ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´

Requirements

Conditional offers are usually an A* and two A grades at A-Level, but individual circumstances are always carefully considered when making offers. You don't need to take a Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP). 

If you can study Latin or Greek to A-Level at school, you are encouraged to do so. The three year course requires an A-Level in Latin, please get in touch prior to applying if you have or will have an A-Level in Greek but not Latin.

An A-Level in Greek is not an entry requirement: over half of the classicists every year come up to Cambridge without a Greek A-Level, and many of those have no previous experience of Greek at all. 

There is a well established and successful intensive Greek course which provides extra teaching in Greek. If you take the intensive Greek course you will be expected to attend the two week at Bryanston or equivalent in the summer before you come up to Cambridge.

If you cannot study Latin and Greek at school, you can take the four year course at Cambridge. It is possible to do this course without having done any Latin or Greek before, but any language learning you can do before you come to Cambridge will prove helpful.

We don't require any specific A-Levels from candidates applying for the four year course. Successful applicants in the past have taken A-Levels in a wide variety of different subjects, including Modern Languages, English, History, Maths, and others.

We welcome applications from students with other qualifications comparable to A-Level, such as the Scottish Certificate of Sixth Year Studies, the International Baccalaureate, and other foreign school leaving examinations.

Written assessment

Applicants for both the three year and the four year course who are shortlisted for interview will have an assessment set by the Faculty of Classics. Both assessments will be in the format of an interview, rather than a written assessment.

See the University  for more information.

Interviews

In 2024-25, we’ll be interviewing shortlisted applicants virtually, with interviews taking place in December.

The interview process aims to assess your intellectual ability, potential, and commitment to the subject. Candidates are typically interviewed by at least three subject specialists, including the Director of Studies, and total contact time will be between 35-50 minutes in total. This could be in a single interview, or in two separate interviews. Further details will be made available to candidates closer to the time.

Written work

We'd like you to submit two examples of marked work done as part of your A-Level, International Baccalaureate, or other school work in the last two years. This work may be coursework, including work submitted for an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), a written test, or an essay or language exercise such as a translation exercise or composition.

If you study Latin, Greek, Classical Civilisation, or Ancient History at school, please make sure one piece of work (and preferably both) is from one of those subjects. Please don’t submit anything longer than 5,000 words in length, and keep a copy of the submitted work so you can reread it prior to interview.

International applicants

We mostly refer to A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate for our entry requirements, but we accept a wide variety of qualifications from all over the world. The University website lists the . We expect students to be on track to achieve the highest grades in whichever qualification system they are studying. See our dedicated page for international students for more information.

Deferred and post A-Level entry

We're happy to consider applications for deferred entry in Classics. The College also welcomes applications from mature students.

Those who have already done A-Levels will normally have achieved A*AA, and must go through the normal competitive process with the other applicants.

Find out how to apply to study at Jesus.