Studying classics at university means spending at least three years of your life explaining to people what a classics degree actually involves.

No, you say, it’s not the same as studying history, or English either.

No, it doesn’t mean you spend your entire day looking at fragments of Greek urns that were discovered by archaeologists or learning how to hold a conversation in Latin.

And, no, it doesn’t mean you’ve ruined any chance of a good career compared to people who chose to study medicine, law, engineering or anything else that’s more obviously related to a real-world job.

Studying classics is so much more than all of these stereotypes, which is why later this month we’re launching our first-ever ranking of the best universities in the world for studying classics & ancient history.

Before we reveal which universities have come out on top, let’s run down some of the things which unite every classics student around the world.

It’s not a proper night out unless you’re wearing a toga

via GIPHY

Other subjects can talk all they want about their amazing socials, but let’s face it: nothing beats a classics toga party.

Unlike most fancy dress, there’s something about even a poorly tied toga made out of an old bedsheet that looks positively regal. Plus, it’s instantly obvious what you’re wearing from a mile away, avoiding the awkward conversations that crop up almost any other time there’s a fancy-dress theme at uni.

Sure, wearing a bedsheet on a night out is super impractical and it always ends with the bottom half covered in dirt and the top half covered in spilled alcohol, but once you get past the fact you’ve got nowhere to put your phone it’s definitely one of the best fancy dress themes.

You love Disney’s Hercules…even if the mythology isn’t actually accurate

via GIPHY

Yes, OK, it’s pretty ridiculous that Disney went and made a film about Greek gods and used the name Hercules instead of Heracles, but you can get past that. After all, it’s not every day you get to watch Hades unleash the Titans, or the twelve labors of Hercules, or OH-MY-GOSH-PEGASUS-IS-SO-ADORABLE-I-WANT-ONE!

Let’s face it, there’s no way this film stands up to even the slightest bit of scrutiny but it’s at least 70 percent responsible for why you’re now here studying classics.

At least one friend can’t stop saying ‘THIS IS SPARTA!!’

via GIPHY

And no matter how much you tell them it isn’t funny, they just won’t stop.

Learning Latin and ancient Greek is just as useful as learning a modern language

via GIPHY

Despite all the snark you keep getting from other students, there are actually lots of benefits to learning Latin and ancient Greek. OK, you won’t be holding a conversation with anyone any time soon, but you’ve now got the ability to read and understand some of the most important written texts in history without relying on distorted translations. How is that not just as useful as being able to speak French?

Speaking of dead languages…

Jokes about sex are funnier if they’re in Latin

via GIPHY

It can’t be helped. Learning rude words in another language will always be one of the first things you do, and it just so happens that jokes about sex and comedic insults are much funnier if they’re in Latin.

You’ll never have to stop defending your choice of subject to family members

via GIPHY

As well as the joys of Plato or the democratic systems of ancient Rome, why you chose to study classics is something your family will never be able to understand. You’re paying how much a year in fees to study what?

Eventually your parents start to get on board with the idea and even plan a family holiday somewhere with ruins because they think that’s what you like now, but they’re never really going to get it. Here’s hoping you at least get a decent enough job that they don’t keep mentioning it for the rest of your life.

Getting a first in Classics isn’t actually easier than other degrees

via GIPHY

By now, you’re probably fed up of people looking at the amount of contact hours you have with your tutors and coming to the conclusion you must have an easier degree than them. Just because you’re not sat in a lab for six hours every day looking at test tubes doesn’t mean you’re not working hard.

Studying classics requires self-discipline, the ability to research and analyze and a strong eye for detail. The fact it also allows you to stay in bed until at least 10am every day doesn’t mean your life’s easier.

Sometimes, you can’t help but think life would be easier if you lived in ancient Rome

via GIPHY

Ahhh, ancient Rome. A society that gave the world the aqueduct, sanitation, roads, irrigation, medicine, education, health, wine, public baths, streets that were safe at night and peace.

