Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Master’s degree programme in Classical Literature (LM-15) will be able to critically analyse and coherently convey knowledge and methodological approaches to the study of numerous aspects relating to literature, culture, the history of antiquity and its traditions, within a range of specific professional contexts in both the public and private sectors.
The skills associated with the role of a Master’s graduate in Classical Literature will enable them to work—whether as team leaders or coordinators, as team members, or independently—in professional contexts where an in-depth knowledge of the linguistic, philological and historical disciplines of the ancient world and the classical tradition is required, along with an advanced ability to communicate this knowledge.
Translations and/or commentaries, for private or, where applicable, public publishers, of texts from the ancient and post-ancient Greek and Latin traditions.
Production and editing of technical, school and, where applicable, university textbooks closely linked to the core subject areas of LM-15.
Whilst a Master’s degree in Classical Literature is not technically mandatory for carrying out these activities, it appears to be a de facto essential requirement for undertaking them at an advanced level.
Cultural outreach closely linked to the disciplines of the ancient world within the mass media (publishing, journalism, television, new media). The training provided by the Master’s degree in Classics (LM-15) enables graduates to undertake such roles competently, critically and with up-to-date knowledge.
Finally, an in-depth knowledge of the disciplines that characterise the Master’s degree programme in Classics (LM-15) is crucial for activities carried out within a public or private research team developing digital products related to ancient languages and cultures: digital dictionaries, digital libraries and artificial intelligence tests.
The training provided by the Master’s degree in Classics (LM-15) is also suitable for enabling graduates to pursue pathways that may lead to teaching in schools and universities.
In secondary schools (and in particular in grammar schools where the teaching of classical languages is part of the curriculum and the study of ancient history is covered in greater depth), graduates of the LM-15 degree programme who have accumulated a sufficient number of credits in subjects relating to languages, literature and ancient history will, in accordance with current legislation, be eligible to sit the entrance examinations for secondary school teacher training programmes, which in turn qualify them to sit competitive examinations for teaching posts in schools.
At university level, a degree in LM-15 grants access to admission competitions for PhD programmes and postgraduate specialisation courses for which the LM-15 degree is a valid qualification.
There are numerous potential career paths for graduates in Classical Literature (LM-15).
In the field of education, the LM-15 qualifies graduates to teach Italian and ancient languages and literature in lower and upper secondary schools (following a training programme).
The LM-15 also provides access to PhD programmes in Italy and across Europe, which in turn (subject to obtaining the National Academic Qualification and passing the relevant competitive examination) enable graduates to pursue a career in university teaching.
The DFCLAM offers a PhD programme in ‘Philology and Criticism’ (https://www.dfclam.unisi.it/it/ricerca/dottorati-di-ricerca/filologia-e-...) which includes a programme in “Anthropology of the Ancient World” (the only one of its kind in Italy) and a “Medieval Studies” programme, which is also open to graduates in Classical Studies interested, for example, in Medieval Latin or Greek. There is also a research fellowship in the field of “Digital Humanities”, for which graduates in Classical Studies with specific expertise may also apply.
The Annual Monitoring Report (SMA 2025) from the Ministry of Universities and Research confirms that 93% of graduates in Classical Studies from the University of Siena are in employment three years after graduating.