Ancient History

Ancient history is the study of the societies, politics, cultures, and civilisations of the ancient world, principally Greece and Rome but also the Near East, Egypt, and the other civilisations of antiquity that have shaped the modern world. It is a discipline of detective work and imagination, reconstructing societies from the fragmentary evidence of texts, inscriptions, archaeology, and material culture, and asking what those civilisations achieved, how they thought, what they valued, and why they ultimately failed or transformed. Ancient history trains you in critical engagement with primary sources, the evaluation of scholarly debate, and the construction of historical arguments from incomplete evidence.

At the University of Leicester, this three-year full-time programme takes you into direct engagement with the ancient world: the political structures of Athens and Rome, the wars and empires that shaped the ancient Mediterranean, the social life of ordinary people in antiquity, and the religious and philosophical traditions that ancient civilisations produced. You will engage with primary sources, including written texts, inscriptions, and the evidence of material culture, developing the skills to read them critically and to place them in their historical contexts. A year abroad is part of the programme, giving you the opportunity to study ancient history in a different academic environment, potentially including direct engagement with ancient sites and classical collections elsewhere in Europe.

You will develop strong skills in research, source analysis, historical argumentation, and written communication, alongside a deep familiarity with the cultures that gave rise to much of Western political, philosophical, and literary tradition.

Graduates go on to careers in education, heritage, museums, archaeology, journalism, law, the civil service, and publishing. The analytical and communication skills that ancient history develops are genuinely versatile. Postgraduate study in ancient history, classical studies, or archaeology is a natural continuation.