Let’s face it, there are times when walking around a Roman forum with friends, all of you in your best sandals, or going to the Circus Maximus to watch the chariot racing seems positively idyllic compared to another all-nighter in the library to finish your latest essay.

Unfortunately, you always have to forget your time traveling dreams and settle for the next best thing. Don’t suppose Hercules is on Netflix?

Lead image: Garry Knight (Flickr)

The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018 will be released later this month on 28 February.

This year’s rankings see two subjects included for the first time ever: classics & ancient history, and library & information management. This takes the total number of academic disciplines featured to 48 and makes the rankings one of the most comprehensive resources available to help you choose where to study.

As well as these two new subjects, you’ll also be able to find out how universities around the world are ranked for five different branches of engineering, medicine, law, business and countless others. 74 countries will be represented in total this year, meaning the distance between you and a top university is unlikely to be very far.

Every year since 2011, the QS World University Rankings by Subject have been compiled using data on research citations, combined with the results of major global surveys of academics and employers. More information about the methodology can be found here.

What to expect

While the two new subjects are likely to receive a fair amount of attention when this year’s rankings are published on 28 February, there are plenty of intriguing stories and sub-plots to look out for.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has repeatedly been named the best university in the world in the QS World University Rankings® and has also been a dominant force in the engineering subject rankings for several years. Can they keep up their recent fantastic record?

In the UK, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are likely to continue their fierce rivalry. Oxford was one of only three universities to be ranked number one for more than one subject last year, but will Cambridge have caught up with them?

Australian universities failed to top any of the subject rankings last year but shared nine top 10 places between them. Will that number improve this time around?

The only way to find out the answers to these questions and how universities elsewhere in the world have performed this year is to check the rankings when they’re released on February 28. As well as viewing the rankings online, they can also be accessed by downloading the free QS World University Rankings app, available for iPhone and Android.

Sponsored by EU Business School

One of the biggest myths about starting-up is that all entrepreneurs must be either autodidacts or natural born geniuses with a brilliant idea. This false perception that you need to be a natural to succeed unfortunately leaves many budding entrepreneurs woefully ill-prepared for the challenges of starting a business today.

Running a business is hard, but many of the mistakes which cause nine out of ten startups to go bust can be avoided with the right business training. According to a CB Insights survey of 101 post-mortem essays by startup founders who saw their businesses fail, rookie mistakes such as poor marketing, lack of a business model, recruitment issues, inadequate market analysis, running out of cash, and legal challenges were the prime reasons for their failure.

From learning to spend your cash wisely to writing a responsible business plan based on careful market analysis, business education can prepare you to thrive where others have tripped up. Of course, an MBA cannot make you the next Mark Zuckerberg or Sheryl Sandberg overnight, but it can give you the fundamental business and leadership skills you need to run a company, from managing operations and talent to generating revenue and avoiding legal or financial mishaps.

Mark Dencker, 30, from Denmark, pursued an MBA in Global Banking and Finance at EU Business School before launching Wiredelta, a web and app design and development company for startups.

He said: “Prior to my MBA I’d been working in investment banking, so I was on track to work in the field, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to build stuff instead of just moving money around. “

Mark said business school gave him the analytical mindset he needed to work in technology. “Software and technical products can be incredibly complex. You have to peel layers like an onion to understand how different parts work together. An analytical mindset helps you understand not just the financial stuff, but also complex phenomena and how a software product is built.”

Business school gave him a broad understanding of how a business works. Mark said: “It’s one thing to be an incredible software developer in your field, but that doesn’t make a business. You need HR, finance, all these administration functions. A business degree teaches you how to speak with HR and finance managers and designers, because you have a coherent understanding of how business works.”

Dr Andrew Ward, a lecturer at EU Business School, believes that while some essential personality traits like resilience cannot be taught, business school can give the budding entrepreneur a foundation of the practicalities of starting a business that cannot be learnt in a book.

