BA Ancient History and History
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UCAS code
V117 -
Typical offer
BBB -
Year of entry
2023/24 See 2022/23 entry -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
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Year of entry
2023/24 See 2022/23 entry -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
COVID-19 update
With BA Ancient History and History, go on a journey through your favourite historical periods, from ancient Greece through Medieval Europe to Cold War Britain, with our highly regarded and award-winning teaching staff.
This course enables you to study the classical world alongside modern history. Ancient History gives you an understanding of the cultures and societies of the Greek and Roman worlds, a period spanning from 2000 BC to around 600 AD, while modern history focuses on the era from the Crusades to the 1960s.
Your first year is about discovery and experimentation. You will address important modern questions and trace them back to their roots, exploring different periods of history through both literary and material sources. You can enhance your knowledge of the ancient world through Ancient History modules and optional Latin and Greek language modules, or deepen your understanding through hands-on experience with artefacts from the Ure Museum.
Your History modules will lead you through the last thousand years, giving you the chance to explore different historical periods before pursing your own interests later in the course.
To complement your studies you can choose one of the History Department's popular employability modules and gain useful transferable skills and work experience. The University also offers all students the chance learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.
You will be encouraged to gain direct experience of ancient sites through independent travel, for which you can apply for our annual travel bursary. You can also apply to study at the British School at Athens and the British School at Rome, which both offer summer school opportunities to University of Reading students.
Placement
Work placements are encouraged and both Departments benefit from a dedicated placements officer to help with CV writing and letters of application. History's Discovering Archives and Collections module is ideal if you are interested in a career in libraries or archives, while Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future provides an insight into heritage and museum work. The University's museums also provide a number of voluntary placements.
If you would like to gain first-hand experience of life in another culture you can choose to study abroad for part of your degree.
For more information, please visit the Department of Classics website.
Overview
With BA Ancient History and History, go on a journey through your favourite historical periods, from ancient Greece through Medieval Europe to Cold War Britain, with our highly regarded and award-winning teaching staff.
This course enables you to study the classical world alongside modern history. Ancient History gives you an understanding of the cultures and societies of the Greek and Roman worlds, a period spanning from 2000 BC to around 600 AD, while modern history focuses on the era from the Crusades to the 1960s.
Learning
Your first year is about discovery and experimentation. You will address important modern questions and trace them back to their roots, exploring different periods of history through both literary and material sources. You can enhance your knowledge of the ancient world through Ancient History modules and optional Latin and Greek language modules, or deepen your understanding through hands-on experience with artefacts from the Ure Museum.
Your History modules will lead you through the last thousand years, giving you the chance to explore different historical periods before pursing your own interests later in the course.
To complement your studies you can choose one of the History Department's popular employability modules and gain useful transferable skills and work experience. The University also offers all students the chance learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.
You will be encouraged to gain direct experience of ancient sites through independent travel, for which you can apply for our annual travel bursary. You can also apply to study at the British School at Athens and the British School at Rome, which both offer summer school opportunities to University of Reading students.
Placement
Work placements are encouraged and both Departments benefit from a dedicated placements officer to help with CV writing and letters of application. History's Discovering Archives and Collections module is ideal if you are interested in a career in libraries or archives, while Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future provides an insight into heritage and museum work. The University's museums also provide a number of voluntary placements.
If you would like to gain first-hand experience of life in another culture you can choose to study abroad for part of your degree.
For more information, please visit the Department of Classics website.
Entry requirements A Level BBB
Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.
Typical offer
BBB, including grade B in A level History, Ancient History, or Classical Civilisation.
International Baccalaureate
30 points overall including 5 in History at higher level
Extended Project Qualification
In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.
BTEC Extended Diploma
DDM (Modules taken must be comparable to subject specific requirement)
English language requirements
IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0
For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.
Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students
For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.
International Foundation Programme
If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.
Pre-sessional English language programme
If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.
