Key Facts · Oxford
Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford is a BA with an AAA typical offer, no written admissions test, and two pieces of written work due by 10 November 2026. The degree lasts 3 or 4 years, with Q8T9/T9Q8 routes depending on whether Classics or Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is the main two-thirds of the course.
Section 01
Oxford lists this course as Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. It lets you combine an Asian or Middle Eastern language and culture with Latin and/or Greek and the study of the ancient world.
In the available comparator data, Oxford appears as #2 in the Guardian column and #1 in the Complete column; Cambridge appears #1 and #2 respectively. These figures are best read as Classics or related-subject context, not as an exact ranking for this joint course.
The academic appeal of the course is the movement between philology, close reading, history, language learning, and comparative cultural study. It is best treated as a demanding bridge between two subject areas, not as a lighter version of either.
The admissions record is small: the 2024-25 admissions round for 2025 entry recorded 24 applicants and a figure of 12 reported in the offers/placed category. Because the source terminology is partly caveated, read that as a small-number indicator rather than a broad competitiveness trend.
How It Ranks Against Peers
| University | Guardian UK | CUG UK | Times UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Oxford | #2 | #1 | N/A |
| University of Cambridge | #1 | #2 | N/A |
| University of St Andrews | N/A | N/A | N/A |
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
University of St Andrews
Ranks shown are UK subject-table positions from the three major UK guides. World rankings are not included — UK applicants compare using UK-focused sources.
Section 02
International Applicants
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Select a highlighted country to see the admissions-test, score, and English-language requirements that apply specifically to applicants from that country.
Section 03
| Qualification | Typical Offer | Key Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| A-Level | AAA (with As in Latin and Greek, if taken) | |
| IB Diploma | 39 (including core points) with 666 at HL, including 6s at HL in Latin and Greek if taken | |
| Advanced Placement (AP) | Either four APs at grade 5, including any subjects required for the course, or three APs at grade 5 including any required subjects plus ACT 31 or above or SAT 1460 or above. | Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, A modern language recommended. SAT/ACT: Required only if offering three APs rather than four: ACT 31 or above, or SAT 1460 or above. The optional essay is not required..Oxford lists Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as AAA at A-level, with A grades in Latin and Greek if taken. Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, or a modern language are relevant preparation. |
Section 04
May 2026
Applications open in May; choose your course and college/open application route, plan your personal statement, and organise the academic reference.
Tip:Check whether written work is required early so you can choose suitable essays.
Early September 2026
Applicants can submit the UCAS application from early September.
Tip:Do not wait for the final deadline if your school or referee needs internal processing time.
October 2026
15 October 2026 (6pm UK time)
November 2026
10 November 2026
Tip:Two pieces are required; at least one should be relevant to Classics where possible.
December 2026
Early to mid-December 2026; exact subject-specific timetable not yet published when checked
Tip:Prepare for close reading, language explanation, and academic discussion rather than memorised speeches.
January 2027
12 January 2027
May 2026
Applications open in May; choose your course and college/open application route, plan your personal statement, and organise the academic reference.
Tip:Check whether written work is required early so you can choose suitable essays.
Early September 2026
Applicants can submit the UCAS application from early September.
Tip:Do not wait for the final deadline if your school or referee needs internal processing time.
October 2026
15 October 2026 (6pm UK time)
November 2026
10 November 2026
Tip:Two pieces are required; at least one should be relevant to Classics where possible.
December 2026
Early to mid-December 2026; exact subject-specific timetable not yet published when checked
Tip:Prepare for close reading, language explanation, and academic discussion rather than memorised speeches.
January 2027
12 January 2027
Section 05
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December. The format is recorded as an academic discussion with a tutorial-style subject focus, but the detailed duration information is partial rather than fully verified on current Oxford pages.
Joint-course applicants should expect tutors representing each subject, and the panel size is typically recorded as 2 interviewers.
The interview window is early to mid-December 2026, though the exact subject-specific timetable had not yet been published when checked.
Preparation should emphasise close reading, language explanation, and comparative thinking out loud. Strong answers tend to show how you notice detail, test an interpretation, and revise it when the interviewer gives you new information.
Do not script speeches about why the ancient world matters. It helps more to practise turning a short passage, image, inscription, or linguistic puzzle into a structured academic conversation.
Practise with realistic questions from our free Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies mock interview bank.
Free Mock Questions →Section 06
Weighting of Admission Factors
100%
Indicative — exact balance varies by college and year.
Selection is best understood as a holistic judgement across interview performance, written work, academic record and predicted or achieved grades, subject fit, personal statement or reference, and contextual information.
