our 100 Master’s Scholarships to study Classics at
Swansea University, the Times Good University Guide’s Welsh University of the Year 2017. Postgraduate loans are also available to English and Welsh domiciled students. For more information on fees and funding please visit our website.
The Greek and Latin languages are the key to our knowledge of the ancient world, and the origin of many modern European languages. This MA in Classics allows students to develop advanced reading skills in the ancient languages, and to apply them to the study of a selection of some of the most important literary texts from the ancient world. In addition to developing their ability to read fluently in the ancient languages and to translate them accurately and sensitively, students are introduced to the critical and analytical methodologies that shape the study of Classical literature in the twenty-first century. Students in the MA in Classics should normally already have studied either Latin or Greek, and will have the opportunity to begin or continue the study of the other.
Key Features of MA in Classics
The MA Classics studies Greek and Latin language, literature and civilisation.
The MA in Classics allows students to develop advanced reading skills in ancient languages and to apply them to the study of a selection of some of the most important literary texts from the ancient world.
The College of Arts and Humanities has a Graduate Centre. The Graduate Centre fosters and supports individual and collaborative research activity of international excellence and offers a vibrant and supportive environment for students pursuing postgraduate research and taught masters study. The Centre provides postgraduate training to enhance academic and professional development and facilitates participation in seminar programmes, workshops and international conferences.
The full-time Classics MA is split across the year offering three modules in each academic semester (a total of six modules) and then a dissertation over the summer. The dissertation component is written on a specialist research topic of your choosing.
Part-time Classics MA students take three modules in the first year, three in the second year and write the dissertation in the third year.
MA in Classics Aims
To acquire advanced reading skills in ancient Greek and Latin.
To develop the ability to translate from ancient Greek and Latin accurately and sensitively.
To develop the theoretical and analytical skills relevant to the study of ancient texts in the original languages.
To prepare for further text-based research on any aspect of Greek or Roman history and culture.
Through the precision and awareness to detail entailed in the study of ancient languages, to acquire a range of transferable skills relevant to a range of employment opportunities, including those which involve language acquisition and translation.
Modules
Modules on the MA in Classics course typically include:
• Narrative Theory and Genres
• Ancient Greek or Latin Language
• Ancient Greek or Latin Texts
• Romance Refracted and Novels Renewed
• Explorers, Travel and Geography
• Saints and Sinners in Christian Late Antiquity
Research Interests
Staff research interests cover the core disciplines of culture, religion, language, history and archaeology.
Particular strengths include:
• Ancient Narrative Literature
• The Ancient Novel
• Plato and Platonism
• Greek Tragedy
• Ancient Technology
• The Archaeology of Roman Egypt
• Graeco-Roman Urbanisation
• Greek Social History
• The History and Archaeology of Asia Minor
• Late Antiquity
• Roman Military History
All staff in History and Classics are research active and publish books and articles in their areas of expertise. In addition, regular research seminars and lectures are run through the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) which students are
encouraged to attend.
Careers
Career expectations are excellent for Classics graduates. MA degree holders may move on to doctoral study or enter employment in such areas as museums, heritage and tourism; marketing, sales and advertising; business, art, design and culture; media and PR; social and welfare professions; humanitarian organisations; the civil service, and education.
The typical entry requirement for the Classics MA is a first degree in Classics, Classical Civilisation or a related background in Arts and Humanities, normally an upper second or above, or equivalent. Overseas students are expected to possess an IELTS score of 6.5.
