2026/27 Undergraduate Programme Catalogue

BA Ancient History and History

Programme overview

Programme code
BA-AHIS&HIST
UCAS code
V110
Duration
3 Years
Method of Attendance
Full Time
Programme manager
Emma Stafford
Contact address
E.J.Stafford@leeds.ac.uk
Total credits
360
School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme
Languages, Cultures and Societies / Classics
Examination board through which the programme will be considered
Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups
Classics and Ancient History (including Byzantine Studies and Modern Greek)
History

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

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 History degree programme allows you to study history from the ancient world right up to the present day. You’ll have the chance to explore the civilisations of ancient Greece, Rome and Persia as well as more recent history across the globe. Students on this programme will benefit from contact with leading scholars in their field in both of the partner subjects. The Schools of History and Languages, Cultures and Societies are both internationally-recognised research leaders in their fields, with long-established reputations for excellence in research and teaching.

A combination of core modules will give you a good grounding in different types of historical research methods, archaeology, literary analysis and life in ancient Greek and Roman society. You’ll also choose from a range of optional modules that covers everything from Sparta to the Tudors, the history of Britain, Indian or African history, or black politics in the US to the present day. You’ll even have the chance to begin or continue with Latin or Ancient Greek throughout your degree. This degree allows you to combine the skills of the classicist and the historian to pursue your interests across periods and cultures. 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 History 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

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

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS1300The Greek World: an Introduction20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS1400The Roman World: An Introduction20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST1000Exploring History20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST1065Diverse Histories of Britain20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Optional Modules

Students may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST1060Faith, Knowledge and Power, 1500-175020Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST1310The Medieval World in Ten Objects20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST1320Medieval Lives: Identities, Cultures and Beliefs20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST1510Global Empires20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST1520Global Decolonization20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST1530The Making of the Twentieth Century20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MEDV1081Religion and Culture: Medieval Christianity, Judaism and Islam20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS1100Ancient Lives20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS1650Introduction to Classical Archaeology20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS1030Advanced Ancient Greek20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1200Intermediate Ancient Greek20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1810Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 1)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS1045Advanced Latin20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1250Intermediate Latin20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1910Beginners Latin20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules.

Year 2

[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

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2800Evidence and Enquiry in Classics20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
HIST2025History in Practice20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Optional Modules

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2400Invisible Greeks and Romans20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2900Ancient Empires: Power and Control20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students will be required to study at least 20 credits, and may study up to 40 credits, of History modules from the following optional modules in Baskets 1-5, to include no more than 20 credits from each basket. The modules offered may vary year on year.

Basket 1: Medieval and Early Modern History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST2035Medieval Masculinities: Sex, Violence and Learning 1000-120020Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2083Voices of the People: Language and Speech in the Early Modern World20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2090Sin in Spanish America, 1571-170020Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2105Medieval Romans and the shape of Afro-Eurasia today20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2170Patient Voices: Medicine and Healthcare in the Middle Ages20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2260Digital Methods for History, Art and Literature20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 2: Modern History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST2011Mud, Blood and Poetry: The Cultural History of War in Britain20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2309Communist Eastern Europe, 1945-8920Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2360Bass Culture in Modern Britain20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2420Nationalism, Colonialism and 'Religious Violence' in India, 1857-194720Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2432Lost Colonists: Failure and the Family in Southern Africa, 1880-193920Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it

Basket 3: Cross Listed

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST2140Imperial Germany 1871-191820Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2152Spain, 1898-1936: Disaster, Reaction and Reform20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2301The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union, 1921-199320Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2557Thinking About History20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST2565Histories of Black Britain20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST2658Mao Zedong and Modern China, 1949-Present20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 4: Medieval and Early Modern History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST2037Dread and Despair? Living with Disability in the Middle Ages20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2045Transformations of the Roman World20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2073Most Christian Kings: France, 1515-171520Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2220The Body, Disease and Society in Europe, 1500-175020Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2580Slavery Studies Through Autobiography20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MEDV2085Medieval Narratives in the Modern World: Nationalism, Terrorism, Popular Culture20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 5: Modern History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST2103Later Victorian England: Politics, Society and Culture20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2315Mughals, Merchants and Mercenaries: 'Company Raj' in India 1600-185720Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2353America and the Sixties20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2430The History of Africa since 190020Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST2434The Global Caribbean, 1641-184820Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2255The Worlds of Alexander the Great20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2352The World of Herodotus20Not running in 202627
CLAS2390The Rise of Rome: Myth and History20Not running in 202627
CLAS2420Augustus and his Legacy20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2650The Image of Sparta20Not running in 202627
CLAS2680Greek Art and Society20Not running in 202627
CLAS2740Greek Religion20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2890The City in the Roman World20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2926A Water History of the Ancient World20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2927Time, Space and Place in the Greek and Roman Worlds20Not running in 202627

