J.K. Rowling studied Classics alongside French at the University of Exeter.
Her degree combined modern language study with the languages, literature and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. Rowling graduated in 1987, after spending part of her course in Paris. The combination is significant because classical names, myths and Latin-derived expressions appear throughout her writing.
Readers sometimes assume that Rowling studied English literature because she became one of Britain’s best-known novelists. She did not take an English literature degree at university. Her writing career developed after graduation through work, reading and sustained independent writing rather than through a formal creative-writing course.
Classics also helped provide a background for the constructed terminology in the Harry Potter books. However, the series’ vocabulary comes from a mixture of sources, including Latin, Greek, French, folklore and Rowling’s own inventions. Studying Classics was part of her education, not an explanation for every magical name in the novels.