The visual weighting model on this page is editorial; Oxford does not publish numerical weights for these criteria.
That means no single component should be treated as a guaranteed route in or out. A strong application is usually coherent across grades, written work, subject motivation, and interview discussion.
For this course, coherence matters because the degree is explicitly combined. The connection between Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies should be visible, but not forced.
Section 07
Your personal statement should explain why this combination makes academic sense. Avoid writing one paragraph on Classics and one unrelated paragraph on Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
A stronger structure is usually a chain of questions: a text, language, region, period, or historical contact point that led you from one side of the degree to the other. Reflection matters more than name-dropping.
Because the first-named subject makes up about two-thirds of the degree and the second subject about one-third, it is worth being precise about the route you are applying for.
Include one or two moments where your thinking changed. That could be a translation choice, a historical assumption you corrected, or a comparison that became more complicated as you read more.
See a full annotated example with line-by-line expert commentary.
Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies PS Example →Section 08
A good project for this course should make you handle evidence closely. That might mean comparing translations, tracing a concept across cultures, or examining how a text changes when read through language, material culture, or historical context.
Project examples should be presented as editorial suggestions, not Oxford requirements. Possible directions include a close comparison of two translations, a short language-learning log with reflections on grammar, or a focused study of one object, text, or historical contact point.
How to present a project:
It helps to build evidence that you can read carefully, think across cultures, and sustain independent study.
These are support, not substitute. They only help if they sharpen the academic case you are making.
Competitions are not required for this course.
Only include a competition if it genuinely developed the academic case you are making. One or two meaningful experiences are more useful than a long list of thin claims.
Section 09
Route-specific foundations: Classics-led students follow the Classics course; AMES-led students select a main Asian or Middle Eastern language.
Pathways diverge: Classics-led students continue Classics and begin the chosen AMES language; AMES-led students may undertake a year abroad if their language route requires it.
Advanced study combines the main subject with the additional subject, with options depending on route and language choice.
Final-year study applies where the route/language-year structure makes the course four years rather than three.
Section 10
Written work is required for this course.
Oxford requires 2 pieces of written work, due by 10 November 2026.
At least one piece should be relevant to Classics where possible.
Choose work that shows how you analyse evidence, not just how much you know. A marked school essay can work well if it gives tutors something specific to discuss at interview.
Section 11
Build knowledge around three habits: close reading, language attention, and comparison. Keep notes on how a primary source is translated, what assumptions a historian makes, and where a cultural comparison becomes more difficult than it first looked.
Good preparation might include reading primary sources in translation, comparing different translations, exploring museum collections, and following introductory faculty material where available. These are preparation strategies, not formal Oxford requirements.
Use the official course page as the final check for course identity and admissions requirements.
Section 12
39 colleges offer this subject. Around 20% of applicants submit an open application. ~27.7% of places come through the pool.
Oxford is collegiate for this course, with 39 colleges in the recorded college-choice data.
Around 20% of Oxford applicants make open applications.
Oxford uses reallocation rather than a Cambridge-style pool.
A course-level reallocation figure of about 27.7% is not fully verified; Oxford general guidance is often expressed more broadly as around a third. Do not use either figure as a tactical college-choice shortcut.
Choose a college for sensible reasons: course availability, accommodation preferences, location, and whether you would be happy being taught there. Do not try to game the system using small-number admissions statistics.
Section 13
Where graduates of this course head after leaving.
No official course-level graduate sector percentage table was verified for this course, so this page should not show invented sector percentages or employer lists.
The safer framing is that this degree develops close reading, language learning, historical analysis, and argument-building.
Those skills can support routes into further study, education, museums and heritage, public policy, publishing, law, consulting, and international-facing work. Treat that as guidance, not a course-level destination statistic.
Section 14
Context can matter where it explains subject availability, school offering, disruption, or uneven access to language teaching. Relevant context should normally be made clear through the UCAS reference or formal channels.
For this course, subject availability is particularly important. If your school did not offer Latin, Greek, or relevant Asian and Middle Eastern languages, the application should show what you did have access to and how you used it.
Watch & Learn
Student vlogs, mock interviews, lecture tasters, and admissions advice.
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Further Reading
Super-curricular reading, websites, and tools recommended by our expert tutors.
Official Oxford course page with entry requirements, written work and admissions details.
Faculty information about the joint course and its structure.
Department guidance for applicants to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies courses.
Official Classics guidance on written work submissions.
Official Classics admissions criteria used for Classics and joint courses.
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