Course summary

This innovative undergraduate degree course is for those fascinated by ancient cultures, as well as the written and spoken word. Study the full range of English language, alongside the society and literature of the classical world. Embrace the diversity of Greek and Roman culture, drawing together literature, drama, myth, religion, history, philosophy and art. By studying Classical Literature and Civilisation as a Joint Honours degree with English Language, you will gain a thorough appreciation of the technical aspects of the English language and its social and political context. Finding out how a language works and how societies communicate, combines a unique intellectual challenge with significant practical potential. You will also have the chance to use new resources, such as computer-held databases of linguistic data and you will be encouraged to embrace theoretical and technological advances in the study of language. In your Classical studies, explore the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome as well as the cultures of Ancient Egypt, Western Asia and the Byzantine Empire. Work with the plays, poems and speeches that have come down to us from antiquity, and study the monument, religion and mythology that make up classical civilisation. Why study this course? Broad range of specialisms to explore - Birmingham is internationally famous for its work in corpus linguistics, stylistics, the language of social media, figurative language and language learning and teaching. You can focus on traditional aspects of the subject such as grammar, pragmatics or historical linguistics, but you can also explore newer areas such as English used worldwide or English used in internet communication. Do more than read books –Take advantage of the wide ranging expertise within our academic community and delve into the study of social media, marketing, textual production, video games, comics, film and TV, music and art. Personalised support – Benefit from smaller class sizes including one-to-one support on coursework and feedback whilst also becoming part of our ever-growing careers network of highly skilled graduates. The University of Birmingham is the 4th most targeted University by Graduate Employers (High Fliers Research 2022). Learn from the very best – You will study alongside some of the finest minds in the field. Times Higher Education ranked the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology in the Top 10 in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (based on Grade Point Average). Unparalleled access to history - Explore our Cadbury Research Libraries collections consisting of over 200,000 rare books dating from 1471 and more than four million manuscript items. Top 10 for Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology in the Guardian University Guide 2023 Top 15 for English in the Complete University Guide 2023