Course Summary · 2027 Entry
Classics at University of Cambridge
Key requirements for Classics at University of Cambridge, compiled from the official course page, with 1-to-1 tutoring from Oxford or Cambridge graduates.
In a nutshell
Cambridge Classics has two routes. The three-year course (Q800) requires Latin or Greek to A-Level. The four-year course (QQ78) starts from scratch with an intensive ab initio Latin year and is open to applicants without prior Latin or Greek.
Course summary
What University of Cambridge publishes for Classics.
- UCAS code
- Q800
- Degree
- BA (Hons)
- Duration
- 3 or 4 years
- Typical A-Level offer
- A*AA
- Recommended subjects
- Latin or Greek for 3-year course
- Admissions test
- No pre-registered admissions test. Every college sets a 20-minute language assessment interview: Latin (or Greek) skills on the three-year course, language aptitude on the four-year course (Pembroke sets an additional aptitude test for four-year applicants). No advance registration is needed.
- Interview
- Bring sharp pencil and a willingness to commentate on language. Even on the four-year ab initio route, tutors will probe your reading of an unseen English-translation passage for argument and historical reasoning.
- Official course page
- https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/classics
Always verify these details on the official University of Cambridge course page before applying - entry requirements and assessment formats can change between cycles.
Insider tips
Things Classics applicants commonly miss.
- 01
The four-year course is genuinely "from zero" - you do not need to have learned Latin or Greek to apply, and applicants with no prior classical-language exposure regularly receive offers.
- 02
Read at least one translated primary source (Homer, Thucydides, Virgil, Tacitus) before applying. Tutors notice the difference between applicants who have read sources and those who have only read reception studies.