Classics

Why choose Girton?

The Students

Classics flourishes at Girton, and has been an important subject at the College since its foundation. A tradition of excellence among Girton Classics students was begun by Agnata Frances Ramsay, who in 1887 was the only candidate to be placed in the first division of the First Class of the Classics Tripos examination, an achievement honoured with a cartoon in Punch. Girton Classicists are also strong in inter-year support and advice, and get fully involved in the wider College community.

Resources

Thanks to generous donors, there are funds available to support the study of Classics in Girton, in the form of bursaries for those eligible, funds for travel to Classical lands and a one-off book grant for all Classics students. There is an unusually good classical section in our library to support the study of Classics at Girton, and we have a small antiquities museum, the Lawrence Room, containing an eclectic collection of small finds from all over the classical world and (in the case of some of the Roman material) from beneath the College itself. The star of the museum is Hermione Grammatike, a Roman portrait mummy, excavated by William Flinders Petrie at the Fayum cemetery in Hawara early in 1911.

Undergraduate information

You can study Classics at Girton even if you have no language qualifications in Latin or Greek. It means taking a four year course, which is unique in the UK, in that it enables students without prior experience in Classics to take both Latin and Greek from scratch to a high level. Girton is also happy to consider applicants both for the Intensive Greek and non-Intensive Greek streams of the three-year course (for which Latin A-level is required). Whichever strand of the course you apply for, we strongly encourage you to explore Classics as early and as widely as possible.

Each of the Girton Fellows in Classics teaches both for the College and for the Faculty of Classics, resulting in particularly careful integration of College supervisions with Faculty lectures and classes. In an eight-week term, four essays will be set on topics in Greek and Latin literature, and four on students' chosen options. Essays form the starting-point for discussion. For the first two years students also have one language-learning assignment in Latin and Greek every week. Much of the supervision in literature and language is covered in College (though the supervisions themselves sometimes take place in the Faculty building on the Sidgwick site). Other subjects are supervised by specialists from other colleges, and this naturally increases at Part II. The majority of students opt to do a dissertation. Recent topics include: transformations of the Niobe myth, the historiography of the general Epaminondas, Pompeian graffiti, and dog names in ancient Greece.

Graduate information

Classics PhD and MPhil students are very well served at Girton and there are usually at least three postgraduates in Classics at any one time. They are particularly valued members of the College Classics community, invited to all subject social events and encouraged to pass on their wisdom to undergraduates. Wolfson Court, the College's second site, offers accommodation, the MCR and a quality canteen close to the Sidgwick Site. The College library is unusually good in Classics resources and the Lawrence Room offers a unique source of inspiration. Recent PhD topics pursued by Classicists at Girton have included Greek vase inscriptions and Aristotle's political philosophy.

Research and postgraduate students are admitted to the University by the Board of Graduate Studies. You must therefore apply centrally and not to the College, but you must be admitted to a College to be able to study at the University. To ensure that this is Girton, you need to indicate this on your application form.

Career destinations

Classics students go on to follow a fascinatingly diverse range of career paths. Some do go on to research and teaching in schools and universities, or to work in archives, libraries and museums. However most go into other careers - in law, accountancy, the civil service, the media, industry and business. Recent interviews with major employers have confirmed that they have a high opinion of Classicists as potential employees.