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Department of Classics and Ancient History

We are one of the top Departments in Classics internationally, with a diverse and exciting intellectual community.
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About the Department of Classics and Ancient History

Our Durham Department of Classics & Ancient History is a large and successful department. We consistently rank as one of the top Classics and Ancient History Departments in the UK for research and teaching, and came 9th in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.

Our degrees offer both academic rigour and an outstanding student experience. We are regularly among the top Classics departments in the UK for graduate employability. In 2019 we were awarded an Advance HE Athena Swan Bronze Award. This marks our ongoing commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusiveness. We are proud that our Department is highly international, forward-looking, and in many ways genuinely diverse in its makeup and outlook.

Find out more about our department
4th
4th The Complete University Guide 2026
4th in the UK for overall research quality in REF 2021
9th in the World
9th in the World in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject
3rd in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Study with us

We offer undergraduate students three Single Honours programmes - Classics, Classical Civilisation, and Ancient History - and two Joint Honours programmes with the Departments of History and Archaeology.

As a centre of world-class research, we have a strong commitment to postgraduate provision for MA and PhD students in all areas of Classics & Ancient History

Undergraduate Study

Our undergraduate programmes offer students a very wide range of modules, designed to emphasise the unity as well as the exciting variety of Greek and Roman antiquity.
Female Classics professor and students looking at books

Postgraduate study

We welcome applications to the Taught MA programme, or applications for research MAs and PhDs in any of the (many) research specialities represented in the Department.


 

Student satisfaction

Our Department recorded an outstanding 90.7% overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2021.

We are distinctive in our commitment to training in the Classical languages. Our language modules develop the skills of those with previous experience, and enable students with no prior training to take up Latin and Greek at all levels.
Find out more about our undergraduate courses
Four students sit at a table in a library with an open laptop, looking at each other and laughing

 

Our research

  • Explore our research centres

    Our research centres bring together scholars across the university working on classical reception, the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, ancient and medieval philosophy, and ancient languages and writing systems.

    Outdoor shot of Classics and Ancient History building

  • Impact case studies

    Discover the impact our research is making

    Museum display board reading

Explore our research centres

Our research centres bring together scholars across the university working on classical reception, the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, ancient and medieval philosophy, and ancient languages and writing systems.

Outdoor shot of Classics and Ancient History building

Impact case studies

Discover the impact our research is making

Museum display board reading

  • Research environment

    In the REF2021 evaluation of research quality, our Department was ranked joint fourth in the UK. Find out more about our departmental research environment

  • Research areas

    Explore selected areas of research within the Department, from Latin poetry to digital humanities

    Programming code and matrix image

Research environment

In the REF2021 evaluation of research quality, our Department was ranked joint fourth in the UK. Find out more about our departmental research environment

Research areas

Explore selected areas of research within the Department, from Latin poetry to digital humanities

Programming code and matrix image
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Watch our most recent research video

Dr Mara Nicosia talks about her research into Syriac rhetoric in "Antony of Tagrit: a detective story"

More research videos
Members of staff from Department of Classics and Ancient History

Our staff

Our academic staff specialise in a broad range of artistic, historical, literary, linguistic, cultural, and philosophical aspects of the Graeco-Roman world. We have further expertise in the wider Ancient Mediterranean and Near East.

Find out more

Explore our department

  • Alumni

    Find out about our alumni benefits, and keep in touch!

    Group photo of the Classics Society at Hadrian's Wall

  • Facilities

    Find out about our departmental library and computer rooms

    Classics students leaning at shelf of Classics library reading a book

Alumni

Find out about our alumni benefits, and keep in touch!

Group photo of the Classics Society at Hadrian's Wall

Facilities

Find out about our departmental library and computer rooms

Classics students leaning at shelf of Classics library reading a book

EDI initiatives

Find out about our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives

Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace

Postgraduate funding

Find out about PhD funding opportunities

Two students talking in the library with laptops

What's new?

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Spotlight on: Professor Edith Hall – leading the campaign for Classics education for all

Our ‘Spotlight on’ series showcases the world-leading work of our academics. Professor Edith Hall is passionate about the lessons we can learn from ancient civilisations and is leading a campaign to put Classics education back on the UK curriculum.

Global research
Professor Edith Hall smiling to camera, standing outside, in front of large columns, with a cat in the left background

Civil service delegation visits Durham to inspire next generation of policy leaders

Durham University’s Department of Classics and Ancient History welcomed a delegation from the UK Civil Service on 3 February, marking the first time visitors from Whitehall and Holyrood have travelled to Durham to support students’ understanding of careers in government and the attributes needed to thrive in public service.
Durham news
Civil service durham public policy hub ma students and Arlene Holmes-Henderson

Humanities researcher joins UK government project shaping the future of childhood

Our pioneering Classics researcher, Prof Arlene Holmes-Henderson, has joined a government project exploring the key factors that influence and shape the future of childhood in the UK.
Durham news
Arlene Holmes-Henderson stood outdoors, smiling wearing a blue top.

