Classics

At Trinity you can study Classics (Literae Humaniores) and, from 2025 entry, Classical Archaeology and Ancient History (CAAH). It is also possible to apply for the Joint Schools in Classics and English, Classics and Modern Languages (French or Spanish), Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and Ancient and Modern History.

Undergraduates benefit from being part of a year group of six or seven students studying Classics. They get to know Trinity Classicists in other year groups through social events including the annual subject dinner, and through the activities of the Trinity Classics Society, which organises events such as speaker meetings and film nights as well as termly read-throughs (in translation) of Classical plays. We also welcome applications for Masters and DPhil courses in Classical Languages and Literature and Ancient History, and our graduate Classicists play an important role in the Trinity Classics community.

The College is very conveniently located for Classics students: the Classics Faculty’s home at the Ioannou Centre on St Giles’ is only a few minutes’ walk away, as are the central Bodleian Library and the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library.

Course Details

Full details of all the Classics courses are available on the Classics Faculty website. The courses in Classics (Literae Humaniores), Classics and English, Classics and Modern Languages and Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies all have a strong focus on language work in Latin and/or Ancient Greek, but you do not have to have studied either language before to apply for any of them. At Trinity we warmly welcome both students who wish to learn Latin and/or Greek from scratch as part of one of these courses and those who have already studied one or both languages. The courses in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History and in Ancient and Modern History do not require language work, although you can choose to study some Latin and/or Greek at an appropriate level, including from scratch.

From early on in each course, and particularly after the first year, students can choose to study options which interest them from among a huge range of possibilities. In Classics (Literae Humaniores) this includes options in Classical literature, ancient history, archaeology, philosophy (including modern philosophy) and linguistics. Classical Archaeology and Ancient History students choose options in Mediterranean history, archaeology, and art from the fourth millennium BC to the seventh century AD. Ancient and Modern History combines the historical study of both the ancient and modern worlds, while in Classics and English and Classics and Modern Languages, the Classics side of the degree focuses on language(s) and literature. In Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, you follow the first part of the course for Literae Humaniores (for five terms), and then divide the second part of the course (for seven terms) between Classics papers and papers in an Asian or Middle Eastern language such as Arabic, Persian or Sanskrit.

More Information

Oxford Faculty of Classics

Trinity and the Classics Faculty (Google Maps)

classics students in a tutorial consulting texts.

Teaching Structure

The Classics Faculty sets the structure for each course, organises lectures, larger classes and much of the language teaching, and sets and marks exams. Tutorials are the responsibility of the College. At Trinity much of the tutorial teaching in Classics is provided by our own academics, who have wide and varied interests ranging across Latin and Greek literature, ancient history, and philosophy. Other options are taught by specialists at other Colleges. Trinity also provides a substantial amount of language teaching, including reading classes, to complement Faculty language classes.

Each undergraduate has one of Trinity’s Classics academics as their Director of Studies, who supervises their academic progress and helps them to choose the route through their course that best suits their talents and interests. Trinity's Classics team is led by the Tutorial Fellow in Classics (Gail Trimble) and the Career Development Fellow in Ancient History (Katherine Backler), and includes a Research Lecturer in Classics (Alexandros Kampakoglou). We also work closely with the Fellows and Lecturer in Philosophy.

Admissions

Our tutors are looking for enthusiastic students who are committed to studying and reading extensively about the ancient world and responding to it with intelligence and imagination, whatever their previous experience. Applicants for Classics, Classics and English, Classics and Modern Languages and Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies also need to demonstrate clear ability in or strong potential to learn ancient languages. In all aspects of your application, including interviews, we will be looking for aptitude and potential for the various different aspects of your chosen course.

Classics course details and admissions criteria

Oxford Undergraduate Admissions

Academic Study Support

All students have access to non-means-tested grants to support their studies; further funding is available to support research projects and placements, including travel grants. More detail is available on our Student Support pages.

Trinity also offers a specific fund (the Lingen Fund) to support Classics students undertaking vacation travel linked to their studies. Many of our Classicists benefit from an award towards travel to Classical sites in Greece, Italy or elsewhere.

Travel and Academic Funding for Students

Undergraduate Financial Support

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Career Prospects

The Classics courses at Oxford are characterised by their combination of rigour, breadth, and creativity and the skills learned as part of a degree in Classics are highly valued by employers. Graduates take up careers from law, consultancy, publishing and the civil service to medicine and software development, and a substantial number also go on to further study, research or teaching in Classics and related subjects.

‘What makes Classics at Trinity so wonderful are our incredibly supportive tutors and our close-knit community - the older years are always happy to help! The Trinity Classics Society provides great opportunities to hear speakers you wouldn't otherwise get to listen to and our termly play readings are highly entertaining.'

Alannah