Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA Latin and English Literature

Examine original sources of ancient literature and gain transferable language and analysis skills.
  • Duration: 3 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: QQ36 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Study with a language

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Course description

Our BA Latin and English Literature Joint Honours course will enable you to develop your linguistic skills in an ancient language while making connections between the literature of the ancient, medieval and contemporary eras.

You will study Latin language and literature in each of your three years of study, alongside the full range of English literature studies. Options include writings from Middle English, the Renaissance, historical and contemporary English Language, and cultural theory.

You can learn Latin either as a beginner or from A-level standard. Once you've reached the appropriate level, your learning will allow you to study literary and historical texts in their original language.

On this course, you'll be taught by world-leading scholars, whose research will directly shape your learning. You'll have access to a wealth of cutting-edge critical thinking, as well as exclusive access to award-winning learning resources, including some of the city's key cultural assets.

As well as giving you a detailed knowledge of Latin and a wide range of literature, we'll train you to become an independent researcher, a critical and creative thinker, and a persuasive writer - preparing you for careers in a variety of fields.

The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree. 

Special features

Placement year option 

Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a  placement year  in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks. 

Study abroad 

You may apply to spend one semester  studying abroad  during Year 2. 

Exchange partners are offered through the Worldwide Exchange scheme (e.g. Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore). 

Access to our Special Collections 

Explore exclusive resources such as the Special Collections of The John Rylands Library (home to papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books, including very early copies of the Homeric poems) and the Manchester Museum. 

Enjoy literary events 

Join Literature Live, our series of public events which brings contemporary novelists and poets to the University to read and engage in conversation, and Manchester Literature Festival, which holds events involving established and emerging authors at venues across Manchester - a UNESCO City of Literature.

Teaching and learning

You'll learn through a variety of methods. Lectures will help broaden your understanding of subjects, while small group tutorials and seminars will help you to deep-dive into these topics.

Language classes are taught intensively, with group size capped to encourage participation.

You are encouraged to involve yourself, under guidance, in independent study and original research.

Coursework and assessment

Assessment practices vary between course units, but our aim overall is to achieve a good balance between formal examinations, continuous assessment and project work.

Written examinations are held at the end of most course units. The Year 3 dissertation is a major piece of original work, accounting for 22% of the final overall mark.

Course content for year 1

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Virgil's Aeneid CAHE10422 20 Mandatory
Reading Literature ENGL10021 20 Mandatory
Constructing Archaic Greek History CAHE10011 20 Optional
From Republic to Empire: Introduction to Roman History, Society & Culture 218-31BC CAHE10022 20 Optional
The Odyssey CAHE10101 20 Optional
The Making of the Mediterranean CAHE10132 20 Optional
Cities and Citizens CAHE10232 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 1 CAHE20151 20 Optional
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs  CAHE20162 20 Optional
Intensive Latin 1 CAHE20171 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 1 CAHE30111 20 Optional
Advanced Greek Language 1 CAHE30121 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 2 CAHE30162 20 Optional
Intensive Latin 2 CAHE30182 20 Optional
Mapping the Medieval ENGL10051 20 Optional
Theory and Text ENGL10062 20 Optional
Literature and History ENGL10072 20 Optional
Climate change and societal response: Lessons from the past SALC11011 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 18 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Ekphrasis in Latin texts CAHE20292 20 Mandatory
Through Cicero's Eyes CAHE20031 20 Optional
The Conquering Hero: The Life, Times and Legacy of Alexander The Great CAHE20041 20 Optional
The Roman Empire 31BC - AD313 Rome's Golden Age CAHE20051 20 Optional
Politics and Society in Classical Greece CAHE20062 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 1 CAHE20151 20 Optional
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs  CAHE20162 20 Optional
Greco-Roman Society and Technology  CAHE20261 20 Optional
Roman Love Elegy CAHE20272 20 Optional
Dispute and Desire: the Erotics of Ancient Greek Literature CAHE20282 20 Optional
Ancient Medicine CAHE20382 20 Optional
Roman Women in 22 Objects CAHE20532 20 Optional
Tomb and Temple: Religion and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt CAHE20701 20 Optional
The First Cities: The Archaeology of Urbanism in the Near East CAHE20912 20 Optional
Greek Epic Poetry CAHE21041 20 Optional
Grief and Loss in Latin literature: Coping with the Romans CAHE21061 20 Optional
Gods, Kings and Heroes: The Poetry of Archaic Greece CAHE24102 20 Optional
Finding Happiness in the Ancient World CAHE24401 20 Optional
From Sites to Statues: Understanding Heritage in a time of Culture Wars CAHE24602 20 Optional
Chariots, Cauldrons and Celts: The Archaeology of the Iron Age in Britain and Ireland CAHE25461 20 Optional
Art and Technology in Ancient Egypt CAHE25762 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 1 CAHE30111 20 Optional
Advanced Greek Language 1 CAHE30121 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 2 CAHE30162 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 2 CAHE30211 20 Optional
Creative Writing: Fiction ENGL20002 20 Optional
Chaucer: Texts, Contexts, Conflicts ENGL20231 20 Optional
Shakespeare ENGL20372 20 Optional
Gender, Sexuality and the Body: Theories and Histories ENGL20481 20 Optional
Writing, Identity and Nation ENGL20492 20 Optional
Creative Writing: Poetry ENGL20901 20 Optional
Medieval Metamorphoses ENGL21022 20 Optional
Renaissance Literature ENGL21151 20 Optional
Old English: Writing the Unreadable Past ENGL21162 20 Optional
Satire and Sentiment: British Literature, 1680–1820 ENGL21181 20 Optional
Modernism ENGL21192 20 Optional
Romanticism (1776 - 1832) ENGL21521 20 Optional
Introduction to Screenwriting ENGL21951 20 Optional
Victorian Rights: Victorian Wrongs ENGL22102 20 Optional
Data Literacy in a Digital World SALC20081 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 40 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Course units for year 3

