Home › Colleges & Schools▻College of Arts, Social Sciences, & Celtic Studies▻School of Languages, Literatures & Cultures▻Disciplines and Subjects▻Classics▻Undergraduate Classics▻Careers with Classics

Careers with Classics

What can I do after studying Classics?

Studying Classics can lead into a wide variety of career paths, for example:

  • TV presenter (Ryan Tubridy)
  • Multi-millionaire children's author (J. K. Rowling)
  • Nobel Prize winner in literature (Toni Morrison)
  • Media mogul (Ted Turner, founder of CNN)
  • Multimedia company founder (Charles Geschke, Adobe Systems)
  • Politics (Boris Johnson, former mayor of London)
  • Rock band (Chris Martin, Coldplay)

Flexible skill-set

Flexibility and adaptability are essential in the modern workplace. Studying Classics fosters a set of flexible skills that can be applied productively in many types of employment. These include:

  • Absorb and analyze complex information
  • Carry out focused research
  • Communicate with clarity, accuracy and polish (Classics student prepare both written and oral presentations in each year)
  • Thinking outside the box (Classics combines several different disciplines: history, literary studies, art & archaeology, linguistics)

In addition, a good result in your degree demonstrates personal attributes:

  • Capacity for hard work
  • Motivation
  • Ability to organise, prioritise and work independently
  • Ability to learn on the job

Our BA and MA graduates generally go on to find entry-level positions and work their way up, sometimes in combination with more specialised postgraduate training.

Further reading

John Hannon of the Career Development Centre discusses careers with an Arts degree: