Classics and Italian

Classics is the study of ancient Greece and Rome in their full depth: their languages, literatures, histories, philosophies, and material cultures. Greek and Latin are among the most intellectually demanding and rewarding languages to study, not only because they unlock access to some of the most moving and thought-provoking writing produced in any world civilisation, but because the rigour of learning them develops precision of thought and close attention to how meaning is constructed. Italian, meanwhile, is a living language that carries its own rich literary and cultural inheritance, connecting you to the culture of a major European nation and to the long continuity from ancient Rome to contemporary Italy.

At St Andrews this four-year full-time programme allows you to develop both strands to a high level, with a year abroad that gives you the opportunity to study in Italy or at another international partner institution and to immerse yourself in Italian language and culture in a way that classroom study alone cannot replicate. Your classics work will develop your Latin and Greek to the level required to read literature in the original languages, engage with scholarship on ancient history and culture, and apply literary and cultural analysis to complex texts. Your Italian will progress from your entry level towards genuine academic proficiency.

Together these disciplines cultivate intellectual habits of careful reading, rigorous argument, sensitivity to language and context, and the ability to move between different cultural and historical worlds. These are among the most transferable skills available, and graduates of classics programmes are found in law, the civil service, education, publishing, journalism, finance, arts administration, and many other fields.

Postgraduate study in classical studies, Italian, comparative literature, ancient history, or related fields is a well-established option, as is teacher training for those drawn to education. The linguistic and analytical training provided by this programme opens genuinely diverse professional paths.