The NUS doesn’t think Classics is a proper degree subject

The National Union of Students (NUS) has deemed Classics not popular enough to be listed as a degree option on its website, leaving it out in favour of newer degrees.

To qualify for an NUS Extra card, which anyone going to a Uni in the NUS can apply for, students have to choose which degree they’re studying from a drop-down menu.

The list of 63 different degree options, includes 6 different types of Engineering and modern course options like Hotel Management and Information Studies. Classics however, is nowhere to be found, deemed too closely related to Archaeology and History to be an option in its own right.

Just some of the lucky degrees special enough not to be classed as ‘other’.

According to UCAS data, last year 4,732 students applied to study either Classics or Classical Studies, in comparison to Information Studies – a degree listed on the NUS website – which only had 553 applicants.

Although Classics (the study of Latin, Ancient Greek and Classical History) may not be the most famous degree, Classics graduates include psychologist Sigmund Freud, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and author J.K.Rowling.

In a statement to The Tab, Sharon Lesson, Head of Commercial development for NUS Extra said: “When purchasing a NUS extra card students must select a course title and we provide a list of the most commonly used names for courses, plus an option to select ‘other’ if a course name is not listed.

“Selecting ‘other’ does not in any way preclude purchasing a card. We acknowledge that some courses will be missing because there are so many variations. This list is reviewed regularly and we will look at adding Classics to the options provided.”

They’ve only been waiting a few millenia…