Classics and Modern Languages Course Options

We are pleased to be able to offer a wide range of language options in the BA in Classics and Modern Languages (CML).

Eight modern languages are available: Czech (with Slovak), French, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. All of these may be taken by students who have studied the modern language to A-level or equivalent.

Five of these languages are also available to beginners (or to those without A-level or equivalent in the language): Czech (with Slovak), German, Italian, Modern Greek and Portuguese.

The Classics side of the course is open to all applicants, whether or not you have taken Ancient Greek or Latin to A-level (or equivalent). 

If you haven’t studied either Ancient Greek or Latin to A-level, you will choose one of the two languages to study intensively during the first part of the course. You don’t need to indicate your chosen Classical language in your UCAS form, but we will ask you to let us know your preference in an online questionnaire sent to you shortly after we receive your UCAS application in mid-October.

There is a further choice of two routes through the course, depending on which First Public Examination you would like to take: Option A (Modern Languages Prelims) and Option B (Honour Moderations in Classics).

• Option A is either a 4-year or a 5-year course, including the year abroad. Students without Ancient Greek or Latin to A-level (or equivalent) take the 5-year version of the course, which begins with a year working intensively on your chosen Classical language; this version of the course is therefore called ‘Option A with Beginners’ Latin or Greek’. You sit an exam comprising two Classics papers at the end of your first year, followed by Modern Languages Prelims (an exam consisting of papers in both your modern language and Classics) at the end of your second year. Students with Ancient Greek and/or Latin to A-level (or equivalent) normally take the 4-year course, sitting Modern Languages Prelims at the end of the first year.
• Option B is a 5-year course, including the year abroad. The first five terms of the course are spent exclusively on Classics, culminating in the Honour Moderations exam at the end of Hilary (Spring) term of your second year. Unless you are taking a beginners’ modern language (see below), this version of the course is open to all applicants, whether or not you have taken Ancient Greek or Latin to A-level (or equivalent).

The syllabus for the final exam taken at the end of the course is the same for Option A and Option B. In addition to papers in your modern language, you can choose from a wide range of papers in Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Classical Literature, Ancient Philosophy and Linguistics and Philology.

Please note that under both Options A and B, beginners’ modern languages are only available to students who have studied Ancient Greek and/or Latin to A-level (or equivalent). This is because the course structure doesn’t allow for intensive study of both a modern language and a Classical language at the same time.

A full list of the course options available in Classics and Modern Languages is given below. To ensure that you are considered for the correct version of the course, please select the appropriate UCAS code from the list below when making your UCAS application.

If you have any queries about the course structure and the options available either before or after applying, please contact us at undergraduate@classics.ox.ac.uk.

MT = Michaelmas (Autumn) Term
HT = Hilary (Spring) Term
TT = Trinity (Summer) Term