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2120Traversing Time: The Voyage of Argo20Not running in 202627
CLAS2125Writing Love in the Ancient World20Not running in 202627
CLAS2220Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections20Not running in 202627
CLAS2450Screening Antiquity20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2595Heroines: Representations of Mythological Women from Antiquity to the Present20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2750Happiness and the Good Life in the Greek and Roman Worlds20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2760Thinkers and Storytellers: Myth and Reason in the Ancient World20Not running in 202627
CLAS2790Greek Tragedy20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2924Ancient Comedy20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS2925The Ancient Novel20Not running in 202627

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2200Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 2)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2810Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 2)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS2260Intermediate Latin (Level 2)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2910Beginners Latin (Level 2)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules.

Year 3

[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.

Optional Modules

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

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS3200Major Research Project40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
HIST3075Public History Project40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
HIST3500History Dissertation40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Students will be required to study 40 credits from the following special subject modules. These modules will vary year on year.

Basket 1 Medieval & Early Modern History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3001Conquest, Convivencia and Conflict: Christian and Muslim Spain, 711-121240Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3071An Animal History of Byzantium, c. 1000-120040Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3498Early Modern Media: Printing and the People in Europe c.1500-c.180040Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3687The Later Elizabethan Age: Politics and Empire40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 2 Modern History – International

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3235Dividing India: The Road to Democracy in South Asia, 1939-195240Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3330Europe in an Age of Total Warfare40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3332The Spanish Civil War, 1936-193940Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3590White Africans: Intimacy, Race and Power40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3695The Korean War40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3930The First World War: A Global Conflict40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 3 Modern British History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3076Bodies on Display: Histories and Ethics of Human Exhibition in Britain40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3392Eastern Subjects: British Attitudes to India, 1757-185740Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3440The Photographic Age: Photography, Society and Culture in Britain, 1839-194540Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3685Georgians at War40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 4 Modern World History

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3018Pieces of A Man: the art, politics and life of Gil Scott-Heron (1949 – 2011)40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3220Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3240The Harlem Renaissance40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3390The Soviet Sixties: Politics and Society in the USSR, 1953-196840Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 5 IHP Britain & Europe

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3747The Iron Lady Abroad: Margaret Thatcher and UK Foreign Policy from 197940Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 6 IHP Global

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3015Indonesia from Revolution to Dictatorship (1945-1967)40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3026People, Water and Sand: An Environmental History of the Middle East40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
HIST3888The Global Vietnam War40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

If students have chosen CLAS3200, they may take 20 credits from the following History option modules. These modules will vary year-on-year.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
HIST3074The Slave Trade, Slavery and Britain’s Atlantic Empire20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST3100Colonial Bodies: Life and Death in British India, 1757-190020Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST3450American History, American Historians20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
HIST3530Mapping the Middle Ages: Space and Representation from the Pacific to the Atlantic20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
HIST3790Gender and Slavery in Latin America, 1580-188820Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MEDV3010Medieval Origin Stories: From the Trojans to the Turks20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MEDV3411Medieval Women Mystics: Visionaries, Saints and Heretics20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

If students have chosen HIST3500 or HIST3075, they will be required to study at least 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 1-4; if CLAS3200 is taken, students may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules in Baskets 1-4:

Basket 1: students may study up to 40 credits from the following. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS3004A Water History of the Ancient World20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3006Time, Space and Place in the Greek and Roman Worlds20Not running in 202627
CLAS3150The Worlds of Alexander the Great: From Pella to Punjab20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3352The World of Herodotus20Not running in 202627
CLAS3390The Rise of Rome: Myth and History20Not running in 202627
CLAS3420Augustus and his Legacy20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3650The Image of Sparta20Not running in 202627
CLAS3680Greek Art and Society20Not running in 202627
CLAS3740Greek Religion20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3890The City in the Roman World20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 2: students may study up to 40 credits from the following. Not all modules in this list will run every year.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS3001Ancient Comedy20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3002The Ancient Novel20Not running in 202627
CLAS3003Thinkers and Storytellers: Myth and Reason in the Ancient World20Not running in 202627
CLAS3005Happiness and the Good Life in the Greek and Roman Worlds20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3007Writing Love in the Ancient World20Not running in 202627
CLAS3120Traversing Time: The Voyage of Argo20Not running in 202627
CLAS3220Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections20Not running in 202627
CLAS3450Screening Antiquity20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3595Heroines: Representations of Mythological Women from Antiquity to the Present20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS3790Greek Tragedy20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 3: students may study up to 20 credits from the following:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS3230Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 3) 20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3815Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 3)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3835Advanced Ancient Greek20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 4: students may study up to 20 credits from the following:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
CLAS3260Intermediate Latin (Level 3)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3915Beginners Latin (Level 3)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3935Advanced Latin20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules

Last updated: 07/05/2026 16:55:57

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team