MA Classics and Ancient History

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MA (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £13,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £29,900
• MA (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £6,850
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £14,950

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

• Information on university funding, loans, and scholarships available on the Masters student funding page .
• The Faculty of Humanities offered a range of scholarship opportunities for eligible applicants starting in September 2025. Please check back to confirm availability for September 2026 start.
• Please visit the school funding page for more information on subject funding available.
• Other funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages .

Overview: This 15-credit module is a compulsory part of the part-time online master’s in Egyptology and will be taught during the second semester of the first year. The module will equip the students with a fundamental understanding of ancient Egyptian materials and technologies, as well as the art and artists produced during by the Pharaonic civilisation. The first part of the module concerns the some of the methods and theories employed by Egyptology to address the concept of ‘art’ in an ancient Egyptian concept. It also focuses on the ancient Egyptian cannons and conventions of physical decorations and expressions. The second part of the module focuses on the management of art and artists; the procurement of specific resources, the infrastructure required to house workshops and artisans etc. The third part of the module provides in-depth studies of the main materials used by ancient Egyptian artisans and craftsmen (stone, pottery, wood, metals, faience, glass and linen) as well as the type of objects and ‘works of art’ produced using these materials.

The unit aims to:

1. explore the concept of art with reference to the ancient Egyptian artistic cannons and conventions.

2. explore how the production of materials were organised within ancient Egyptian society.

3. focus on common materials worked by the ancient Egyptians and their uses.

4. provide the students with a basic understanding of the material culture of ancient Egypt and the uses of different objects within the contexts of daily life, religious ritual and funerary architecture.

5. provide the students with a detailed understanding of the tools and techniques employed by ancient Egyptian artisans to produce a variety of different materials (pottery, glass, stone objects, wooden objects, faience etc.).

One weekly lecture recorded by members of staff. Some lectures will use objects from the Manchester Museum collection to illustrate specific points.

A weekly seminar topic provided on the Canvas discussion boards. These seminar topics are designed to stimulate debate between the students. A member of staff will monitor and guide the discussion.

construct cogent academic arguments in a written form.

critically evaluate and analyse historical data.

display understanding of the theoretical framework employed in the study of works of art.

structure an academic arguments in a written format.

date a variety of object types by physical examination.

effectively conduct research independently.

assimilate large amounts of data in various formats.

Discussion Boards - 0%

Public focused exhibition catalogue of selected piece of ancient Egyptian art - 100%

Discussion Boards - ongoing feedback

Essay - written feedback within 15 days.

Barta, M. (ed.) 2006. The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology: Proceedings of the Conference Held in Prague, May 31-June 4, 2004. Czech Institute of Egyptology: Prague.

Hartwig, M. K. 2015. A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art. Wiley Blackwell: Chichester.

Meskell, L. 2004. Object Worlds in Ancient Egypt: Material Biographies Past and Present. Berg: Oxford.

Nicholson, P. T. and I. Shaw (ed.) 2000. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Robins, G. 1994. Proportion and Style in Ancient Egyptian Art. University of Texas Press: Austin.

Robins, G. 1997. The Art of Ancient Egypt. Harvard University Press: Cambridge.

Schafer, H. 1986. Principles of Egyptian Art. Griffith Institute: Oxford.

Shaw, I. 2012. Ancient Egyptian Technology and Innovation: Transformations in Pharaonic Material Culture. Bristol Classic Press: London.

Smith, W. S. 1998. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. Yale University Press: New Haven.

Whitney, D. 1989. The Canonical Tradition in Ancient Egyptian Art. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.