Course summary

Our BA Ancient History and Archaeology allows you to combine and pursue your interests in the history and archaeology of the ancient world. We will equip you to study the Greek and Roman past through textual and archaeological evidence, from Greek pottery to Roman inscriptions, ancient cities to classical authors. You will study a broad chronological and geographical sweep, with topics including:

• the rise of the Greek city-states

• classical Athens

• the foundations of the Roman Empire

• the transformation of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity

• the Byzantine Empire from the foundation of Constantinople to the medieval period.

• In history, classics and archaeology, Birkbeck is home to thriving student societies and a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.

• Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

• Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists and archaeologists in the same team of academics who investigate every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.

• We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources. Situated very close by are: the Institute of Classical Studies, with its library, training facilities and seminars; the British Museum, with its extensive collection of classical antiquities; and the British Library, the largest national library in the world.

• archaeologist

• heritage manager

• museum/gallery curator.