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Ekphrasis in Latin texts CAHE30292 20 Mandatory
Climate Change & Culture Wars AMER30572 20 Optional
American Hauntings AMER30811 20 Optional
The Uncanny and the Undead: Gothic American Literature and Culture AMER33151 20 Optional
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs  CAHE20162 20 Optional
Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology Dissertation CAHE30000 40 Optional
Through Cicero's Eyes CAHE30031 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 2 CAHE30211 20 Optional
Greco-Roman Society and Technology  CAHE30261 20 Optional
Roman Love Elegy CAHE30272 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 3 CAHE30311 20 Optional
Ancient Medicine CAHE30382 20 Optional
Tomb and Temple: Religion and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt CAHE30701 20 Optional
The Roman Army and the North-West Frontiers CAHE30882 20 Optional
The First Cities: The Archaeology of Urbanism in the Near East CAHE30912 20 Optional
Greek Epic Poetry CAHE31041 20 Optional
Grief and Loss in Latin literature: Coping with the Romans CAHE31061 20 Optional
Gods, Kings, and Heroes: The Poetry of Archaic Greece CAHE34102 20 Optional
Finding Happiness in the Ancient World CAHE34401 20 Optional
From Sites to Statues: Understanding Heritage in a time of Culture Wars CAHE34602 20 Optional
Chariots, Cauldrons and Celts: The Archaeology of the Iron Age in Britain and Ireland CAHE35461 20 Optional
Art and Technology in Ancient Egypt CAHE35762 20 Optional
Long Essay ENGL30001 20 Optional
Long Essay ENGL30002 20 Optional
Creative Writing: Fiction ENGL30122 20 Optional
Narrative Theory and Victorian Fiction ENGL30172 20 Optional
Culture and Conflict: Neoliberalism and Cultural Production ENGL30261 20 Optional
Creative Writing: Poetry ENGL30901 20 Optional
Irish Fiction Since 1990 ENGL30941 20 Optional
Radical Turns: Culture and Politics in the 1930s ENGL31141 20 Optional
(Re)Writing Aphra Behn ENGL31182 20 Optional
Apocalypse: Early Modern Imaginings ENGL31272 20 Optional
Queer Forms: Objects and Animals in Eighteenth-Century Poetry ENGL31282 20 Optional
The Global Renaissance ENGL31291 20 Optional
Dreaming the Middle Ages ENGL31422 20 Optional
Things that Talk: Nonhuman Voices in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture ENGL31622 20 Optional
Introduction to Screenwriting ENGL31951 20 Optional
Culture and Politics in the Contemporary British Novel  ENGL32301 20 Optional
British Fiction and Empire in the Twentieth Century   ENGL32551 20 Optional
Gendered Experiments: Women's Innovative Writing in the Twentieth Century ENGL33061 20 Optional
Creative Writing: Creative Non-Fiction ENGL34052 20 Optional
Romantic Venice ENGL34071 20 Optional
Global Victorians ENGL34102 20 Optional
Vital Matters: Medieval Ecologies ENGL34111 20 Optional
Humans and other Animals in Contemporary Literature ENGL34122 20 Optional
Literary and Sexual Experimentalism Between the Wars ENGL34141 20 Optional
Contemporary South Asian Literatures ENGL34152 20 Optional
Literary Landscapes ENGL34161 20 Optional
Imaginations of the Future: People, Earth and Power ENGL34171 20 Optional
World Literature and Climate Crisis ENGL34212 20 Optional
Interdisciplinary Literature and Theology: Empathy, Ethics, Liberation ENGL35111 20 Optional
Culture and Marginality ENGL35312 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 52 course units for year 3

Facilities

The John Rylands Library

At The John Rylands Library , you'll have exclusive access to our internationally significant collections, including papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books such as very early copies of the Homeric poems.

Manchester Museum

The UK's leading university museum has more than four million objects spanning millennia, including one of the largest collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts in the UK. Go behind-the-scenes to handle, analyse and interpret rare artefacts, including exclusive material specific to ancient history.

The Centre for New Writing

The University is home to a major hub for new writing excellence and award-winning teaching staff, including Granta Best Young British Novelist Kamila Shamsie and Jeanette Winterson CBE.

The Centre also hosts Literature Live - a public event series which brings contemporary novelists and poets to The University to showcase their work.

Visit our facilities page to find out more.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk