Bachelor of Arts in Classics

at Durham University United Kingdom

The MA Intercultural Communication and Education course develops critical understanding of education and intercultural communication in the context of global movements of people and the internationalisation of education. The course provides students, educators, and policymakers with resources for reflecting on and responding to the growing need for intercultural education and communication in an increasingly intercultural/international world. This course is available for part-time and full-time students through the academic year.

Criminology is concerned with understanding crime, deviance and institutions of criminal justice.

Criminologists seek to answer questions like: why are some people more likely to commit or be victims of crime than others; how can crime be effectively prevented or controlled; and from a more critical perspective, how do particular activities become defined as “criminal” in the first place and what does this tells us about the nature of power and authority in society?

Overall, the course progressively develops your critical understanding of Criminology through the examination of key concepts and theories as well as substantive issues related to crime and criminal justice. Alongside this, the course teaches critical analytical and methodological skills to equip students with the practical expertise required to engage with and carry out Criminological research. As such, by the end of the course, graduates will be able to draw upon conceptual and empirical material to critically analyse complex Criminological issues in a scholarly fashion.

The degree is based on a modular structure, with students required to take the equivalent of six modules (some of which may be ‘double modules’) within each year of study. Over the course of the degree, modules become increasingly focused on specialist topics and issues, with the chance to undertake a Sociological research project on a specific topic of substantive interest in the final year of study.

This is a specialist course geared towards preparing you for higher research in ancient philosophy - partly through direct research training, and partly through modules taught by experts in their field in small-group seminars. Durham has a longstanding tradition of international excellence in the field of ancient philosophy, with several recent doctoral students having gone on to take up academic positions in the UK and abroad.

In studying BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences here at Durham, a mix of core and optional modules enables you to explore traditional sport, exercise and health science disciplines (across physiology; psychology; physical activity, nutrition and health). Modules from the Sociology of Sport and Sport Development and Policy subject areas are also available to select across all three years, allowing you to develop a broader, more holistic knowledge base and skill set across the wider study of sport and exercise

Research and academic study skills will be developed through bespoke modules, and during the final year dissertation project you will engage in deeper investigation of a sport and exercise topic that particularly interests you. In addition, our employability-focused course provides further opportunities for you to take sport and exercise leadership and placement modules, as well as open modules from other departments across the University.

Here at Durham, our multidisciplinary expertise across the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences allows you to tackle traditional and emergent sport and exercise problems from a variety of different perspectives. Learning, teaching and assessment approaches all emphasise the application of academic knowledge to real-life sport and exercise contexts and examples. As such, we enable you to develop your intellectual capacities and personal qualities, as well as to acquire a broad range of practical, professional and employability skills that can be applied to a range of future career paths and further postgraduate studies.

This course focuses on the Catholic theological tradition, within the more general context of Christian theology. Durham has a strong interest in and engagement with contemporary Catholicism, with a Centre for Catholic Studies, the Bede Chair in Catholic Theology and the St Hilda Chair in Catholic Social Thought and Practice.

This course involves the study of historical and systematic theology from a range of Christian perspectives. Durham has long-established strengths in both Greek and Latin patristics, the medieval Church and Reformation, contemporary Catholic and Anglican theology, theological ethics, and philosophical theology.

The MSc in Medical Anthropology offers a unique opportunity to engage with anthropological approaches to the study of health drawing on sociocultural, ecological and evolutionary perspectives. The course provides a strong grounding in ethnographic approaches to the study of health, the political ecology of health and the application of anthropology to contemporary public health concerns, as well as a diverse range of options in areas such as theories of the body and evolutionary medicine.

Our unique biosocial approach to the anthropology of health is one of our key strengths and attracts a wide range of students, contributing to a stimulating and exciting learning environment. An emphasis on developing and applying research skills is also central to our degree.

The MA in Education provides outstanding opportunities to study a wide range of educational issues. It will provide you with a clear understanding of the nature and significance of policy and practice in education, relevant to researchers as well as professionals in schools, colleges and universities.

A key feature of the course is the facility for you to draw on your own professional and personal as well as academic and theoretical interests, through being able to choose from a range of optional modules to study (see below). You will also be able to explore your own interests in depth through the completion of a dissertation.

The degree has been designed to meet the needs of educational professionals, especially those in teaching, management or administration at all levels of education. Students likely to benefit from the course are those who are interested in education, often teachers or people planning to become teachers, who have a commitment to pedagogy, and educational managers in schools, colleges and higher education institutions, as well as those working in educational administration, in the UK and overseas.

Through its flexible delivery routes, the MA in Education is suitable for students from all backgrounds and countries. In addition to a traditional full-time study route, the course is also available part-time. On the part-time route, teaching is delivered through intensive teaching weekends scheduled around (Durham) school half-term holidays making the course more accessible for those working full-time.

The MA in Archaeology can be studied on a full-time and part-time basis. Through sets of specialist modules, skills-oriented classes and workshops, and dissertation research it provides the opportunity to advance your skills and knowledge in archaeology with a view to progressing either to doctoral-level research or to gaining specialist and transferable skills to develop a career in commercial archaeology or in the wider employment market.

The MA Archaeology is designed to take advantage of the exceptionally wide research interests of the staff in Durham Archaeology, which range from the Palaeolithic of western Europe, through Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, to the Classical archaeology of the Greek and Roman worlds, through Egyptology, the archaeology of the ancient and Islamic Near East and Arabia, to Buddhism in South Asia and trade in the Indian Ocean, and the archaeology of the medieval, post-medieval and historic periods.

From this widespread students are able to select a combination of specialist taught courses and a dissertation topic in precisely the areas that interest them. At the same time, they will form part of a large cohort of students taking this and associated courses creating a student community amongst whom some courses in research, presentation and practical skills are shared, along with discussions and events. This structure offers the opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange combined with specialist training in key archaeological skills and knowledge, as well as making friendships and contacts from around the world.

This course provides you with the systematic knowledge and intellectual tools to critically review developments in the theory and practice of international relations. It will enable you to evaluate in a sophisticated and critical fashion concepts, theories and paradigms within the broad field of international relations, drawing lessons from empirical studies involving both quantitative and qualitative investigations.

You will develop the ability to deploy research strategies and methods in an appropriately advanced fashion to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship. Each study route aims to provide advanced knowledge and understanding of the dynamics, including cultural and local political and ideological factors, which shape the contemporary international relations of the area.

The course also provides an opportunity for studying international relations in comparative and historical perspective taking account of regional specific political and economic factors.