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Classical Literature & Civilisation and Philosophy

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus B at A-level. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level.

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Classical studies

Philosophy

Love reading and thinking for yourself? Then this innovative undergraduate degree course is for you.

Embrace the diversity of Greek and Roman culture as well as acquiring philosophical skills to engage critically with some of the deepest and most difficult questions human beings have ever been asked. You will have access to world-class Philosophy talent in fields as diverse as Metaphysics, Philosophy of Psychiatry, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Mind. On the Classical side you will work with plays, poems, and speeches that have come down to us from antiquity, and study the monument, religion and mythology that make up classical civilisation.

Classical compulsory modules introduce you to the history and literature of Greece and Rome, before taking you to the heart of their cultures. Optional module choice is wide, focusing not just on Greece and Rome, but Egypt and Western Asia too, and you have the option to study ancient languages. Philosophy compulsory modules introduce you to quintessential philosophical problems and in the second and final years of your course, you will have the flexibility to study the subjects that most interest you.

**Why study this course?**

**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.

**Learn from the very best** – You will study alongside some of the finest minds in the field. Times Higher Education ranked the Department in the Top 5 in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise

**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.

**Fantastic module variety** –The amount of optional modules on offer will allow you to specialise more as you progress through your degree course so that you can study areas of the discipline that interest you most. Modules such as Minds, Brains and Computers: Issues in Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Reasons to Believe: Topics in Epistemology and Fantastic Beasts and How to Understand them: Topics in Philosophy of Biology

**Philosophy from all angles** – We tackle philosophy from a wide range of perspectives ranging from Classical and Medieval to Continental, Eastern and Latin American. Not only do we teach it, but you can also live it as part of your year abroad with more 200 international university partners.

**Leading the discourse** – The Department is at the forefront of philosophical discussion and debate. Our Centres for Global Ethics and Philosophical Religion collaborate across disciplines and borders. Our world leading research as part of Mental Health Humanities at Birmingham is pushing the boundaries of cross disciplinary dialogue in the universities dynamic mental health research agenda.

**Top 10 for Classics and Ancient History in the Complete University Guide 2023**

**Top 10 for Philosophy in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023**

**1st Department of Philosophy came top in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on Grade Point Average**

Modules

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Classical studies
81%
Philosophy

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classics

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

62%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
90%
2:1 or above
0%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
91%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
64%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

78%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
31%
Male students
69%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
17%
Other elementary services occupations
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.

Philosophy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
70%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
15%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Other elementary services occupations

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Classics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here