BA English and Classical Studies
Royal Holloway, University of London
About this course
BA in English and Classical Studies, a humanities degree combining the study of English literature with classical languages, history, and philosophy. Core topics include Historical Research, Critical & Analytical Thinking, and Research Methods. Students can optionally complete an industrial placement year or spend a period studying abroad. The first year covers foundational critical reading and writing through compulsory modules such as Critical Foundations: Thinking As A Critic, Reorienting the Novel, and Introduction to Poetry, alongside optional modules in ancient languages and classical history. Second-year choices span periods from medieval romance to nineteenth-century literature, including options like Middle English Poetry, Renaissance Literature, Victorian Literature, and Modernisms, alongside classical texts and digital literature methods. In the final year, students can pursue advanced topics ranging from contemporary fiction to special author studies, supported by modules such as On Murder, Advanced Shakespeare: The Problem Plays, and the English Dissertation.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: ABB-BBB (Required subjects: A Level B in an essay-based subject We require English Language and Mathematics GCSE at grade 4 (C)) IB: 6,5,5 at Higher level or 32 points overall. Including 5 in an essay-based subject at Higher Level
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Real offers for this course
Applicants have posted 1 UCAS decision for BA English and Classical Studies (QQ38) at Royal Holloway, University of London for 2027 entry so far. The published offer is ABB at A level.
What students say
Based on about 14 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 96%
- Learning opportunities: 90%
- Assessment and feedback: 87%
- Academic support: 100%
- Organisation and management: 96%
- Learning resources: 100%
- Student voice: 87%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 7 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 55%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 20%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 15%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 55%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 30%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 20%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 55 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 5%
- West Midlands: 3%
- East of England: 11%
- London: 45%
- South East: 25%
- South West: 9%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Critical Foundations: Thinking As A Critic
- Reorienting the Novel
- Introduction to Poetry
- Beginner’s Greek
- Intermediate Greek
- Greek Language and Reading
- Beginner's Latin
- Intermediate Latin
- Latin Language and Reading
- Introduction to Greek Literature
- Roman Literature of the Republic
- Roman Literature of the Empire
- Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
- Individual and Community
- Greek History and the City State
- Key Themes in Roman History
- Studying Classical Antiquity
- Introduction to Greek Archaeology
- Introduction to Roman Archaeology
- Middle English Poetry
- Tolkien's Roots
- Medieval Dream and Vision
- Strange Fictions: Romance in the Middle Ages
- Renaissance Literature
- Intensive Shakespeare: Comedy, History, Tragedy
- Drama and Witchcraft
- Early Modern Bodies
- Literature after the Conquest: 1066-1340
- Victorian Literature
- Romanticisms
- Creative Writing: Structure and Style
- Literature of the Fin de Siècle, 1883-1903
- Contemporary Debates in Literary and Critical Theory
- Modernisms
- Intensive Greek
- Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture
- Intensive Latin
- Hellenistic Epic: Apollonius of Rhodes
- Imperial Greek Poetry: Epic & Epigram
- Homer (in Greek)
- The Tragedy of Euripides
- Greek Dramatic Texts II (Comedy)
- Herodotus
- Plato (in Greek)
- Imperial Greek Literature
- Greek Historiography (in Greek)
- Greek Erotic Poetry in Greek
- Horace
- Lucretius and Virgil
- Latin Love Elegy
- Roman Satire
- Latin Epic (in Latin)
- Latin Historiography
- Catullus and Horace
- Literature and the Digital
- Writing as a Critic
- Ideas in Contemporary Fiction
- On Murder
- Advanced Shakespeare: The Problem Plays
- Literature and Philosophy
- James Joyce: Revolutions of the Word
- Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture
- Reading Like a Victorian
- First World War Literature
- The Girl in the Book
- Children's Literature
- The Post-Colonial Novel
- Poetic Practice
- Violence, Sex and Magic in Medieval Literature
- The New York Schools: Poetry, Painting, Composition
- The 1930s British Fiction and the Road to War
- Special Author: Virginia Woolf
- Special Author: Chaucer
- Special Author: Charles Dickens
- Special Author: Herman Melville
- Reading the Waste Land
- Creative Writing Special Focus (Term 1)
- English Dissertation
- Further Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture
- Roman Oratory
- Ancient Literary Criticism
- Roman Drama (In Translation)
- Literature, the Digital and the Creative Industries
- Greek Lyric, Eros and Social Order
- Nature and the Supernatural in Latin Literature
- Greek Literature under the Roman Empire
- Studying Ancient Myth
- Culture and Identity from Nero to Hadrian
- The Roman Novel
- Gender in Classical Antiquity
- Greek Law and Lawcourts
- Augustus
- The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History
- The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history
- Alexander the Great
- The City from Augustus to Charlemagne: The Rise and Fall of Civilisation
- Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy
- The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy II
- Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum
- Perspectives on Roman Britain
- City of Rome
- City of Athens
- The Archaeology of the Roman Near East
- Extended Essay (Dissertation)
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London earn?
The median salary is £25,000 after 15 months, £25,500 after 3 years, £30,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £25,000 and £35,000. The £30,500 median after five years is £2,500 more than the UK median for Literature in English.
What do graduates of BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London?
96% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 132 UCAS points.
Does BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA English and Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.