BA Ancient History and English (Not recruiting from 2025/26)

Programme overview

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme in 2023/2024 or before. For students entering the programme from September 2024 or after, you can find the details of your programme:
BA Ancient History and English (For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

A joint honours degree allows you to study the same core topics as students on each single honours course, but you’ll take fewer optional modules so you can fit in both subjects. Classical texts are taught in translation, so you don’t need to have studied an ancient language. However, we offer Ancient Greek and Latin in every year of the degree if you want to learn or continue with either.

The Ancient History and English degree programme allows you to explore diverse topics from across the classical world, revealing the complex nuances of these fascinating societies. You’ll also explore richly diverse English literary texts across different genres, including fiction, poetry and drama, and will see these in the context of a variety of historical periods, places and cultures. You’ll consider how and why these texts are produced, read, and understood and analyse the impact of their creativity and power.

Your first year will lay the foundations for your degree. Core modules will guide you through the transition to university study, helping you to read critically, write effectively, understand literary genres, and develop and broaden your understanding of how ancient concepts, ideas, events, art, architecture and literature continue to influence modern culture. Ancient History core modules will introduce you to the major events and trends that affected the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds, and you’ll also have the chance to learn or continue with Latin or Ancient Greek.

You’ll go on to deepen your knowledge of ancient political systems, societies and cultures and broaden your understanding of theoretical approaches to ancient sources. On the English side of the programme, you will take further modules on the literatures of the environment and human embodiment designed to enhance your intellectual independence and initiative. At Levels 2 and 3, we offer an extensive range of optional modules in English and in Ancient History, enabling you to choose more advanced thematic content to further hone your skills. Throughout the course, you will develop valuable interpretative and analytical skills, as well as becoming a confident researcher. You will demonstrate these qualities in when you undertake a Final Year Project on a topic of your choice in either English or Ancient History.

Students on this programme may apply for transfer to an International Degree. The opportunity to apply for a work placement (Industrial Degree) is also available. Classics at Leeds has exchange links with Verona University (Italy) and modern language classes are available before you go to prepare you for the experience. There are also opportunities at our partner universities across the world where courses are taught in English.

At Level 3, all students will take a 40 credit capstone project appropriate to their degree programme. Alongside the capstone projects, students will be able to take 80 further credits of optional specialist modules.

Year 1

(Not recruiting from 2025/26)

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

Compulsory Modules

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS1300	The Greek World: an Introduction	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS1400	The Roman World: An Introduction	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL1055	Writing Matters	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL1065	Reading Between the Lines	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Optional Modules

The remaining 40 credits may be taken either as Discovery credits, or as choices from the optional modules listed below, or as a combination of both.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS1100	Ancient Lives	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS1650	Introduction to Classical Archaeology	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL1221	Modern Fictions in English: Conflict, Liminality, Translation	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL1261	Poetry: Reading and Interpretation	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL1286	Drama: Reading and Interpretation	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL1855	Race, Writing and Decolonization	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS1030	Advanced Ancient Greek	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1200	Intermediate Ancient Greek	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1810	Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 1)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS1045	Advanced Latin	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1250	Intermediate Latin	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS1910	Beginners Latin	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery Modules

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules

Year 2

(Not recruiting from 2025/26)

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

To be eligible for a joint honours award, students must pass at least 40 credits at level 2 and 40 credits at level 3 in each of the named subjects.

Compulsory Modules

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2800	Evidence and Enquiry in Classics	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
ENGL2030	Writing Environments: Literature, Nature, Culture	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL2045	Body Language: Literature and Embodiment	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Optional Modules

Candidates will be required to study at least 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2400	Invisible Greeks and Romans	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2900	Ancient Empires: Power and Control	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

The remaining 40 credits may be taken either as Discovery credits, or as choices from the optional modules listed below, or as a combination of both.

Candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2255	The Worlds of Alexander the Great	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2352	The World of Herodotus	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2390	The Rise of Rome: Myth and History	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2420	Augustus and his Legacy	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2650	The Image of Sparta	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2680	Greek Art and Society	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2740	Greek Religion	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2890	The City in the Roman World	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2926	A Water History of the Ancient World	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2927	Time, Space and Place in the Greek and Roman Worlds	20	Not running in 202526

Candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2120	Traversing Time: The Voyage of Argo	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2125	Writing Love in the Ancient World	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2220	Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2450	Screening Antiquity	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2595	Heroines: Representations of Mythological Women from Antiquity to the Present	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2750	Happiness and the Good Life in the Greek and Roman Worlds	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2760	Thinkers and Storytellers: Myth and Reason in the Ancient World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2790	Greek Tragedy	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2924	Ancient Comedy	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS2925	The Ancient Novel	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2200	Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 2)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2810	Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 2)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS2260	Intermediate Latin (Level 2)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2910	Beginners Latin (Level 2)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Candidates may study up to 40 credits from the list below. Candidates may not take more than one option from each basket.

