Classical Studies & Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies

Language students are always sought after, and many of our students find it very useful to have one of the less common EU languages. A qualification in Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies will often catch the eye of an employer looking for independent-minded graduates. Our students go into a wide range of professions: law, government service, the financial industries, journalism, school and university teaching etc. Many of them choose to continue to travel and to work in careers with an international aspect.

Recent graduates have found employment as:
• Academic university posts in the UK, US, Greece & Cyprus
• Political Researcher
• Trainee Chartered Accountant, Pricewaterhousecooper
• Financial Journalist
• Theatre Director
• Post Doctoral Researcher, Centre for Asia Minor studies

Most of our modules are taught in small groups. Language teaching is communicative, using a wide range of authentic materials, including video/DVD and computers, while also providing a firm grounding in writing and grammatical skills. Literature, history and linguistics classes are discussion-based.

The normal length of study is four years, of which the third is spent studying abroad. Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and examination. On your year abroad (if applicable) you will carry out assessed coursework contributing towards your degree.

The exceptionally rich Burrows Library of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies is part of King's Library, now magnificently housed in the Maughan Library, Chancery Lane. Our geographical position makes it possible for us to collaborate with the many Greek cultural organisations based in London.

All degree programmes include the requirement that the third year should be spent in study abroad, which may be either wholly in Greece or Cyprus or wholly in another country relevant to your programme of study, or be divided between the two. Exemptions from the year abroad are possible for some categories of students, including native speakers of Greek.

A King’s Classics degree, particularly the rigour of language learning, will equip you with the transferable skills of research, analysis, presentation and critical thinking that are valued by future employers. Our alumni enter a wide range of professions, including law, banking, the civil service, information technology, librarianship, education, heritage industries, the media, journalism and the performing arts. A significant proportion proceed into higher professional or academic qualifications, often pursuing postgraduate degrees at King’s.

Recent graduates have found employment as
• Assistant Tax Advisor, Ernst & Young
• Human Resources Administrator, Health resources International
• Web Administrator, Intrico Products Ltd
• Illustrator, Self Employed Illustrator
• Marketing and Publishing Graduate scheme, the telegraph Media group
• Research Intern, Environment Agency
• Sales Operations Admin, Associated Press TV news
• Latin Teacher at a university
• Client Relations Associate, Fidelity Investment Managers
• Customer Management Executive, CMC Markets
• Senior Course Support Assistant, Coventry University

Teaching in the Department of Classics takes a wide variety of forms, including language-classes, large-group lectures, seminars, and individual supervisions. The particular mix will depend in part on your year of study and in part on the combination of courses you choose. A number of courses involve museum and gallery visits, field trips, and the use of study collections; a growing number have their own web resources and e-discussion groups. Seminar presentations and discussion are important in the first- and second-year modules. One-to-one supervision is a special feature of the third-year dissertation. This range of teaching will equip you with the transferable skills of analysis and presentation that employers value.

Our degree programmes combine focus and flexibility. In each programme you take a set number of modules directly related to the programme subject and then choose from a wide selection of optional modules. A generous allowance of free choice means that you can explore much more widely all aspects of the cultures of Greece and Rome. All programmes involve some language work, in either ancient Greek or Latin, or both. Assessment is by a combination of coursework and end-of-year examinations.

London is a superb place to study and experience the Greek and Roman worlds, and all the major resources are within easy reach (and often walking distance) from the centrally located Department of Classics at King's. The British Museum houses one of the world's premier collections of not only Greek and Roman but also Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeology and art, and is supplemented in this by the Soane Museum, the Museum of London, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. We collaborate closely with the British Museum in our undergraduate teaching.

The major London galleries are full of classically-themed work, just as central London is full of Neoclassical, Greek revival and other classically-inspired buildings. Classical and classically-inspired drama can be experienced first-hand more richly and more frequently in London theatres than anywhere else in the world.

For libraries, normal student needs are served by King's Maughan Library and Information Services Centre, as well as the University of London (Senate House) Library; for the investigation of special topics, there are the world-class research collections of the Institute of Classical Studies and the Warburg Institute.

The King’s Greek Play has been an annual tradition since 1953 and it is the only production in the country to be performed every year in the original Greek. Students (with all levels of Greek) participate in the direction, production and performance of the play, bringing to the stage playwrights from Aeschylus to Aristophanes.

Students run the Classics Society, which publishes the Satyrica newsletter and organizes regular lectures, theatre outings, themed parties, private tours around museums, nights out and trips abroad – in recent years, group expeditions have been made to Italy and Turkey.

The department also promotes teaching Latin in disadvantaged primary schools through the Iris Project; this offers students a highly unusual experience that is both enriching and will impress future employers.

All students are offered the unique opportunity to study abroad as part of a Classics degree at King’s, and recent popular destinations include The University of California and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Our students also have opportunities to attend the annual summer schools at the British Schools in Athens and Rome, and participate in archaeological excavations in Greece and Italy, as well as further afield.