2023 entry
BA Ancient History (V110)
Course overview

Typical offer
A-level standard offer: AAB
A-level contextual offer: BBB
See entry requirements for full details and eligibility.
Course duration
3 year(s) full-time
6 year(s) part-time
Part-time study with daytime weekday teaching.
Application method
Full-time: UCAS
Part-time: Contact artf-ugoffice@bristol.ac.uk for more information and to apply.
Fees
£9,250 per year, home students
£22,200 per year, international students
Part-time tuition fees will normally be charged on a pro rata basis
More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.
Location
Ancient History at Bristol gives you the flexibility to combine core units on Graeco-Roman history and culture with more specialised topics.
In the first two years you will take core units exploring the history of the ancient Greek and Roman world, the sources of information available for reconstructing it, and the different approaches employed by modern scholars. You will also choose from optional units on a wide range of topics dealing with Roman and Greek society and culture, including literature, philosophy and art. You may also choose to study Latin or Greek. There is the possibility of studying abroad for one semester in the second year.
In your third year you will choose units from a range of special subject seminars based on our academics' wide range of research interests. Working in co-operation with a supervisor, you will research and write a dissertation on a topic of your choice. You will also take the Applied Classics unit, which involves planning, marketing and executing a project aimed at presenting and communicating some aspect of the ancient world to the wider public.
Course structure
Your degree combines core units, which help you to develop the core skills and knowledge of an ancient historian, with optional ones, to allow you to shape your degree according to your own interests and to explore material of your choosing in more detail. The core units constitute two thirds of your units for the first two years of the degree. In the first year these include large-scale survey units on Greek and Roman history, a unit dealing with ancient historical writing as a source, and a unit dealing in more detail with a specific historical topic. In the second year, they include units dealing in detail with material sources (such as archaeology and coins) and units which introduce more sophisticated theoretical approaches to the ancient world and think about the ancient world in distinctive ways. Alongside these, you have the option to take other units from elsewhere in the department or beyond, including languages. In the third year, you will select units from the selection of specialist subject units in the department (these can also include languages), alongside your dissertation and the Applied Classics unit. More detail about individual units can be found on the course catalogue.
Full details about the course structure and units for this course can be viewed in the programme catalogue.
Go to programme catalogueEntry requirements
We accept a wide variety of qualifications and welcome applications from students of all backgrounds. Below is a guide to the typical offers for this course.
A-level standard offer
AAB
BTEC
DDD in any Applied General BTEC National Level 3 Extended Diploma
Find out more about our BTEC entry requirementsInternational Baccalaureate Diploma
34 points overall with 17 at Higher Level
International Baccalaureate Diploma contextual offer
31 points overall with 15 at Higher Level
Find out if you are eligible for a contextual offerEuropean Baccalaureate
80% overall
Scottish Qualifications Authority
Advanced Higher: AB and Standard Higher: AAABB
Access to HE Diploma
Access to HE Diploma in Humanities, Social Sciences, Law or History (or similar titles). The 45 graded Level 3 credits must include 24 credits at Distinction and 21 at Merit or above.
Mature students can contact mature-students@bristol.ac.uk to check the suitability of their Access course.
Welsh Baccalaureate
Requirements are as for A-levels where you can substitute a non-subject specific grade for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate at that grade
Cambridge Pre-U
Requirements for principal subjects are as for A-level, where D1/ D2 is A*, D3 is A, M1/ M2 is B, and M3 is C
International qualifications
The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students, and we accept a wide range of qualifications for undergraduate and postgraduate study.
Search international qualificationsApplicants must also meet these requirements
GCSE profile requirements
No specific subjects required.
Further information about GCSE requirements and profile levels.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language, you need to have one of the following:
- 7.0 overall with 7.0 in writing and 6.5 in all other skills
- GCSE English Language grade B or 6
- An alternative English Language Profile B qualification
Further information about English language requirements and profile levels
More about UK qualifications.
Selection process
- We only use your information in UCAS, or your application form for part-time study, to assess your application. There are no other selection criteria or processes.
- Full information about our selection processes for this course:
- Regulations and codes of conduct we abide by to create a positive environment for learning and achievement: