• BA (Hons) Literae Humaniores (Classics with Philosophy)
• BA (Hons) Classical Archaeology & Ancient History
• BA (Hons) Ancient & Modern History
• BA (Hons) Classics & English
• BA (Hons) Classics & Modern Languages
• BA (Hons) Classics & Oriental Studies
  

The Courses

Classics (‘Mods’ and ‘Greats’)
The majority of those doing classical subjects at Wadham read Mods and Greats, a four-year course comprising, to give them their formal names, Honour Moderations in Classics (taken in the fifth term) and the Final Honour School of Literae Humaniores.  This is one of the most widely respected degree courses in the world, and perhaps the most famous in Classics.  Lit Hum remains a rigorous and varied course; it is also extremely flexible, allowing students to take up to 5 of their 8 papers in Ancient History, Greek and Latin Literature, or Philosophy, and up to 2 in Philology and Archaeology. Moreover, versions of the course are open not only to those with only one classical language at A-Level (Mods IB if it is Latin, IC if it is Greek), but also to those who have not had the opportunity to study either language at A-Level (Mods IIA for those who choose to concentrate on Latin, IIB for Greek).  Candidates for courses IB, IC and II will be expected to have acquired before they start some knowledge of the language they will be learning intensively for Mods.  In some cases this will be at GCSE level, but it might also be such as can be gained at one of a number of summer schools. 

Joint Schools
We also regularly take students for Ancient & Modern History (which can, but need not, involve use of the classical languages, and which offers the chance to study both the ancient and the modern world); for Classical Archaeology & Ancient History (which offers the possibility of closely interrelated study of the history and material remains of the ancient world); for Classics & Modern Languages (which combines the study of a modern language and literature with Latin or Greek or both); for Classics & English (with its distinctive ‘Link’ papers, which pursue genres such as Epic, Tragedy or Pastoral from their origins to the present day); and for Classics & Oriental Studies, in which the College has a number of Fellows and about 25 undergraduates (the languages most commonly studied with Classics are Sanskrit, Arabic and Egyptian, but others are possible). The record of Wadham students in Classical Archeology & Ancient History has been particularly strong, with all our graduates since the inception of the course going on to further university courses, and two of them doing doctorates.

Admissions
We generally accept about 8 each year for Lit Hum and the related Joint Schools, and reckon to have a total of 29 to 31 students on course at any particular time. The College has some funds committed to the support of classical study, such as attendance at Summer Schools and the provision of Greek and Latin dictionaries. Most candidates aim to come to Oxford in the year following their application. Some, however, wish to defer their entry for a year, and we are keen to encourage applications from those who wish to do so and who have a plan of activity for the year.  

All candidates will be required to submit some recent examples of written work prior to interview.  During the interview period candidates for Lit Hum will take one or two one-hour tests; these will involve either translating passages (from Greek and/or Latin) or else (for those who are not studying Greek or Latin at A-level) tackling a ‘language aptitude test’. Candidates for linguistic Joint Schools will take one such paper on the classics side.  In recent years applicants for Lit Hum have had two or three interviews, one on language learning (for Course II candidates with members of the University’s classical language teaching team), a philosophy interview for the Course II candidates, and a general classical interview for all with the Tutors in Classics and Ancient History.  Joint School candidates are interviewed separately by tutors on both sides of the School for which they have applied.  The interviews themselves are devoted above all to discovering, and discussing, academic strengths and interests. 

The normal offer for successful candidates is AAA at A-level (and As will certainly be expected in the most relevant subjects).

The Tutors and other Fellows
Wadham has a strong tradition in Classics, Ancient History, and Philosophy, exemplified over the last half-century by Sir Maurice Bowra, T C W Stinton, I M Crombie, Professors George Forrest and Michael Ayers.  Quassim Cassam, for a long time tutor in Philosophy, is now Knightbridge Professor at Cambridge; Peter Derow, Tutor in Ancient History, and expert on Polybius, died in December 2006, and the college showed its commitment to the subject by immediately moving to appoint a successor.  Amongst the current tutors Stephen Heyworth concentrates on Latin literature, and particularly on the Augustan poets: his new Oxford Classical Text of Propertius will be published in 2007.  Peter Thonemann works on the history of the East Greek world, from Asia Minor to Afghanistan, with a particular focus on the age of Alexander the Great and his  early Successors.  Ruth Parkes is writing a commentary on Statius, Thebaid 4. Alexander Paseau’s main focus is on the philosophy of maths; Scott Sturgeon’s on epistemology and the philosophy of mind.  James Morwood, a retired fellow who still teaches for the college, is one of the authors of the Oxford Latin Course; he has also translated Euripides for the World’s Classics series, and composed Latin and Greek grammars and dictionaries.

Careers
Some of our graduates take postgraduate courses (not necessarily in classics), and go on to research or teaching (or both).  A pleasing proportion hold academic posts in Classics Departments in Britain or the United States.  The majority follow non-academic careers: in recent years these have included law, publishing, merchant banking, accountancy, the civil service, management consultancy, interior design, stockbroking, journalism, marketing, computers, and the church.  This broad range is evidence that the calibre of the course and the value of a good degree in it continue to be recognised by employers of all kinds.

Further Information
Full information about all these courses (and about application procedure, selection criteria, and a great deal else – see the section ‘FAQs’) is available on the undergraduate admissions pages of the ‘Classics at Oxford’ website. These pages contain links to the relevant sections of the University’s Undergraduate Prospectus .  In 2007 the Faculty of Classics moved into a splendid new centre on St Giles, five minutes walk from Wadham, and close to the Sackler Library and the Ashmolean Museum.  Even closer is the Bodleian Library.

Student Profile

Fern Langran-Goldsmith, 2nd Year, Lit Hum

At school I was lucky enough to study Latin and despite doing mostly science subjects for A-Level it was Classics that I chose to read at University as I really wanted to read more literature and learn about the context in which it was written.  I do the Classics 1B course which means that I took up Greek from scratch when I arrived and had a lesson on it every day for the first two terms. Learning a language in this intense way was certainly a challenge but enormously satisfying, and both the faculty and college are incredibly supportive as there are so many students who start at Oxford without one or either language. At the moment I am in the process of selecting my Greats Options and the breadth of topics available allows you to specialise in such a wide variety of subjects ranging from Philosophy (modern as well as Ancient) to Linguistics and Architecture that I am finding it difficult to limit my selection to eight papers!

Although I did not apply to Wadham, it suits me perfectly and I would not want to be anywhere else. It is a very friendly college with people from all types of background and it did not take long to settle in and make friends. There are loads of extra-curricular societies and clubs to join both at a college level as well as at the University level and this has allowed me to continue singing and playing badminton but has also given me the opportunity to take up rowing, something I had never tried before. Wadham is also unique in that it has a joint Student Union for the Undergraduates and Graduates and this is really easy to get involved with at any level from the day you arrive –this year I am one of the Access and Academic Affairs Officers and this has been a wonderful way to help with the access schemes Wadham is involved with.