Classics and Ancient History - Postgraduate Research Opportunities

Take your research further in the field of Classics and Ancient History. Our expertise covers a huge range of areas, with a focus on Egyptian, Roman and Greek societies across all the periods of classical antiquity.

Join an active postgraduate research community and develop the tools to successfully complete your research journey and prepare for the future. 

You’ll have access to a dedicated supervisor with expertise in your chosen research topic, and can undertake language training in Greek, Latin or Ancient Egyptian.  

• Be part of a community with its own forum and journal, Rosetta, and make use of opportunities to present your research.
• Benefit from excellent resources - the library has an extensive collection of physical and digital items to support your studies.
• Conduct your PhD research from anywhere in the world through our online distance learning option.

Classics and Ancient History PhD/MA by Research (On-Campus or by Distance Learning)

Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies PhD/MA by Research (On-Campus or by Distance Learning)

The MA by Research programme requires you to prepare a dissertation of up to 40,000 words on a topic of your choice, for which an academic staff member will provide expert supervision.

The PhD – the most advanced research degree – leads to a dissertation of up to 80,000 words on a subject of your choice and under the expert supervision of an academic member of staff.

You can study an MA by Research or PhD programme on campus or by distance learning. Please note that if you are studying with us by distance learning, there is a required visit to campus in the first year of your course.

How to apply?

To apply for a postgraduate research programme, you will need to submit your application and supporting documents online.

When proposing your own research topic you’ll need to make sure the department offers the necessary expertise. We ask that you identify an appropriate supervisor before you submit your application and contact them in the first instance to discuss your research proposal.

If there is a good fit between your proposed research and our research strengths, we’ll be able to give you advice on a draft of your research proposal before you make a formal application.

When contacting a member of our staff, it would be helpful to include the following:

• A draft research proposal or a summary of your research ideas
• Details of university-level qualifications and any relevant professional experience
• Details on how you propose to fund your research

Please contact only one member of staff in the first instance. 

Find a supervisor:

A summary of our key research areas, and staff working within those, can be found below.

• Byzantine, Ottoman and modern Greek studies
• Egyptology
• Heritage
• History, literature and culture of Classical and Hellenistic Greece
• History, literature and culture of the Late Republic and Early Empire
• History of rhetoric
• Inter-state religion in the Ancient World
• Mortuary and Funerary Archaeology
• Prehistoric and early historic Europe
• Reception of the Ancient World
• Urbanism and the ancient city
• Wetland archaeology and environments of Northwest Europe

Funding Notes

Please visit the College of Arts and Law funding page for information on possible funding opportunities: View Website. Please visit the College of Arts and Law funding page for information on possible funding opportunities: View Website. You can find out about all the scholarships that are available on our Postgraduate Funding Database. If you find a scholarship that you are interested in, we would recommend you check the application guidelines as these can differ between funding schemes. For some of them, you can apply for funding as soon as you have submitted an application for the course.