Ancient History

Ancient History - BA (Hons)

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Study the civilisations that fascinate you, develop new skills, and gain valuable experience ready for a wide range of careers from archaeology to the heritage industry.

Overview

Join world-leading experts, including practising archaeologists and historians. You’ll study history from the shores of Roman Britain to Byzantium, and from Egyptian temples and Near Eastern empires to the Greek city states. You will have options to explore literature or archaeology.

Located in the southeast of England, Canterbury is the home of classical scholarship in the UK, with ancient languages taught in the city since the seventh century. Benefit from our proximity to London and Europe, take advantage of all the resources on offer at Kent, such as close links with external organisations such as the Canterbury Archaeological Trust.

Why study Ancient History at Kent?

  • 95% of final-year Classics students who completed the National Student Survey 2022 were satisfied with the overall quality of their course
  • Ranked 3rd in the UK for student satisfaction in Classics by The Complete University Guide 2023
  • Study in historic Canterbury: the centre of major historical events from Julius Caesar’s first landing in Britain and the arrival of Saint Augustine, to the Norman Conquest and the rise of Chatham Dockyards as the engine of the British Empire
  • Explore beyond Greece and Rome: delve into the history and culture of Ancient Egypt, the Carthaginian and Seleucid Empires, the Celts, and the Mediterranean in antiquity
  • Travel back in time: enrich your knowledge and see historic sites first-hand, led by world-leading experts. Immerse yourself in history on a tour of Hadrian’s Wall or a visit to Rome and Pompeii
  • Get career-ready: work with local heritage organisations and cultural sites, or prepare for teacher training with our practical modules. Meet our graduates and find out where your Ancient History degree will take you
  • Our Archaeology Laboratory is home to state-of-the-art equipment for geophysics, laser scanning and dating. You'll analyse ancient materials and develop technical expertise.

What our students say

“My favourite module has been the Crisis of the Late Republic, because I thoroughly enjoyed this subject area at A-Level and this module renewed my passion for the topic. The lecturer was super engaging!”

Lucy Cooper

What you'll study

In your first year, you’ll take introductory modules on the civilisations of Greece and Rome as well as an introduction to archaeology. You choose modules on topics such as empires and classical mythology, and have the opportunity to study ancient Greek and Latin; the languages of the ancient texts you will encounter during your course.

In your second and final years, you choose from modules covering Archaic and Classical Greece, the cities and empires of the Ancient Near East, Egypt, the Roman Republic and Empire, Roman Britain, and topics such as slavery, migration, identity, gender, and religion. Depending on your academic performance and interest, you might do a dissertation or our capstone project module.

You can also apply to take one of our placement modules, subject to a selection process, where you study museum or heritage studies, and spend time on an internship.

See the modules you'll study

Do you have a passion for modern history too? BA Ancient, Medieval and Modern history is also available.

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Entry requirements

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.

  • medal-empty

    A level

    BBB 

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances. A typical offer would be to achieve DDM.

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    30 points overall or 15 at HL

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average, including 60% in Academic Skills Development.

  • medal-empty T level

    The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.

International students

If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.

Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

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Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time (4 with a year abroad), 6 years part-time

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.  

On most programmes, you study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also be able to take ‘elective’ modules from other programmes so you can customise your programme and explore other subjects that interest you.

Fees

The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £13,500
  • International full-time £18,000
  • Home part-time £4,625
  • EU part-time £6,750
  • International part-time £9,000

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Fees for year in industry

Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.

Fees for year abroad

Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.

Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.

Additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. 

The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

Teaching and assessment

All modules have a weekly small-group seminar, and most also have weekly lectures. We encourage you to take part in excavations and field surveys with staff and associated institutions, and student bursaries are available to support this.

