Classics, English & History

BA (Hons) (NFQ Level 8)

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Curricular information is subject to change.

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Why is this course for me?

Do you want to develop a deep understanding of human experience in Europe and its associated cultures from earliest times to the very present? Do you want to explore issues of memory, truth, curiosity and understanding that have fascinated people at all times and at all places? This programme will bring students to the heart of vital questions about society, history, culture and life itself, and deep into the array of texts that are the result of millennia of lives lived.

Course Pathways
What Will I Study

Students will not only encounter written words but gain key skills in interpreting evidence of every kind – material, oral, visual and aural – through dynamic lectures and small group tuition. Key modules from the three cognate subjects of Classics, English and History will be consolidated by small-group tuition in thematic cross-disciplinary modules on issues such as cultural transmission, intertextuality, history of ideas and political thought.

First Year

You will take a dedicated inter-disciplinary module, Interpreting Evidence, and you will choose from the full range of modules in Classics, English and History, including:

  • Classical Greece
  • Age of Augustus
  • War and the Hero (Homer and Virgil)
  • Classical Myth
  • Contemporary Irish Writing
  • Literary Genre
  • How to Read Poetry
  • Writing the Body
  • Critical Reading/Creative Writing
  • Modern Europe
  • Creating History
  • Modern Ireland
  • Rome To Renaissance.

Second Year

You will take an interdisciplinary core module based in UCD Special Collections and choose from the full range of modules in Classics, English and History, including:

  • Alexander the Great
  • Greek Tragedy
  • Heracles the Hero
  • Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians
  • The Oedipus Myth
  • Pompeii
  • Eating and Drinking in Antiquity
  • Magic in the Ancient World
  • Reading Medieval Literature
  • Irish Literature in English
  • Modern American Literature
  • Renaissance Literature
  • Romanticism
  • Victorian to Modern Literature
  • Twentieth-Century Drama
  • History Today
  • European Statecraft & Strategy
  • Islam & Christianity
  • Northern Ireland
  • Early Modern Europe.

Third Year

You will choose from a range of options that will enable you to broaden your horizons and enrich your academic experience:

  • Apply for a competitive internship in an area that interests you and/or relates to your area of study.
  • Study abroad for a trimester/year to develop your language skills and immerse yourself in a new culture.
  • Deepen your knowledge by studying a full range of Classics, English and History modules.

Fourth Year

Undertake a research dissertation drawing on the disciplines studied and choose from a range of modules including:

  • Modern Japan
  • Civil Wars in Europe – Spectacle & the Modern World
  • Making Shakespeare
  • Apocalypse Then: Old English Literature
  • Magic in the Ancient World
  • Pompeii

For detailed information on subject content click here.

You may be interested in the following Blog posts: Student explains what it is like to study, English, Classics & History at UCD.

International Study Opportunities

Students will have access to both EU and non-EU destinations through a suite of programmes including Erasmus, Erasmus+ and the study abroad and partnership arrangements that UCD has with universities across the globe.

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

A strong focus on the fluent articulation and analysis of ideas means students on this course will gain numerous transferrable skills, highly valued by employers. These can be applied to a wide range of industries including: Business, Arts and Heritage, Civil Service and the Media.

This course prepares students for graduate study in many areas, including: Classics, English, History, Film, Drama, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Education, Archives.

Graduates are also eligible for MLitt and PhD programmes in Classics, English and History.

Other Entry Routes
Testimonial

“I always had a passion for English and History and was fascinated by the Classics curriculum of this course. I have been able to delve into each subject in depth and engage with interdisciplinary modules, analysing how each subject impacted the others. I have greatly improved my research abilities and analytical thinking skills as well as learning about a variety of topics from each area. I have been able to tailor my learning to focus on special areas and modules of interest. This has allowed my academic capabilities to flourish and expand beyond the topics on the core curriculum. I highly recommend studying at UCD because of the opportunities for academic, professional, and personal growth that I have experienced.”

Zaragh Kavanagh, Graduate

Contact Information

UCD School of History
Newman,
Belfield,
Dublin 4

Tel: +353 1 716 8375
Email: edward.coleman@ucd.ie

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