Structure
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
CL1GH | Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age | DR Emma Aston |
CL1RH | Roman History: the rise and fall of the Republic | DR Andreas Gavrielatos |
HS1JH1 | Journeys through History 1:Power and People | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS1JH2 | Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts' | PROF Anne Lawrence |
HS1RSO | Research Skills and Opportunities in History | DR Ruth Salter |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
CL1G1 | Ancient Greek 1 | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL1L1 | Latin 1 (C) | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL1SO | Ancient Song | PROF Ian Rutherford |
CL1TR | Texts, Readers, and Writers | PROF Eleanor Dickey |
AP1SB1 | Introduction to Management | PROF Julian Park |
AR1EMP | Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome | PROF Roger Matthews |
AR1FOR | Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death | DR Ceri Falys |
AR1FOR10 | Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death [10 credit] | DR Ceri Falys |
AR1MET | Archaeology today: methods and practice | MS Amanda Clarke |
AR1REV | Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present | PROF Steve Mithen |
AR1REV10 | Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present [10 credits] | PROF Steve Mithen |
AR1SOC | Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology | DR Alanna Cant |
EC110 | The Economics of Climate Change | DR Stefania Lovo |
EC111 | Economic Policy and Social Problems | PROF James Reade |
FT1ATF | Approaches to Film | DR Adam O'Brien |
FT1ATP | Analysing Theatre and Performance | DR Matt McFrederick |
FT1CSS | Comedy on Stage and Screen | DR Simone Knox |
IL1GICC | Intercultural Competence and Communication | MS Joan McCormack |
LA1PK1 | IWLP Modern Greek 1 | PROF Timothy Duff |
MC1HPE | Museum History, Policy and Ethics | DR Rhi Smith |
MC1PP | Presenting the Past | DR Rhi Smith |
ML1IL | Introduction to Linguistics | MR Federico Faloppa |
MT1CC | The Science of Climate Change | PROF Nigel Arnell |
PO1INE | Inequality | DR Jonathan Golub |
PP1GJ | Global Justice | MISS Michela Bariselli |
PP1ML | The Meaning of Life | DR Luke Elson |
PP1RP | Radical Philosophy | DR George Mason |
TY1WTF | What the font? Making and using typefaces | DR Matthew Lickiss |
TY1WTF10 | What the font? Making and using typefaces (10 credits) | DR Matthew Lickiss |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
CL2AE | Ancient Epic | DR Christa Gray |
CL2AEL | Ancient Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs | PROF Rachel Mairs |
CL2APL | Academic Work Placement | DR Emma Aston |
CL2CGH | Greek History: Persian Wars to Alexander | PROF Timothy Duff |
CL2CLE | Cleopatras | PROF Rachel Mairs |
CL2DR | Ancient Drama | PROF Barbara Goff |
CL2EGR | Egypt and the Greco-Roman World | PROF Ian Rutherford |
CL2EM | Early Macedon | DR Emma Aston |
CL2G2 | Ancient Greek 2 (I) | DR Andreas Gavrielatos |
CL2G3 | Ancient Greek 3 (I) | PROF Barbara Goff |
CL2GRE | Greek Religions | PROF Ian Rutherford |
CL2GSC | Greek Sculpture | PROF Amy Smith |
CL2ILA | Introduction to Late Antiquity | DR Christa Gray |
CL2L2 | Latin 2 (I) | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL2L3 | Latin 3 (I) | DR Andreas Gavrielatos |
CL2PL | Work placement for Classicists and Ancient Historians | PROF Eleanor Dickey |
CL2PR | Prospects for Classicists and Ancient Historians | DR Hana Navratilova |
CL2RME | Rome's Mediterranean Empire; A World of Cities | DR Andrew Souter |
CL2RO | Roman History: From Republic to Empire | PROF Annalisa Marzano |
CL2SG | Sexuality and Gender in the Ancient World | PROF Barbara Goff |
CL2SI | My Mother's Sin and other Stories | DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps |
HS2GPP | Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future | PROF Kate Williams |
HS2HAD | Historical Approaches and My Dissertation | MISS Liz Barnes |
HS2INT | Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy | PROF Daniela La Penna |
HS2O10 | The Colonial Experience: Africa, 1879 to 1980 | MRS Chessie Baldwin |
HS2O12 | Belief and Unbelief in Europe: Religion, Science and the Supernatural c.1400-1800 | PROF Helen Parish |
HS2O14 | Rebel Girls: The Influence of Radical Women 1792-1919 | DR Jacqui Turner |
HS2O16 | ‘The brightest jewel in the British crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947 | DR Rohan Deb Roy |
HS2O17 | Reform and Revolt in the Modern Middle East: Egypt from Ataturk to the ‘Arab Spring’ | DR Dina Rezk |
HS2O19 | Europe in the Twentieth Century | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS2O3 | People, power and revolution: political culture in seventeenth-century England | DR Rachel Foxley |
HS2O4 | Women and Medieval History | DR Ruth Salter |
HS2O53 | The American Civil War | MISS Liz Barnes |
HS2O54 | 'Race’, Ethnicity and Citizenship in America | PROF Emily West |