Basket 1:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL2029	Renaissance Literature	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL2085	Medieval and Tudor Literature	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Basket 2:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL2065	Postcolonial Literature	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL2090	Modern Literature	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Basket 3:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL2095	Other Voices: Rethinking Nineteenth-Century Literature	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL2096	The World Before Us: Literature 1660–1830	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Basket 4:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL2055	American Words, American Worlds	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL2080	Contemporary Literature	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Discovery Modules

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules.

Year 3

(Not recruiting from 2025/26)

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

To be eligible for a joint honours award, students must pass at least 40 To be eligible for a joint honours award, students must pass at least 40 credits at level 2 and 40 credits at level 3 in each of the named subjects.

Optional Modules

Candidates will be required to study 40 credits from the following modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS3200	Major Research Project	40	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ENGL3005	Textual Editing Project	40	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ENGL3041	Final Year Project	40	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

If CLAS3200 is taken, candidates will be required to study at least 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 1-2; if either ENGL3005 or ENGL3041 is taken, candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 1-2:

Basket 1:

The list provided below is indicative and subject to change year by year depending on staff availability.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL3031	Sex and Suffering in the Eighteenth-Century Novel	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3033	Writing and Gender in Seventeenth-Century England	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3034	Romantic Lyric Poetry	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3037	Speech Acts: Contemporary Approaches to Text and Performance	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3063	Haunted Hinterlands: Wyrd Works and Folk Horror Fictions	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3068	African American Narrative	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3069	African Literature	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3073	Turks, Moors and Jews: Race and Identity in Early Modern Drama	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3114	Forming Victorian Fiction	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3321	Angry Young Men and Women: Literature of the Mid-Twentieth Century	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3386	Telling Lives: Reading and Writing Family Memoir	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3484	Prose Fiction Stylistics and the Mind	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ENGL3680	Postcolonial London	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Basket 2:

The list provided below is indicative and subject to change year by year depending on staff availability.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ENGL3027	Shakespeare	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3062	Charles Dickens Then & Now	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3066	The Public Poet (Creative Writing)	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3072	Narratives of Witchcraft and Magic	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3153	Refugee Narratives	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3163	Milton	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3391	September 11 in Fact and Fiction	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3396	Fictions of the End: Apocalypse and After	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3402	Home Bodies: Domestic Animals in Contemporary Literature	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3407	Shakespeare and Global Cinema	20	Not running in 202526
ENGL3476	Crime Fiction Stylistics: Crossing Languages, Culture, Media	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3483	The Politics of Language	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ENGL3579	Law and Literature: Transgression, Justice, and Interpretation	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

If either ENGL3005 or ENGL3041 is taken, candidates will be required to study 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 3-6; if CLAS3200 is taken, candidates may study 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 3-6:



Basket 3: candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS3004	A Water History of the Ancient World	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3006	Time, Space and Place in the Greek and Roman Worlds	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3150	The Worlds of Alexander the Great: From Pella to Punjab	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3352	The World of Herodotus	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3390	The Rise of Rome: Myth and History	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3420	Augustus and his Legacy	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3650	The Image of Sparta	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3680	Greek Art and Society	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3740	Greek Religion	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3890	The City in the Roman World	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Basket 4: candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS3001	Ancient Comedy	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3002	The Ancient Novel	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3003	Thinkers and Storytellers: Myth and Reason in the Ancient World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3005	Happiness and the Good Life in the Greek and Roman Worlds	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3007	Writing Love in the Ancient World	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3120	Traversing Time: The Voyage of Argo	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3220	Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3450	Screening Antiquity	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3595	Heroines: Representations of Mythological Women from Antiquity to the Present	20	Not running in 202526
CLAS3790	Greek Tragedy	20	Not running in 202526

Basket 5: candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS3230	Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 3)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3815	Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 3)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3835	Advanced Ancient Greek	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Basket 6: candidates may study up to 20 credits from the following:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
CLAS3260	Intermediate Latin (Level 3)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3915	Beginners Latin (Level 3)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3935	Advanced Latin	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery Modules

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules

Last updated: 13/10/2025 16:50:58

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