Egyptology and Ancient History with a Year Abroad
Swansea University
UCAS Code: VV42 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Swansea University
UCAS Code: VV42 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities Course
We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a Grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSEs: English/Welsh Language Grade C
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
International students will also require a score of 4 at Higher Level English Language or Literature, or 5 at Standard Level English Language or Literature.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
Swansea University accepts the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales as fully equivalent to x1 A-Level.
Swansea University will accept the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as fully equivalent to one A-Level.
About this course
This four-year Egyptology and Ancient History degree with a Year Abroad covers the study of Ancient Egyptian language, literature, history and culture.
Ancient Egypt, with its pharaohs, grand monuments, and hieroglyphs, has fascinated people for thousands of years.
Here at Swansea you can study its great sweep of history and compelling cultural practices in their context within Africa, the Levant, and the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean.
Our three-year degree is founded on object-based learning, offering you hands-on experience with the artefacts in our in-house museum, the Egypt Centre. You also have the option to learn the ancient Egyptian language and writing system, as a gateway to exploring their surviving texts for yourself.
You will be equipped to understand how Egyptian society developed over millennia, from the neolithic to the time when the Nile valley was conquered by Persians, Greeks, and Romans.
Classics and Ancient History at Swansea is ranked:
2nd in the UK for Student Experience (Times Good University Guide 2025)
2nd in the UK for Teaching Satisfaction (Guardian University Guide 2025)
3rd in the UK for Teaching Quality (Times Good University Guide 2025)
Top 20 in the UK for Graduate Outcomes (Complete University Guide 2025)
Top 51-150 in the World (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025)
You have options to study Egyptology and Ancient History with a semester abroad during your second year, or to spend a full year abroad after your second year. We have contacts with universities in Australia, North America, Asia, and Europe.
We are committed to teaching you how to understand historical landscapes. Our optional first-year heritage module allows you to understand the past in its place on sites around Swansea and South Wales. We also have a study trip module which affords you the chance (whenever circumstances allow) to visit ancient sites overseas, for example in Greece or Italy.
You are also able to gain valuable experience and understanding of the museum industry and heritage practices, through a range of placements, or by undertaking a full year in industry, allowing you to gain valuable workplace experience ready for your career. As well as modules where you work with objects from the Egypt Centre, we have the Egyptian Collection Practicum, a third-year module which offers two weeks of intensive work experience in the museum. You can also get involved by participating in such initiatives as the Swansea University Pottery Project, which aims to catalogue all ceramic fragments in the collection. There is also the opportunity to volunteer at the Egypt Centre, which boasts an international scholarly network with frequent seminars, short courses, and a school programme.
Modules
Your first year of study is made up of compulsory modules covering a range of themes. Compulsory modules are studied by all students on the programme, meaning you are automatically enrolled. Examples include:
• Introduction to Ancient Egyptian History, Society and Culture
• Greek History and Society
• Age of Empire: Ancient Egypt and her Neighbours
• Rome from Village to Empire: An Introduction to Roman History
Your second will comprise entirely of optional modules from a expansive range of subject areas. Examples of optional modules in recent years have included:
• Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology
• Egyptian Art and Architecture
• The Greek Romance: Sea, Sun and Sex
• Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology
• Alexander and the Hellenistic world
Your third year will be spent studying abroad at an international partner institution.
Your final year comprises almost entirely of optional modules, allowing you to shape your own degree, alongside undertaking a compulsory independent dissertation project.
For the full programme structure and module breakdown, please visit our webpage:
www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/classics-ancient-history-egyptology/ba-egyptology-ancient-history
Assessment methods
This degree programme is delivered through lectures, tutorials and seminars. You will usually receive nine hours minimum scheduled contact time with your teachers every week. Full attendance at lectures, seminars and personal tutorials (personal tutorials are obligatory). All Arts and Humanities degree programmes include independent learning which requires initiative and hard work. We will challenge you with demanding teaching and assessment. Assessment includes essay, coursework and examination, presentations and a dissertation.
The Uni
Singleton Park Campus
College of Arts and Humanities
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score 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)
Archaeology
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
Archaeology
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
Want to do a job in the arts - with lots of the great outdoors? Try archaeology! There don't tend to be many archaeology undergraduates out there (just under 700 graduated in 2015) - but it's quite a popular subject at postgraduate level. In fact, over a quarter of archaeology graduates take some kind of further study when they graduate - usually more study of archaeology. When you look at the stats, be aware that junior jobs in archaeology are not always well paid at the start of your career, and that temporary contracts are not uncommon. Thankfully, though, unpaid work, whilst not completely gone, is less common than it used to be. The archaeology graduates of 2015 found jobs in archaeology, of course, but also management and heritage and environment work, as well as more conventional graduate jobs in marketing and the finance industry.
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.
£16k
£21k
£26k
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.
Archaeology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£21k
£26k
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.
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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.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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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.
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Graduate field commentary:
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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?
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