Classics has been an important subject since the foundation of the College.

Why choose Classics at Girton?

The Students
Classics flourishes at Girton, and has been an important subject since the foundation of the College. A tradition of excellence among Girton Classics students was begun by Agnata Frances Ramsay, who was the only candidate in 1887 to be placed in the first division of the First Class of the Classics Tripos examination, an achievement honoured with a cartoon in Punch. Girton Classicists are also strong in inter-year support and advice, and get fully involved in the wider College, Classics Faculty and University communities. 

Resources
Thanks to generous donors, funds are available to support the study of Classics at Girton in the form of grants for travel to Classical lands, bursaries for those eligible, a book grant for all Classics students and help with pre-course tuition if your offer demands it. There is a particularly well stocked Classical section in our library, and we have a small antiquities museum, the Lawrence Room, containing an eclectic collection of small finds from all over the Classical world and (in the case of some of the Roman material) from beneath the College itself. The star of the museum is Hermione Grammatikē, a Roman portrait mummy, excavated by William Flinders Petrie at the cemetery in Hawara in the Fayum early in 1911.

Undergraduate Classics Admissions

• No. of students admitted per year: 4
• Entry requirements: All entry requirements are A-Level standard or equivalent, unless otherwise stated. Latin or Classical Greek to A-Level for the three-year course. Some experience of Classical Greek is desirable, but the Intensive Greek programme caters for those beginning from scratch. Highly desirable are essay-based subjects and, particularly for those without experience of ancient languages, modern languages.
• Typical offer: A*AA
• Assessment arrangements: There is no written assessment for this subject at Girton College.
• Interview arrangements: Two interviews. If invited to interview, applicants will be asked to submit two pieces of recent, marked schoolwork (in any subject). The submitted work will be discussed in at least one of the interviews. At least one of the interviews will be focused on linguistic ability or aptitude, tailored to candidates’ experience. Applicants for the four-year course will have a separate Language aptitude assessment interview run by the Faculty.

Classics undergraduate information

You can study Classics at Girton whether or not you have studied Latin and/or Classical Greek. There are different versions of the three-year course depending on whether you have two ancient language A-Levels or one, and there is a four-year course, whose first year focuses on Latin and then Greek, for those who have never studied either ancient language, or who have less than A-level experience in Latin. This course is unique in the UK in enabling students to take both Latin and Classical Greek from scratch to a high level. Whatever your interests and whatever experience you have in studying the culture, literature and languages of the Greece and Roman world, we strongly encourage you to explore Classics as early and as widely as possible.

In an eight-week term in the first two years of the three-year course, four assignments will be set on topics in Greek and Latin literature and four on students’ two chosen options (students select two of Philosophy, Ancient History, Art and Archaeology, and Linguistics and Philology at the end of their first term; students on the four-year course have the chance to study three or four of these options over two years). Students in consultation with their Director of Studies form their own programme of text-based and other modules, for which assessment is through a mix of exams and coursework. Until completion of the second year (the third year of the four-year course), students also have at least one learning assignment in Latin and Greek every week. Submitted written work forms the starting-point for further exploration of the topic and the relevant materials in the supervision. A distinctive feature of Girton classics supervisions is the variety of assignments, which build into the programme the development of presentation skills, collaboration and critical research skills. 

Much of the supervision in literature and language is currently covered in College (though the supervisions themselves sometimes take place in the Faculty, on the Sidgwick site). Other subjects are supervised by experts from other Colleges, and this naturally increases at Part II, as students choose from a range of papers on specialist topics. The majority of students opt to write a dissertation as one of their papers for Part II. Recent topics include: the philosophy of Parmenides; transformations of the Niobe myth, the historiography of the general Epaminondas, Pompeian graffiti, Classical dog names, and Piranesi’s relationship with Antiquity.

Classics postgraduate information

Classics PhD and MPhil students are very well served at Girton and there are usually at least three postgraduates in Classics at any one time. They are particularly valued members of the College Classics community, invited to all subject social events and encouraged to pass on their wisdom to undergraduates. The College library is unusually good in Classics resources and the Lawrence Room offers a unique source of inspiration. Recent PhD topics pursued by Classicists at Girton have included Greek vase inscriptions and Aristotle’s political philosophy.

Research and postgraduate students are admitted to the University by the Board of Graduate Studies. You must therefore apply centrally and not to the College, but you must be admitted to a College to be able to study at the University. To ensure that this is Girton, you need to indicate this on your application form.

Career destinations

Classics students go on to follow a fascinatingly diverse range of career paths. International relations, law, management, the media, the civil service, accountancy and teaching are all popular tracks. Some graduates do continue in research, both in Classics and in other disciplines, or apply their skills to work in archives, libraries and museums. Recent interviews with major employers have confirmed that they have a high opinion of Classicists as potential employees.