BA Ancient History: Course Details, Fees, Eligibility, Admission Process, Career Scope & Jobs, Syllabus

Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History or B.A Ancient History is a three-year undergraduate degree programme in which the students study about the written past - mainly from the starting of recorded human history up till the middle ages. The B.A Ancient History course covers roughly a duration of 5,000 years, i.e from the period of discovery of the Cuneiform script up till around the 30th century B.C - the proto literate period. Most historians describe this period as ancient history which is preceded by pre-history or pre-historical period.

BA Ancient History Course Overview

 BA Ancient History course is an undergraduate course taught for a duration of three years in most of the colleges and universities located in India. BA Ancient history is a very popular course among youngsters as it is job oriented and also helps the aspirants in UPSC preparation. BA Ancient History syllabus is divided into six semesters that covers all the important aspects of Ancient History from basic to advanced level. As an academic discipline, Ancient History deals with the study of mankind’s past with topics like History, Religions, Society, Material Culture, Languages Of Ancient Greece and Rome along with the detailed concepts Of Indian History. Ancient History subjects range from Prehistory (c 1500 BCE) to the Early Medieval World (c 1000 CE).

BA Ancient History course is one of those programmes that deal with the history of Romans, Greeks, etc. and the related tales about their empires in the past. The highlight of the course curriculum is that it covers significant historical events and personalities, such as rulers and citizens of Rome and its empire, Greek heroes in the Trojan War, makers of medieval Europe and Classic Indian History. BA Ancient History course is an important asset as students get engaged in many interdisciplinary activities and they generally turn out to be better research scholars.

The course has been structured to strengthen the requisite skills of students for higher research or jobs. The students are also trained for studying and using literary texts, inscriptions, coins, art, papyri, and other such archaeological evidence to reconstruct and decode the ancient world academically. BA Ancient History career options are great as one can either do a job or pursue their higher education in the same field and do MA in Ancient History. They can also go for PhD after Master’s if they are good in research.

BA Ancient History Course Highlights

The candidates can check the major highlights of BA Ancient History course below in the table. 

Why Choose BA Ancient History Course?

The students are often inquisitive about Why to do a particular course apart from their interest in the field. There are hundreds of courses available to do at graduation level and finding a suitable one is always very challenging. Here are some reasons to choose BA Ancient History:

• BA Ancient History course is becoming popular among youths because of better growth opportunities with the course. 
• The career and job prospects are very good as there are demands for BA Ancient History graduates in the market. 
• BA Ancient History course is an affordable course and the average BA Ancient History course fee charged in India ranges between INR 30k and INR 5 lakhs. 
• The students after completing their graduation from BA Ancient History are usually offered a salary between INR 3 lakhs to INR 10 lakhs per annum which is considered to be a decent amount.

BA. Ancient History aspirants must have qualified their 10+2 exam from a recognised Board from any stream and with a minimum aggregate of 50% in all the qualifying level subjects combined.

BA Ancient History Admission Process

Most of the top Universities and colleges conduct their own entrance exam for admission into the BA Ancient History programme and on the basis of the students’ performance in both the qualifying exam and entrance test, allocation of the seat is done. However, there are multiple colleges or institutions which offers direct admission into the BA Ancient History programme. 

Provided below are the BA Ancient History Syllabus:

I Year

• Early Iron Age
• History & Post-Classical History
• Greek & Roman Civilizations
• Ancient History

II Year

• Late Ancient History
• Middle to Late Bronze Age
• Timeline of Ancient History
• Prehistory

III Year

• Early Ancient History
• Before Christ
• Classical Antiquity

BA Ancient History Subject

The BA Ancient History is a three year course and has so many topics related to mankind's ancient history, the proto-literate period, etc. BA Ancient History subjects help the students to learn persuasive writing, self expressions, critical thinking, and also about detailed analysis on anything, etc. The main BA Ancient History subjects are mentioned below.

• Greek and Roman Civilizations

• Middle to Late Bronze Age

• Ancient History

• Early Ancient History

• Late Ancient History

BA Ancient History Top Colleges 

There are many popular BA Ancient History colleges in India. The BA Ancient History course fee may vary from college to college. There are both private and government BA Ancient History colleges and some of them are mentioned below along with their respective location and average course fee.

BA Ancient History Entrance Exam

There are some prestigious colleges that grant BA Ancient History admission through entrance exams. Candidates should note that BA Ancient History Entrance Exams are conducted at national, state and university level. The colleges determine the admission through the merit list. Thus, the students must be aware of the top entrance exams conducted for BA Ancient History admission. The candidates can check the list of entrance exams below.

CUET- Central University Entrance Test is a popular Common Entrance Test conducted annually for taking admission to undergraduate courses offered by Central, Public, Private and Deemed-to-be Universities .

Also Read,

JNUEE- The National Testing Agency conducts JNUEE for candidates seeking admission into various courses offered by Jawaharlal Nehru University. Candidates are selected on the basis of their performance in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Exam . The main aim of conducting JNUEE is to shortlist deserving candidates with the right aptitude and skills to pursue the course of their choice at the University. JNUEE conducts exams in an online (computer-based) mode.

Preparation Tips for BA Ancient History 

The students can look at the following preparation tips that they should follow to successfully complete the course:

• Syllabus Information and Consultation: The students must be sure they are completely aware about the syllabus and they understand the syllabus as well. In case of any confusion, they must consult seniors or advisors for the same.
• Prepare for a Month: There must be a proper gap of at least one month between examination date and preparation for the same. Make a list of what needs to be studied and practiced as per the strengths and weaknesses and work accordingly. 
• Prepare Time Table: A workable time table is a must as it helps in timely completion of the exam preparation. A time table also helps in reserving sufficient time for revision. 

BA Ancient History Required Skills

There are certain aspects that the candidate have to keep in mind before opting for the BA Ancient History course. Aspirants need to possess certain necessary skills to develop in BA Ancient History course. The course is basically a theory-based programme and for that one needs to have proper knowledge. The candidates can check certain skill sets required for BA Ancient History course mentioned below.

• Researching
• Data Handling
• Writing
• Discussing

The graduates of BA Ancient History course can explore successful career opportunities in different fields such as journalism, archaeology, heritage industry, museums, computing, media, librarianship, teaching, business, administrative services, higher academic study, and other such areas that require academic versatility. The job profile of the Historians is to analyse and evaluate documentary evidence, work with several government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, public sector departments, etc. 

BA Ancient History students are best suited for roles such as Evaluator, Policy Analyst, Local Historian, and Planner, etc. They can also work in the capacity of Cultural Historic Preserver and Resources Manager after gaining relevant experience. The other profiles that they are usually placed with include Information Officer, Genealogist, Gallery or Museum Curator, Records Manager, Archivist, and Librarian, Newspaper and Broadcast Journalist, Administrative Officer, etc. One can check some of these important profiles along with their salary structure below. 

Scope of BA Ancient History

The students can explore various career scopes after graduating from BA Ancient History. They can also go on and pursue a variety of courses to enhance their knowledge in History. The aim of the program is to train scholars to be historians and capable of making significant contributions to the field. They can look for the following courses after successfully completing graduation. 

• Master's Degree in History and Culture
• Master of Arts History
• Master of Arts in Archaeology and Ancient History
• Master of Arts Museology and Archeology