Faculty of Classics - University of Cambridge

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Four-Year Degree 

For students who do not have Latin or Ancient Greek A level, Cambridge offers a four-year course in Classics. Students acquire knowledge of both languages at university, and no prior experience is assumed. This makes the course ideal for those who have a strong interest in the classical world but who have not yet been able to study the languages.  The course is also suitable for students who have had the opportunity to study either language but have not progressed past GSCE level.

The first year of the course (‘Prelim.’) is devoted to the intensive study of Latin. Experts in language instruction will guide you and, as your skills improve, you will move from course books to Latin texts by authors such as Cicero, Ovid and even the Emperor Augustus. Furthermore, the Latin that you study is set in its cultural context through lectures and supervisions. Following the Prelim. year, you will begin to study Ancient Greek alongside students who arrived at Cambridge with only Latin A-level, taking the three-year degree. Alongside them, you will continue your study of Latin as well as Greek. Therefore, after the Prelim. year, there is no distinction drawn between those following the four-year degree and those following the three-year degree but beginning Greek at university: you will attend the same lectures and supervisions and have the same choice of optional courses.

Like its three-year counterpart, the four-year course focuses on training classicists who can engage directly with texts in the original languages. Therefore, candidates should be able to demonstrate language-learning ability, through, for example, good results in a modern language at A level or GCSE. The degree is well established in Cambridge and has produced excellent students, who have moved on from university into a variety of satisfying careers or continued their studies of classics as post-graduates. 

"The four year course, and the opportunity it has provided to learn the classical languages, has completely redefined and expanded my knowledge of the classical world. Anyone who has not had the opportunity to study Latin and Greek at school but loves Classics should feel confident that, although challenging, this course is fun, stimulating and achieves real results. The value of the course is reflected in the fact I have been offered a place to study at Cambridge to do the Classics MPhil!"

Case Study: Tom Cheshire is about to enter the second year of the three-year Classics course.

He writes:"As daunting as starting at Cambridge seemed, - especially after a gap year – there was so much to do and find out, and so many people to meet, that there simply wasn’t the time to feel intimidated: it was only in the winter holidays that I could take stock and reflect on one of the most enjoyable terms of my life. Everyone quickly finds something in the course that appeals to them in particular and you’d be amazed at how much you learn over a year, especially considering that in our very first ancient history lecture the majority of us couldn’t locate Athens on a map!"