Faculty of Classics - University of Cambridge

"I didn't take the direct route through to the PhD - I worked for a few years in software development, websites and marketing after taking my BA here at Cambridge. But I never quite got Classics out of my system, so I decided to do a PhD. (One final degree - promise!) I came back to Cambridge, so I could work with Malcolm Schofield who is Professor of Ancient Philosophy here.

"My PhD topic is situated at the intersection of a number of disciplines, which makes Cambridge a great place to be doing my research. For instance, the Classics Faculty hosts a weekly Graduate Interdisciplinary Seminar [GIS] at which we present our research to our fellow-students. The graduate community in the Faculty is large and it's incredibly helpful to receive input on work in progress from people working in so many different areas of Classics. The GIS is also a friendly and supportive environment in which to be initiated into the art of giving conference papers!" 

Georg Gerleigner

"Having done my first degree in Germany, where the different
sub-disciplines of Classics are scattered over a range of departments, I   found the integration of the full range of Classical studies under one roof which the Faculty of Classics here in Cambridge is offering very stimulating.  The availability of generous travel grants greatly facilitated the visit  of conferences and research trips."

The Cambridge-Munich Exchange  - probably a unique  institution - was a fantastic opportunity for me not only to get a glimpse
into a different academic culture with an important influence on Classical  scholarship past and present, but also to form lasting friendships - in both countries."  

Susanne Turner

When I first arrived in Cambridge to do a Ph.D. in 2004, I didn't know what to expect. But I needn't have worried. The graduates form a community, in every sense of the word - warm, welcoming and supportive. Like any community, what you get back depends on what you put in. Seminars every night of the week, including an interdisciplinary seminar organised by graduate students for graduate students, reading groups and 24-hr library access all foster an environment of unmatched intellectual stimulation. The resources are second to none (countless libraries, the Cast Gallery, the Fitzwilliam Museum), but it's the people (including my supervisor, Prof. Robin Osborne) that make me keep coming back for more, even now that I've moved on.

Dr Susanne Turner is now a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Reading.