Classics/Theology & Religious Studies

Classics and theology are disciplines that both demand close engagement with foundational texts, asking how human beings have understood the world, the divine and their obligations to one another across millennia. Together they make a natural pairing. Classics brings you into contact with the literature, history, philosophy and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, the civilisations whose ideas continue to shape Western law, politics, medicine and art.

Theology and religious studies broadens this to examine how religious traditions, sacred texts and ethical frameworks have developed across cultures and through history.

At the University of Glasgow, you will have the opportunity to study Latin and Greek at any level, making the original sources accessible even if you come without prior language experience. You will explore ancient texts in their historical and cultural contexts, examining how the Greeks and Romans understood questions of politics, war, mortality and the good life. Alongside this, the theological strand introduces you to Christian and non-Christian traditions, methods of biblical and textual interpretation, philosophy of religion and the role of faith in public and private life.

The part-time structure gives you the flexibility to pursue these studies alongside other commitments.

The programme also includes a year abroad, providing the chance to engage with different scholarly traditions and cultural environments, which enriches your comparative understanding of both classical and religious material.

The skills you develop, including careful reading, argument construction, translation, historical analysis and ethical reasoning, are applicable across many professional fields. Graduates go into careers in education, journalism, publishing, heritage and museum work, the church and other religious institutions, public policy, law and the civil service. Many continue to postgraduate study in classical studies, theology, philosophy, history or related disciplines.