Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies

Ancient, classical and medieval studies brings together three of the great periods of human history before the modern era, from the Bronze Age civilisations of the Mediterranean and Near East through the ancient Greece and Rome that shaped Western culture so profoundly, to the medieval world that transmitted, transformed and extended that inheritance across Europe and beyond. Studying these periods together means engaging with an extraordinary range of material: archaeology, ancient languages, literature, philosophy, religion, law, art and architecture, and the social and political structures of very different societies. It is one of the most genuinely multidisciplinary approaches to the human past available at undergraduate level.

At the University of Winchester, this three-year programme takes a multidisciplinary approach to the human past, drawing on archaeology, classical studies and history to cover the Bronze Age through to the medieval period. You will study material evidence from archaeological excavations alongside written sources in translation, developing the ability to interpret different kinds of historical evidence and to understand how historians and archaeologists construct knowledge from the fragmentary remains of the past. Winchester's School of Humanities brings together expertise across the full range of the programme's chronological and disciplinary span.

The skills the degree develops are highly transferable: close reading of complex texts, the critical evaluation of evidence, the ability to construct sustained arguments, cultural sensitivity and an understanding of long historical change are all capacities that employers across many sectors value.

Graduates go on to careers in heritage and museums, archives, education, publishing, journalism, the civil service, arts administration and many other fields where the analytical and communicative skills that humanities study develops are valued. Further study in classics, ancient history, medieval history, archaeology or related disciplines is also a common route, and some graduates pursue academic careers in research and teaching.