HS2O55 | American Century: United States history since 1898 | DR Robert Pee |
HS2O56 | Medieval Medicine | MRS Katie Phillips |
HS2O7 | Kingship and Crisis in England, c.1154–1330 | DR Elizabeth Matthew |
HS2STA | Society, Thought and Art in Modern Europe | DR Veronica Heath |
HS2UNR | Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe | DR Athena Leoussi |
ED2TS1 | Development of transferable skills through a school placement 1 | DR Caroline Foulkes |
MC2CCM | Curatorship and Collections Management | DR Rhi Smith |
MC2LE | Museum Learning and Engagement | DR Rhi Smith |
MM270 | Practice of Entrepreneurship | DR Norbert Morawetz |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
CL3AA | Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age. The Context for the Trojan War | PROF Ian Rutherford |
CL3AB | Ancient Biography | PROF Timothy Duff |
CL3DN | Dissertation in Classics | DR Emma Aston |
CL3DP | Preparation for Dissertation in Classics | DR Emma Aston |
CL3EGY | History and Culture of New Kingdom Egypt | DR Hana Navratilova |
CL3FCC | From Classroom to Courtroom: Mastering the Art of Persuasion in the Ancient World | DR Christa Gray |
CL3G4 | Ancient Greek 4 (H) | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL3G5 | Ancient Greek 5 (H) | PROF Timothy Duff |
CL3INP | Independent Third Year Project | DR Emma Aston |
CL3L4 | Latin 4 (H) | DR Andreas Gavrielatos |
CL3L5 | Latin 5 (H) | DR Andreas Gavrielatos |
CL3PCA | Pioneers of Classical Archaeology | PROF Rachel Mairs |
CL3ROM | City of Rome | DR Andrew Souter |
CL3SEN | Seneca:The Consul, The Philosopher, The Tragedian | MR Oliver Baldwin |
CL3SP | Ancient Sparta | DR James Lloyd |
CL3TE | Technology in the Ancient World | PROF Annalisa Marzano |
CL3UL | Urban Life: The Archaeology and Anthropology of Roman Cities | DR John Hanson |
HS3CCO | Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present | PROF Daniela La Penna |
HS3HLD | Dissertation in History | DR Heike Schmidt |
HS3M68 | May '68 | DR Sophie Heywood |
HS3SAU | Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84 | PROF Matthew Worley |
HS3SGA | Gender in Africa | DR Heike Schmidt |
HS3SHP | Heretics and Popes: Heresy and Persecution in the Medieval World | PROF Rebecca Rist |
HS3SSA | Slavery in America | PROF Emily West |
HS3SSC | Sea Changes: Britain and the Maritime World, 1500-1800 | DR Richard Blakemore |
HS3T25 | Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze | PROF Anne Lawrence |
HS3T75 | The United States and the Cold War | DR Robert Pee |
HS3T77 | Battleaxes and Benchwarmers’: Early female MPs 1919-1931 | DR Jacqui Turner |
HS3T82 | Axis at War: Life and Death in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, 1936-45 | PROF Patrick Major |
HS3T84 | Ireland in the seventeenth century: colonization, conflict and identity | DR Rachel Foxley |
HS3T85 | The Making of the French Revolution | PROF Joël Félix |
HS3T90 | Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016 | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS3T91 | Politics and Popular Culture: Post-Arab Spring Egypt | DR Dina Rezk |
HS3T98 | From Darwin to Death Camps? Evolution and eugenics in European society, 1859-1945 | PROF David Stack |
AR3HCP | The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property | DR Alanna Cant |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Fees
New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250
New international students: £20,300
UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes
UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.
EU student fees
With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.
Additional costs
These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.
Financial support for your studies
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.
Careers
This combination of subjects will provide you with a range of transferable skills. Historians have to analyse a wide variety of sources to produce reasoned conclusions, and this helps develop clear thinking, written and oral communication skills, time management, adaptability, independence, and the ability to understand different cultures.
Additionally, if you choose to study abroad you will develop further desirable skills such as independence, knowledge of different cultures, international communication skills and adaptability.
Our previous graduates have gone on to a wide variety of careers, including work in accountancy and banking, the government and the civil service, law, heritage and museums, teaching, publishing, public sector management, libraries and archives, and media research and production. Past employers include GCHQ, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the University of Oxford, the British Museum, the NHS, the Environment Agency and Sotheby's.
Alternatively, you can choose to further develop your research skills by moving on to postgraduate studies.