Dr Ward said: “As soon as a book is published it is out of date. So, as a teacher you need to have the practicalities of knowing why you were successful and why you failed and explain that to students. You need to have the latest information on entrepreneurship. Also, you cannot teach entrepreneurship like other subjects - you have to let students experiment conceptually with their ideas.”

Dr Ward issued a word of advice to budding entrepreneurs. “Be prepared to break some rules. Be prepared to fail. Learn quickly and bounce back as best as you can.”

凯特.琼斯撰写

在你寻找完美的学位项目的过程中，你可能会花很多时间浏览章程，参观新的城市和城镇，在校园里与在校学生一起闲逛，并想象你作为一个本科生的生活。当你这样做的时候，你显然要密切关注教学质量和机构的声誉，但还有哪些其他因素应该影响你的最终决定呢？

重要的是要记住，学生的经历并不以学术为起点和终点。相反，你在大学期间最美好的时刻很可能发生在远离讲堂的地方，因此，你选择一个生活方式和文化适合你的地方是很重要的。你是向往城市的喧嚣，还是更适合乡村或海边的安静生活？您是否会在学习期间寻找工作？你是想参加社团或俱乐部，还是乐意只专注于课程？在做出最终决定之前，这些问题都是需要考虑的。

校园或城市

选择住在校园里还是住在城市里，对你在大学里的享受程度有很大影响。

校园大学就像一个自给自足的城镇，住宿、教学和休闲设施都在一个地方。这对于那些想把自己封闭在一个学术社区中的人来说可能是完美的，但对于其他人来说，可能会感到非常孤立和幽闭恐惧。

另一方面，一所城市大学可能更适合那些想让自己参与机构之外的生活，而不是经常被学生包围的人。如果您想在学习之余从事兼职工作或获得工作经验，城市大学可能更适合您。你可能也会有更多的酒吧和夜总会可供选择，让你度过夜晚。

离家近

在选择大学时，你愿意在自己和亲人之间投入的距离是一个关键的考虑因素。在英国，学生上大学的平均路程是91英里，而在美国，这个数字是94英里。当然，学习的主要好处之一是认识新朋友和结交新朋友，但在与家人保持联系方面，我们每个人都有非常不同的愿望和需求。

如果你热衷于展翅高飞，并且觉得没有必要经常回家，那么离家乡较远的大学可能就很好。然而，如果您计划定期探望家人，距离可能会带来问题。在您做出最终决定之前，请确保您已经考虑到了回家的时间和成本。

社团和运动队

如果你愿意，大学的生活可以远不止学位课程。许多机构都以其全面的课外活动（如俱乐部和社团）而闻名，根据您的追求选择，位置可能是一个重要的考虑因素。如果你是一个热衷于冲浪的人，一所沿海大学会让你比一个在国家中部的大学更容易获得你所选择的休闲活动。

如果你渴望参与到课堂之外的生活中去，那么检查一下有哪些活动是很重要的。与学生会取得联系，并在脸书或谷歌上看看学生群体内还有什么活动。

生活成本

对于大多数本科生来说，支出是一个重要因素。虽然许多人都会申请学生贷款，并可能通过一些兼职工作来补充，但支出的增加速度可能比你想象的要快。

不同大学的生活费差别很大，在选择大学之前，生活费应该是一个关键的考虑因素。例如，在英国，伦敦的学生住宿费用是北爱尔兰的两倍，而威尔士首府卡迪夫是整体上最具成本效益的学生城市。

归根结底，选择大学既要考虑适合自己的个人情况，也要考虑选对课程。虽然攻读学位的主要目的是为了让自己在所选科目中获得杰出的资历，但享受这种经历也很重要。

凯特-琼斯（Kate Jones）为Inspiring Interns撰稿，该公司专门为求职者寻找理想的实习机会。要浏览我们的伦敦毕业生工作列表，请访问我们的网站。

