Ancient History and French (With a year abroad)

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in ancient history alongside modules in at least one other subject.

Typically, you will take one ancient history module per semester during your first two years, and two modules per semester during your third and fourth year (known as Honours).

Course information may change. Module information and course content, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at the University of St Andrews. We display the most up-to-date information possible, but this could be from a previous academic year. For the latest module information, see the module catalogue.

• First year

  Students will take the following compulsory first-year modules:

  • Ancient Empires: explores how imperial states built and maintained their power; the experiences of other populations and cultures that were conquered or incorporated into ancient empires; and the contested legacies of imperial states, both in antiquity and today.
  • Cities and Communities in the Ancient Mediterranean: explores urbanisation by examining changing physical as well as social relations between people, as well as between people and their environments. We will study the rise and fall of the ancient city, including its ecology and domestic politics, and modern debates over ancient urbanism.

• Second year

  Students on this degree typically take the following Ancient History modules in their second year, but may choose to take second-year Classical Studies modules instead:

  • Ancient Societies: Gender, Ethnicity, and Inequality in the Ancient World: surveys the fundamental divisions that gave shape to ancient social life, examining issues like gender, inequality, and ethnic identity through a broad range of sources and methodologies.
  • Narratives of Antiquity: examines influential narratives from the ancient world and their reinterpretations in later periods, from the nineteenth century to the present day, and how they continue to shape the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves for better or for worse.

  Students can replace one or both of these modules with second-year Classical Studies modules in order to adapt the programme to suit their interests. Second-year modules in Classical Studies are:

  • Culture and Thought in the Late Roman Republic: studies the art and literature of Rome in the Late Republic (first century BCE). Key literary texts, such as the passionate poetry of Catullus and the stylish rhetoric of Cicero, are set against the broader backdrop of Roman political, cultural and social life in this turbulent period of civil war