Ancient History and Art History

Ancient History and Art History is a joint honours degree that connects the study of the ancient world with the history of visual and material culture across a much wider span of time. Ancient History focuses on the civilisations of Greece and Rome and their neighbours, examining the political, social, cultural and intellectual life of the ancient Mediterranean world from the emergence of Greek writing and urbanism in the eighth century BCE through to the fall of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Art History analyses the production, meaning and reception of images and objects across historical periods and cultures, developing the visual literacy and critical methods needed to understand how art has both reflected and shaped human experience.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad and operates within a research-active environment that takes the highest scholarly standards seriously. You will develop expertise in the history, archaeology and culture of the ancient world alongside the analytical and interpretive frameworks of art history, building a distinctive perspective that allows you to situate ancient visual culture within a longer and broader history of artistic production. The year abroad deepens both your historical and art historical education through study in a different scholarly context.

Graduates from Ancient History and Art History programmes go on to careers in academia, museums and galleries, heritage organisations, cultural policy, publishing, journalism, the art market and arts administration. The combination of deep historical knowledge and visual analytical skill is particularly valued in curatorial roles, heritage interpretation and the study of ancient material culture. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in classical studies, archaeology, art history or museum studies, and the degree provides an excellent foundation for doctoral research in the humanities.