Postgraduate Studies

MA (/Diploma /Certificate) in Classical Language and Literature

Aims and Objectives

The general aims of this degree scheme are:

1. To provide a self-contained year of structured and challenging study for those that wish to pursue their interests in Greek and/or Latin language and literature.
2. To provide a broad foundation for postgraduate work in general, by laying particular stress on the methodologies and research tools needed for independent advanced study. The MA thus also acts as training for students who intend to undertake an MPhil or PhD.
3. To provide a professional qualification in Greek and/or Latin.

The specific objectives of this degree scheme are:

1. To develop students’ ability to understand and translate Latin and/or Greek language.
2. To extend students’ knowledge of Greek and/or Latin literature through the reading of texts, in both the original and in translation.
3. To develop skills of literary criticism and an awareness of the author’s skill and art.
4. To enhance students’ appreciation of the great richness and variety of the literary heritage of the Greek and/or Roman world.
5. To enhance students’ knowledge of Greek and/or Roman civilisation.
6. To introduce and develop students’ understanding of the variety of approaches taken by modern scholars to the study of literature.
7. To recognise and evaluate critically the range of methodologies used by such scholars.

Key features

The MA in Classical Language and Literature is one of four degrees at postgraduate level offered by the Department that contain a substantial language element.  Like the Licence in Greek and the Licence in Latin, the MA in Classical Language and Literature can be started at any level; linguistic skills at advanced level are a prerequisite for the MA in Classics.

Students taking the MA in Classical Language and Literature can either focus on one classical language or include both Latin and Greek. Please note that students are not able to start both Latin and Greek at Beginners level in the same academic year.

The Licences in Greek or Latin can be used as pathways into this MA scheme.  Students can start a Licence and then transfer a maximum of 60 credits into the MA in Classical Language and Literature.

Language modules taken at the Lampeter Summer Workshop in Greek and Latin can be integrated into this MA. 

Detailed information about the language modules that we offer can be found here.

In addition to the linguistic part of this degree, students also take at least 20 credits of Literature options.  Modules cover a range of options, from major genres such Epic and Tragedy, to Historiography and the Ancient Novel.

In their MA dissertations students are expected to retain a focus on the language and literature of the ancient world.

Course outline

Programme summary

Programme breakdown (taught part MA / Diploma)

The taught part of the MA / Diploma consists of 120 credits and needs to be chosen according to the following rules to ensure a focus on the study of the language and literature of the classical world.  Please note that individual module descriptions will give all the necessary information:  e.g. whether a module is available for distance learning and when it is taught for residential students.  Modules for residential students are subject to demand and the module portfolio is subject to change. 

For the choice of programme please follow the instructions under A and B.

A.  100 credits of the programme need to be chosen as follows:

Compulsory core modules:  20 credits

• General MA Study and Research Methodology:  10 credits
• Methodology for the Literature- and Language-Based MAs:  10 credits

Linguistic modules:  either 40 or 60 credits

• Latin Beginners I:  20 credits
• Latin Beginners II:  20 credits
• Latin Intermediate I:  20 credits
• Latin Intermediate II:  20 credits
• Latin Advanced I:  20 credits
• Latin Advanced II:  20 credits
• Medieval Latin:  20 credits
• Greek Beginners I:  20 credits
• Greek Beginners II:  20 credits
• Greek Intermediate I:  20 credits
• Greek Intermediate II:  20 credits
• Greek Advanced I:  20 credits
• Greek Advanced II:  20 credits

Distance students will need to start modules at the same time as campus-based students and work at more or less the same pace (in October for Michaelmas modules; in January for Lent modules).  See the individual module descriptions for further details.  With the exception of Medieval Latin or modules offered at our summer school, no language modules are available over the summer.  Absolute beginners can only start language modules in October.

For further details and information on language courses at postgraduate level, click here.

Linguistic modules offered at the Lampeter Summer Workshop

In addition to the various modules offered throughout the academic year, the Department of Classics also holds an annual Summer Workshop in Latin and Greek which has proved to be very successful.  We offer high quality intensive language teaching in Latin, Medieval Latin, Renaissance Latin and Greek (one and two-week courses).  All teaching is done in small, friendly groups by experienced staff.  Each year the Department welcomes participants from a range of ages and backgrounds.

Taking a module at the Summer Workshop gives students the opportunity to try out their linguistic skills, to meet their tutors, and discuss their individual requirements.  This is particularly important if they plan to take a language module as a distance learner. Any module taken at the Summer Workshop can count towards any of our taught degree schemes (subject to approval by the Director of Postgraduate Studies), as all the modules offered during the Workshop are fully accredited by the University.

Students who would like to include a module from the Summer Workshop in their programme need to attend for the full two weeks.  All modules available at the Summer Workshop are ten credits each, but modules taken at intermediate / advanced or advanced level can be upgraded to 20 credits modules.

For a full brochure and application form, please contact the Department.  For further information about the Summer Workshop, click here.

Option modules Literature:  either 40 or 20 credits, depending on the number of linguistic modules taken ( see table above)

• "Being Greek under Rome": Greek literature and culture in the Imperial period:   20 credits
• Between Narrative and Interpretation:  Writing History in the Ancient World:  20 credits
• Julius Caesar and his Times:  20 credits
• Myth in Greek and Roman Epic:  20 credits
• The Invention of Fiction in Greece:  20 credits

B.  The remaining 20 credits can be taken from the option modules Literature and / or can be taken from a series of additional modules.

Additional modules:

• Ancient Medicine: Myth & Practice   20 credits
• Kings, Gods and Heroes: Myth and History in early Rome and Etruria:  20 credits
• Myth and Art from Homer to Late Antiquity:  20 credits
• Pagans, Jews, and Christians in Late Antiquity:  20 credits
• Stories, Histories and Ticket-Sales: Greeks and Romans on the Silver Screen:  20 credits
• Women in Ancient Myth and Society:  20 credits

Alternative pathways into the MA in Classical Language and Literature

Students undertaking the Licence in Greek or Licence in Latin or those taking language modules as a postgraduate occasional student may transfer into the MA in Classical Language and Literature, taking with them some of the credits undertaken for these schemes (APL credits).  The possibilities will depend on the linguistic starting level.  Please contact the Director of Postgraduate Studies, Dr. James Richardson.

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