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Email academic.registry@tcd.ieThe M.Phil. in Classics is aimed both at students who intend to proceed to doctoral research and those who wish to round off their undergraduate studies by taking their encounter with the Classical world to the next level or to explore a nascent interest in ancient Greece and Rome.
This course offers a range of taught modules at high level and the opportunity to write a dissertation on a subject of your choice.
It provides students with an excellent grounding in postgraduate research skills in Classics. It also hones analytical, written, and verbal communication skills which are highly valued in careers outside the university and education sectors. The M.Phil. in Classics attracts students from all over the world who have gone on to a broad range of careers.
The M.Phil. in Classics is designed both for those who are trained in the classical languages, and for those who have completed non-language-based degrees. The year-long module Classics: Research and Methods provides instruction in methodologies and approaches to the study of the ancient world. Optional modules and the dissertation offer students the opportunity to begin to specialise in a particular strand of Classical scholarship, literary, philosophical, historical, archaeological and linguistic. This course thereby provides an essential basis for further research in the discipline.
The M.Phil. in Classics helps graduates prepare for a wide variety of careers including in the museum and heritage sectors, libraries and archives, public policy and administration, archaeology, law, teaching, and media. It also provides invaluable training in research for those planning to pursue doctoral studies and / or a career in research.
Taken as a full time course, the M.Phil. lasts for 12 months, starting in September. Teaching is spread over 24 weeks from September to the following April. The course consists of a combination of compulsory and optional components that together make up the 90 ECTS expected for full-time study over one academic year at Masters level.
Students taking the course part-time do so over two years. In their first year, part-time students must complete taught modules carrying 40 ECTS, including the compulsory module Classics: Research and Methods (20 ECTS). In their second year, they take taught modules carrying 20 ECTS and submit a dissertation by the end of August.
The course has two compulsory elements. The weekly core module Classics: Research and Methods, runs throughout the year and communicates core research skills and knowledge across the main strands of classical scholarship.
In addition, students also choose four electives (or two with beginners’ Greek or Latin), which likewise allow them to build specific skills and follow their individual interests. Recently taught electives include: Greek Language; Latin Language; Saving the Past; Unlocking Sacred Landscapes; Desire and the Body from Catullus to Seneca; Early Christianity; Homer and the Canons of Antiquity; After Alexander: Hellenistic Athens; Roman Hellenism; Curiosity and Crisis in the Late Fifth Century; The Eternal City: The Archaeology of the City of Rome; Goddesses of the Mediterranean.
For students with intermediate and advanced Greek and Latin, a range of author- and topic-based modules are available.
All students also write a dissertation of 15,000 words on an agreed topic, individually supervised by a member of staff. The dissertation offers an opportunity to begin to specialise in a particular strand of scholarship, whether literary, philosophical, historical or archaeological.
Click here for further information on modules/subject.
Introduction to the postgraduate programme in Classics by Dr. Shane Wallace at Trinity College Dublin.
September 2025
Dr. Shane Wallace
30h June 2025
Applicants should normally have at least an upper second class (2.1) Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent (for example, GPA of 3.3) in a relevant area. Knowledge of Greek or Latin is not required, but students hoping later to pursue a research degree in fields where the written record provides our main sources will be strongly encouraged to acquire language skills in the course.
Since places on the course are limited, applicants may be interviewed or asked to submit a writing sample for assessment.
All applicants to Trinity are required to provide official evidence of proficiency in the English language. Applicants to this course are required to meet Band B (Standard Entry) English language requirements. For more details of qualifications that meet Band B, see the English Language Requirements page here.
Click here for a full list of postgraduate fees.
To apply, click on the relevant Apply Link below
+353 (0)1 896 1208
Register your interest in studying at Ireland’s leading university, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin.
Between the extensive library, word-class faculty, and engaging modules, I cannot think of a better place to study the classics than Trinity. To know your way around the ancient Mediterranean world through history, art, and literature is to enter into a millennia-old conversation about humanity, society, ethics, politics, love, and what makes a meaningful life.
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I moved to Ireland from the UK in 2016 to undertake the M.Phil. in Classics. Although three years had passed since I completed my undergraduate degree, any worries that I had about moving abroad and pursuing further study were soon alleviated. The M.Phil. was not only intellectually stimulating, but the world-class lecturers and vibrant social environment of central Dublin made the experience of studying in Trinity truly unique. The M.Phil. itself is designed to accommodate students from a diverse range of backgrounds and approaches. Compulsory modules like Research & Methods gave us the opportunity to get hands-on experience with diverse areas of the Classical discipline, such as papyrology and epigraphy, while the unique elective modules enabled us to comprehensively develop our knowledge in specialist areas: whether in languages, history, literature, philosophy, material culture or reception studies. Yet what made the M.Phil. truly distinctive in my experience was the emphasis placed on thinking critically about the discipline of Classics and its transforming role in the modern world. The insight of the lecturers as well as their comprehensive knowledge of theoretical apparatuses opened my eyes to a totally new perspective on my studies, and the experience developed me into a more reflective and critical thinker. The staff themselves are exceedingly generous both with their knowledge and their time. It was clear that they genuinely cared for our progress and we were often encouraged to take the lead of discussions in seminars, as well as to undertake independent research. My overwhelmingly positive experience with the Classics M.Phil. not only encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D. in Classics at Trinity, but was invaluable in informing how I engage with the world.
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