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Classics

  • Number of students per year: two to four
  • Typical offer: A*AA or equivalent; we accept a wide range of other qualifications
  • Essential subjects: Latin (for three year course)
  • Essential subjects: None (for four year course)
  • Useful subjects: Greek, Classical Civilisation, or Ancient History. Any subject at A-Level is welcome, sciences as well as arts.

Jesus College offers an outstanding environment in which to study Classics. With two teaching Fellows and three emeritus Fellows in the discipline, together with a lively postgraduate community, we are able to offer 'in house' College teaching in most subjects.

Greek and Latin are difficult languages, and we are committed to supporting students to gain linguistic confidence and fluency.

Many famous classicists have studied or taught at Jesus, and we have a well stocked library and good facilities. We encourage interaction between students in different years (and with former students) and there is a rolling programme of extracurricular activities and events. There are dedicated prizes for performance in exams and travel to classical lands.

Find out more on the University webpage.
What we look for

Requirements

Conditional offers are usually an A* and two A grades at A-Level, but individual circumstances are always carefully considered when making offers. You don't need to take a Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP). 

If you can study Latin or Greek to A-Level at school, you are encouraged to do so. The three year course requires an A-Level in Latin, please get in touch prior to applying if you have or will have an A-Level in Greek but not Latin.

An A-Level in Greek is not an entry requirement: over half of the classicists every year come up to Cambridge without a Greek A-Level, and many of those have no previous experience of Greek at all. 

There is a well established and successful intensive Greek course which provides extra teaching in Greek. If you take the intensive Greek course you will be expected to attend the two week JACT Greek summer school at Bryanston or equivalent in the summer before you come up to Cambridge.

If you cannot study Latin and Greek at school, you can take the four year course at Cambridge. It is possible to do this course without having done any Latin or Greek before, but any language learning you can do before you come to Cambridge will prove helpful.

We don't require any specific A-Levels from candidates applying for the four year course. Successful applicants in the past have taken A-Levels in a wide variety of different subjects, including Modern Languages, English, History, Maths, and others.

We welcome applications from students with other qualifications comparable to A-Level, such as the Scottish Certificate of Sixth Year Studies, the International Baccalaureate, and other foreign school leaving examinations.

Written assessment

Applicants for both the three year and the four year course who are shortlisted for interview will have an assessment set by the Faculty of Classics. Both assessments will be in the format of an interview, rather than a written assessment.

See the University undergraduate Classics pages for more information.

Interviews

In 2024-25, we’ll be interviewing shortlisted applicants virtually, with interviews taking place in December.

The interview process aims to assess your intellectual ability, potential, and commitment to the subject. Candidates are typically interviewed by at least three subject specialists, including the Director of Studies, and total contact time will be between 35-50 minutes in total. This could be in a single interview, or in two separate interviews. Further details will be made available to candidates closer to the time.

Find out more about the interview process on the University website.

Written work

We'd like you to submit two examples of marked work done as part of your A-Level, International Baccalaureate, or other school work in the last two years. This work may be coursework, including work submitted for an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), a written test, or an essay or language exercise such as a translation exercise or composition.

If you study Latin, Greek, Classical Civilisation, or Ancient History at school, please make sure one piece of work (and preferably both) is from one of those subjects. Please don’t submit anything longer than 5,000 words in length, and keep a copy of the submitted work so you can reread it prior to interview.

International applicants

We mostly refer to A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate for our entry requirements, but we accept a wide variety of qualifications from all over the world. The University website lists the international qualifications we accept. We expect students to be on track to achieve the highest grades in whichever qualification system they are studying. See our dedicated page for international students for more information.

Deferred and post A-Level entry

We're happy to consider applications for deferred entry in Classics. The College also welcomes applications from mature students.

Those who have already done A-Levels will normally have achieved A*AA, and must go through the normal competitive process with the other applicants.

Find out how to apply to study at Jesus.

People

Photograph of James Clackson

Professor James Clackson

James Clackson is Professor of Comparative Philology. He has been a Fellow of Jesus since 1998 and Director of Studies in Classics since 1999. His academic interests include Latin and Greek, comparative and historical linguistics (especially of the Indo-European language family), and Armenian.

Read Professor James Clackson's full profile
James Clackson

Hear from students

  • Photo of Classics student

    Hugo

    Classics

    When I arrived at Jesus for my interviews, I fell in love with the beautiful, unique architecture. The open spaces and green areas made me feel at home, and I was determined not to let the opportunity to live and work here slip through my fingers. Our library has one of the largest Classics sections of any College library; it’s right in the middle of College and accessible 24/7. Classics is a small subject, and only a few universities offer it at the highest level - I chose Cambridge because...

    Read more
    Classics
  • Photo of Classics student

    Sacha

    Classics

    I knew straight away that Jesus College was the one that I really wanted to go to. It is a beautiful and old College steeped in traditions and everyone I have met here has been lovely and supportive, which makes all the hard work so worthwhile. Classics here is really strong, with a number of eminent scholars teaching us on a regular basis who all specialise in different fields. I feel very privileged to be learning from them. Classics is such a varied degree because it incorporates languages, history, art...

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    Classics