British Epigraphy Society Spring Meeting

The next spring meeting of the British Epigraphy Society is taking place 10:00-17:15 on Saturday 18 April in the Ritson Room, Department of Classics and Ancient History, Durham University.
Research news
bronze fragment

New departmental study trip to Greece

We are excited to share a news of a brand-new student experience opportunity for Durham University students! This academic year we will run our first departmental trip to Greece: a week-long tour of archaeological sites and museums, giving students the chance to encounter ancient Greek history right at the trowel’s edge.
Durham news
Delphi

PhD funding for students commencing studies in 2026/2027

We are pleased to advertise a number of different funding opportunities for PhD applicants who intend to start their studies with us in 2026/2027.
Bulletins
Two students reading in the library

Writing from the Margins: New Approaches to Ancient Authorship

We are excited to announce a CfP for the conference ‘Writing from the Margins: New Approaches to Ancient Authorship’, to be held at Durham University, 13th-15th of May, 2026.
Research news
Douris Man
More news

Prestigious visiting professorship awarded to Prof. Arlene Holmes-Henderson

Warmest congratulations to Prof. Arlene-Holmes Henderson who has been awarded the Gulbenkian Professorship in the Humanities.

Arlene red coat

Prisons teaching project wins accolade at the annual national Outstanding Achievement Awards

Congratulations to our Classics researchers on winning the Outstanding Team Quality Award- Learner Facing at the annual national Outstanding Achievement Awards.
Outstanding Achievement Awards

Civil service delegation visits Durham to inspire next generation of policy leaders

Durham University’s Department of Classics and Ancient History welcomed a delegation from the UK Civil Service on 3 February, marking the first time visitors from Whitehall and Holyrood have travelled to Durham to support students’ understanding of careers in government and the attributes needed to thrive in public service.
Civil service durham public policy hub ma students and Arlene Holmes-Henderson

  • Durham Prize in Classical Reception 2026

    It is with great pleasure that the Durham University Department of Classics & Ancient History, together with the Durham Centre for Classical Reception, invites submissions for the third annual international prize for a doctoral thesis in Classical Reception Studies, broadly defined.
    Research news
    Renaissance artwork of a roman reception

  • What surface ceramics reveal about cultures and connections

    An international team of researchers, including Dr Michael Loy from our Department of Classics and Ancient History, has uncovered hidden clues about life in the hills of ancient southwest Samos, Greece.
    Research news
    The general landscape of southwest Samos

  • The Greeks: Radical Reinvention - available on the 'Bloomberg Connects Arts & Culture' app

    The exhibition ’The Greeks: Radical Reinvention’ is available nationally and internationally via Bloomberg Connects Arts & Culture! Download the app and search for ’National Theatre London’ to find the virtual exhibition. There you can explore all the content for free and wherever you are!
    Research news
    Greeks Radical Reinvention - crop

Durham Prize in Classical Reception 2026

It is with great pleasure that the Durham University Department of Classics & Ancient History, together with the Durham Centre for Classical Reception, invites submissions for the third annual international prize for a doctoral thesis in Classical Reception Studies, broadly defined.

Renaissance artwork of a roman reception

What surface ceramics reveal about cultures and connections

An international team of researchers, including Dr Michael Loy from our Department of Classics and Ancient History, has uncovered hidden clues about life in the hills of ancient southwest Samos, Greece.
The general landscape of southwest Samos

The Greeks: Radical Reinvention - available on the 'Bloomberg Connects Arts & Culture' app

The exhibition ’The Greeks: Radical Reinvention’ is available nationally and internationally via Bloomberg Connects Arts & Culture! Download the app and search for ’National Theatre London’ to find the virtual exhibition. There you can explore all the content for free and wherever you are!
Greeks Radical Reinvention - crop

  • Classics Teacher Training returns to Durham!

    After several decades, teacher training in Classics is now available once again at Durham thanks to a partnership between the School of Education and the Department of Classics and Ancient History.
    Student news
    School of Education Building

Classics Teacher Training returns to Durham!

After several decades, teacher training in Classics is now available once again at Durham thanks to a partnership between the School of Education and the Department of Classics and Ancient History.

School of Education Building

Student blogs and social media

Explore our Durham University Classics Society blog, packed full of interesting classical and classically-inspired articles.

Highlights

Entrances to Ancient Literature

Francesca Chaplin takes a look at gates and doors in five pieces of ancient literature, from epic to elegy and from the devastating to the comical.
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Penshaw Monument: Durham’s very own Greek temple, and why it’s worth a visit

James Hua pays a visit to the North-East's own Greek temple
The Penshaw monument: a 19th-century recreation of a Greek temple

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Durham University

Get in touch

To find out more about our department and courses, contact us using the information below.

Department of Classics and Ancient History

38 North Bailey
Durham
DH1 3EU

+44 (0)191 3343170

Questions about studying here?

Check out our list of FAQs or submit an enquiry form.

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