BA Ancient History

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2026 will be £9,535 for the 2026/27 academic year. Tuition fees for international students will be £27,800 for the 2026/27 academic year. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

In England and Wales, tuition fees for undergraduate home students are subject to the Government fee cap, which is currently £9,535. If the Government does not increase the cap beyond £9,535, then the tuition fee you will pay for subsequent academic years will continue to be £9,535.

All fees 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 all students.

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).

• Find out more from student finance
• Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
• Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
• Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
  

This course is designed to train you in reading Biblical Hebrew fluently and to familiarise you with the ins and outs of Biblical Hebrew grammar. During our weekly classes you will be taught aspects of that grammar systematically. In class and through self-study, you will have the opportunity (1) to practise your knowledge through grammatical and translation exercises and (2) to apply it through reading, translating and grammatically analysing simple texts written in Biblical Hebrew style as well as some easy (and to some extent simplified) portions from the Hebrew Bible, such as narrative ones from Genesis. The basic book for the course is Lily Kahn’s excellent and attractive The Routledge Introductory Course in Biblical Hebrew (London, 2014). By the end of the course you will be ready for an advanced course in Biblical Hebrew in which you will be trained to read the Hebrew Bible independently, applying and deepening your knowledge of its syntax and grammar.

• To provide a basic coverage of the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew
• To teach you how to translate and comment on simple, mostly narrative passages of the Hebrew Bible

• Demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary most commonly found in the Hebrew Bible
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar and syntax
• Demonstrate an awareness of the value of interpreting primary sources in their original language 

• Manage your own academic development, including reflecting on progress and taking appropriate action
• Demonstrate your ability to analyse an ancient text grammatically

• Read and write Biblical Hebrew
•  Identify and parse both regular and irregular word-forms
• Translate and comment on easy texts in Biblical Hebrew

• Manage time and resources
• Understand the value of learning languages to access a different culture
• Demonstrate an enhanced aptitude for independent work
• Demonstrate an enhanced aptitude for self-motivation
• Demonstrate a broad interest in language, history and culture

• Lily Kahn, The Routledge Introductory Course in Biblical Hebrew (London: Routledge, 2014)