Classics

Applying to St Hugh’s for Classics

What we look for in potential applicants is the ability to think independently, a willingness to argue, a real interest in ideas, and a commitment to the subject. We have no preference for particular subjects at A-level, International Baccalaureate or Pre-U, welcoming both pre- and post- qualification applications.

We accept students applying for the majority of schools, including, Classics and English, Classics and Modern Languages and Classics and Oriental Studies.

In previous years Oxford offered two separate Classics degree programmes but there is now just one degree programme (Classics – Q800) which is for all candidates, whether or not they have any prior experience of Latin or Greek. Students follow different language streams depending on their previous experience: if you have studied Latin or Ancient Greek (or both) at A-level or equivalent, you will follow the ‘dual-language stream’ (with classes at the appropriate level in both Latin and Greek); if you have not studied either Latin or Greek at A-level or equivalent, you will follow a ‘single-language stream’, and can choose to study either Latin or Greek. Although students follow different language streams, the same literature, philosophy, and history/archaeology/philology options are open to all.

One of St Hugh’s renowned alumni is the writer Mary Renault. The College has established the Mary Renault Prize; funded by the royalties from her novels, the prize is for the best Classical Reception essay from a year 12 or 13 applicant. Please see the webpage for further details.

Choosing St Hugh’s for Classics

Our Tutorial Fellow in Classics is Professor Tim Rood, whose research is principally in Greek historiography and the reception of ancient Greek history and culture in the modern world. He teaches broadly across the Classics syllabus, including Latin and Greek language, Greek literature and some Latin literature.  More recently, he has written a commentary on Xenophon, Anabasis Book III with Luuk Huitink for the Cambridge ‘Green and Yellow’ series, and led the Anachronism and Antiquity research project, co-authoring a book with former St Hugh’s student Tom Phillips and former St Hugh’s colleague Carol Atack.

He is supported by four College Lecturers, two of whom are Fellows of other Oxford colleges: Dr Paolo Fait (Classical Philosophy), Dr Peta Fowler (Latin Literature), Professor Christina Kuhn (Roman History), and Dr Nick Stylianou (Greek History).

The College has a strong tradition in Classics. Our first Classics Tutor, Annie Rogers, was initially tutor to all the women studying Classics in Oxford and took a leading part in the campaign for the full admission of women to the university. She took her examinations in 1875 and 1877 but was only awarded her degree in 1920 at the age of 64. Between 2016 and 2019 Professor Rood led a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant for a project entitled ‘Anachronism and Antiquity,’ the first systematic study of the concept of anachronism in Greco-Roman antiquity and of the role played by the idea of anachronism in the formation of the concept of antiquity itself.

St Hugh’s Classicists form a close and friendly group with a wide range of academic backgrounds, with a majority learning either Latin or Greek from scratch. Students are encouraged to follow wherever their academic passion takes them, and in particular to think about the relation of ancient and modern cultures. – Professor Tim Rood

Professor Tim Rood

Studying and living at St Hugh’s

Classics is a wide-ranging degree devoted to the study of literature, history, philosophy, languages and archaeology of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Oxford has the largest Classics department in the world, with outstanding teaching, library and museum resources, including the Sackler and Bodleian Libraries, the Ashmolean Museum and designated Classics Centre. The University’s Classics II degree is aimed at encouraging students who have not previously studied Ancient Greek or Latin at school, but are interested in the subject at a Higher Education level.

The first part of the course (lasting five terms) has a literary and linguistic focus, with papers on Homer and Virgil, but students also offer a special subject in ancient history or art, archaeology and philosophy (both ancient and modern options are available).  Besides this, there is a compulsory paper, ‘Texts and Contexts’, that offers the chance to integrate literary, historical, and archaeological approaches to Greek and Roman culture.

In the second part of the course (lasting seven terms), you can choose from a wealth of options from the full range of classical disciplines.  You have to offer eight papers in all.  Options in literature include papers on literary genres like Greek Tragedy and papers devoted to single authors like Ovid.  In ancient history, you can study historical periods as well as topics like Alexander the Great and Sexuality, and Gender in Greece and Rome.  A wide range of ancient and modern philosophy papers is also available, as well as some papers in art and archaeology and in philology.  You can also offer a 10,000 word thesis as one paper. Any teacher or pupil seeking information about Classics at Oxford is welcome to write to the Faculty of Classics.