Social Anthropology and Classical Literature & Civilisation
Entry requirements
A level
Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus B at A-level. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level.
Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Social Anthropology and Classical Literature and Civilisation are two complementary subjects that can be studied alongside each other at undergraduate degree level.
Social Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. You will embrace the diversity of Greek and Roman culture, drawing together literature, drama, myth, religion, history, philosophy and art in Classical Literature and Civilisation.
On the Social Anthropology side of your undergraduate degree course, you will develop a distinctive set of skills and attributes. You will learn how to search for, select from and evaluate sources of information, weigh up arguments, and present your findings effectively. As an anthropologist however, you will also become sensitive to the assumptions and beliefs that underlie behaviour in a range of social and cultural contexts, and this will give you a critical edge.
In your Classical Literature and Civilisation studies, you will have the opportunity to study the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome, and also the cultures of Egypt, Ancient Western Asia and the Byzantine Empire. You will work with the plays, poems and speeches that have come down to us from antiquity, and study the monument, religion and mythology that make up classical civilisation.
**Why study this course?**
**Taught by the very best** – You will study alongside some of the finest minds at university. Times Higher Education ranked the Department of African Studies and Anthropology 2nd in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (based on Grade Point Average). Our Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology was ranked in the Top 10.
**Exceptional learning resources** – You will have access to a range of learning resources including environmental and material culture teaching collections at the University of Birmingham; the Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology Museum; the Eton Myers Collection and the Danford Collection of African art and artefacts.
**Immerse yourself in an ancient language** – Take advantage of learning another languages and dive deeper into literatures that will shape your knowledge of the Classics.
**The Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology** provides a diverse range of opportunities to enrich your student experience. For example, students have been involved in the Classics in the Community project, working with teachers on developing new ways of telling ancient stories.
**Top 15 for Anthropology in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023**
**Top 15 for Anthropology in the Complete University Guide 2023**
**Top 10 for Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology in the Guardian University Guide 2023**
Modules
First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Birmingham
Department of African Studies and Anthropology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Classics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Anthropology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Classics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.
Anthropology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a pretty flexible degree and a good one if you want to keep your options open. Just over 1,250 graduates completed anthropology degrees last year, and they were well spread out across a whole range of jobs — many industries have jobs that can be done by anthropology graduates and unlike a lot of degrees, there aren't many jobs we can point to and say ‘graduates from this degree do that job’. Management, marketing, housing and recruitment jobs are the most popular, though, and many graduates go into the education or social care sectors. Graduates are also rather more likely than average to work in London, or to go overseas to work. This is quite a popular subject at postgraduate level, and if you want to go into research, you'll need to think about postgrad study - and it's one of the few where numbers are on the up at the moment.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Classics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£26k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Anthropology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£25k
£29k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here