由EDHEC赞助

大学职业服务是学生生活中最容易错过的机会之一，根据Aftercollege对600名大学生的调查，超过50%的学生根本没有使用他们学校的职业办公室。虽然不是所有的商学院在为学生提供独特和智能的专业辅导时都有相同的标准，但完全忽视你学校的职业服务团队可能最终使你失去工作机会。通过我们的建议，了解如何充分利用你学校的职业服务。

在学期开始时，而不是在学期结束时，拜访你的职业服务团队

许多硕士生失去了工作机会，因为他们没有意识到，从学习的第一天到毕业，他们可以从一个好的职业服务团队那里得到大量的帮助。迅速找到顶级工作的秘诀之一是一份强大的简历和一个良好的职业服务团队，他们会在你完成学业的过程中为你提供指导。例如，EDHEC的职业中心提供个人辅导、职业培训、招聘活动以及与职业有关的工具和资源，包括指南、测试和网络。

将职业中心作为一个枢纽，以满足商业联系的需要

EDHEC的学生可以优先获得150多家公司和顶级招聘单位的机会，包括凯捷咨询、德勤、普华永道、联合利华、达能、欧莱雅、埃森哲、Lactalis、安永、法国巴黎银行、JP摩根、汇丰、德意志银行、巴克莱和高盛。这些都是在定期更新的职位列表网站上公布的。了解你的商学院是否有你想工作的企业合作伙伴，如果有，他们是否在你的校园里积极招聘。

除了获得具体的工作机会外，你的学校有可能像EDHEC一样，与招聘人员和企业密切合作，向学生建议如何为主要国际公司的个别招聘程序做准备。

真正努力去参加职业介绍会和研讨会

参加公司介绍日或特定行业的毕业生职业介绍会可能听起来让人心烦意乱，但它可以使一切变得不同。

即使是最好的就业服务机构也不能保证你会得到一份工作，但他们可以给你提供与招聘人员见面和发现工作的机会。这些机会可能包括职业介绍会、网络活动、充满空缺的招聘网站或前往伦敦或巴黎会见部门经理和人力资源团队。与招聘人员当面交谈比发电子邮件更非正式、更轻松，这有助于他们为简历添加面孔，同时也能让你对公司文化有一个很好的了解，知道它是否适合你。

也不要忽视职业研讨会。EDHEC定期组织一些主题的培训日，从如何向雇主展示自己的品牌到完善你的面试技巧。无论重点是什么，你都会学到对你自己的未来有价值的东西，所以要留意在你的学校发生的活动。

学习在雇主面前树立自己的品牌

找到一份好工作是一个过程。首先要非常了解自己（你喜欢什么，不喜欢什么，你擅长什么，你会在哪种类型的企业文化中茁壮成长），并提出一个独特的销售主张，使你与成千上万的类似候选人不同。如果这听起来令人生畏，你的职业服务团队应该能够帮助你制定一个行动计划。为此，EDHEC聘请了30名全职专业教练，以小组和一对一的方式与学生一起工作。

对你的职业团队有信心

职业团队由人力资源专家、前行业雇员或招聘人员、职业辅导员和心理学家组成。相信你的职业中心已经制定了一个方案，可以帮助你获得你梦想的工作。

很明显，有些职业团队的表现比其他团队要好。根据Universum的数据，EDHEC的职业中心在硕士生中的使用率超过了90%，满意度超过了8分，是法国评价最好的职业中心。除其他事项外，他们还提供人才识别和职业发展项目，该项目与你的硕士课程专业相适应，可以延长你的学习时间。它包括一个完整的评估中心，加上行业专家的辅导和职业活动，如金融职业日或 "规划你的职业生涯周"。

无论你是学习管理, 金融经济学, 商业管理, 或 决策, 咨询和数字转型，都不要错过专家职业服务团队带来的巨大好处。