Assessment at all stages varies from 100% coursework to a combination of examination and coursework.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • teach a congruent discipline within the framework of the European intellectual, cultural and historical traditions, interacting with other component disciplines
  • treat the diverse societies and cultures of the Ancient World and their interaction, with a focus on history, but with the possibility of the inclusion of literature and archaeology
  • study the history of ancient Greece and Rome, and the contemporary civilizations of ancient Asia Minor, Persia and Egypt, from ca.600BC to ca.AD600
  • survey the main areas and genres of Classical Literature, both Greek and Latin
  • make a study in depth of selected themes, regions and periods in history
  • introduce key elements by which early Europe acquired its social, political, cultural and intellectual foundations
  • explore different types of evidence: literary, historical, art-historical and archaeological, using primary source material wherever possible and focusing of different approaches and techniques
  • examine the problems of interpretation in each type of source material through critical analysis of current studies
  • equip students with a range of subject-based critical thinking and communication skills
  • provide learning opportunities that are enjoyable, involve realistic workloads and offer appropriate support for students from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

  • another culture, whether focused on literature, thought, art and religion, or on history and political and social organisation, or on material culture, with an informed sense of the similarities and differences between it and our own culture
  • complementary subjects (literary, philosophical, historical, art historical and archaeological)
  • selected themes, periods and regions within ancient history in the context of current debate
  • an appropriate and diverse range of primary materials and of the appropriate methods of interpretation.

Intellectual skills

You gain the following intellectual abilities:

  • apply the skills needed for academic study and enquiry
  • analyse, evaluate and interpret a variety of types of evidence in an independent and critical manner
  • select, gather and synthesise relevant information from a wide variety of sources to gain a coherent understanding
  • deploy a range of techniques and methodologies of study
  • use problem solving skills
  • evaluate research in a critical manner
  • study and reach conclusions independently.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following:

  • the ability to make a critical evaluation of a variety of sources for literary and historical and as appropriate archaeological study
  • the ability to extract key elements from complex data and identify and solve associated problems
  • select and apply appropriate methodologies in assessing data, such as bibliographical research, textual analysis, historical analysis, visual skills, collection and analysis of archaeological data, use of statistics, philosophical argument and analysis
  • gather, memorise and deploy evidence and information, and show awareness of the consequences of the unavailability of evidence
  • show familiarity with the basic concepts which underpin the different branches of the programme pathways
  • marshal argument lucidly and communicate interpretations using the appropriate academic conventions.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following:

  • the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals using a variety of means
  • take responsibility for your personal and professional learning and development
  • evaluate and learn from your own academic performance
  • manage time and prioritise workloads and assessments, and write and think under pressure
  • use problem-solving skills in a variety of theoretical and practical situations
  • work creatively, flexibly and adaptably with others, and understand how groups function
  • deploy a range of IT skills effectively, such as producing word-processed text with footnotes, basic formatting, using email, research using databases and text files, locating and exploiting websites.

Independent rankings

Of final-year Classics students who completed the National Student Survey 2022, 95% were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.

Classics at Kent was ranked 3rd for student satisfaction and 7th for research quality in The Complete University Guide 2023.

Careers

Graduate destinations

In recent years, our graduates have found jobs in:

  • the museum and heritage industry
  • the civil service
  • education
  • archaeological fieldwork
  • librarianship
  • journalism
  • business
  • computing
  • marketing.

  Many other graduates have gone on to further academic study.

Help finding a job

The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service which can give you advice on how to:

  • apply for jobs
  • write a good CV
  • perform well in interviews.

Career-enhancing skills

To help you appeal to employers, you learn transferable skills that are useful in any career. These include the ability to:

  • think critically
  • express yourself clearly and logically
  • solve problems
  • work independently or as part of a team.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Apply for Ancient History - BA (Hons)

If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.

Find out more about how to apply

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Apply now for part-time study

Ancient History - BA (Hons) - part-time at Canterbury

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United Kingdom/EU enquiries

Enquire online for full-time study

Enquire online for part-time study

T: +44 (0)1227 768896

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International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

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