Social Anthropology

Everything social is open to question, including solidly held beliefs and attitudes and ideas about causality, the self in society, and nature and culture. Learning to relate different versions of the world to each other is learning to be a Social Anthropologist and is what we hope you will learn over the course of your degree.

The MPhil in Social Anthropology aims to provide a solid background in analytical and methodological issues as they apply to social anthropology and allows you to develop an extended research project, which may involve fieldwork. It is intended both as a standalone degree and as a broader and deeper preparation for Doctoral research than is possible with the MSc in Social Anthropology.

In your first year: You will critically read key intellectual contributions to the discipline and you will be introduced to ethnographic methods and experiences of living among, and writing about, people. You will learn how to comparatively study what makes humans simultaneously similar and yet different. You will follow core courses in social anthropology as well as choosing an option course from a range offered within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You may also consider doing fieldwork over the summer in preparation for your MPhil thesis if appropriate (and the School approves).

Teaching is by a mixture of lectures, where you will be listening to a specialist in the topic, classes, where you will be presenting and discussing texts in small groups (8 to 9 students), and tutorials, where, in small groups of 3 or 4, you will be exploring with one another and with the tutor issues and ideas raised in your own essays and other work on the topic they have assigned; the tutor will also provide written feedback on the essays.

In your second year: You will take a further specialist option course from the range on offer within the school, you will take your choice of two research methods training modules, and you will research and write your MPhil thesis.

The MPhil is examined in two stages, the MPhil Qualifying stage (MPQ), completed in the first year, and the MPhil Examination, in the second year. Assessment in the first year is by coursework as well as timed unseen examination, completed by the end of June. The second stage consists of examination of your second-year option course, a 5,000-word essay, and your MPhil thesis of 30,000 words, completed in June of the second year. You receive support from your tutors in devising a viable thesis project, including discussion of relevant literature, questions of methodology and research implementation, and you will receive supervisory guidance in carrying out your research and writing, developing your skills and qualities as an independent researcher.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography.

Research and teaching, though this often requires a doctorate, recruitment to public bodies, the larger private companies, development agencies, NGOs etc.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. In certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information, please see our page on changes to courses.

Please note that this course is undergoing some structural changes during the 2019-20 academic year and the course description set out in the 2019-20 Course Handbook (available on the school’s website) will be updated from October 2020.

Other courses you may wish to consider

If you're thinking about applying for this course, you may also wish to consider the courses listed below. These courses may have been suggested due to their similarity with this course, or because they are offered by the same department or faculty.

All graduate courses offered by the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Anthropology DPhil

Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology MSc

Medical Anthropology MPhil

Medical Anthropology MSc

Migration Studies MSc

Migration Studies DPhil

Social Anthropology MPhil

Social Anthropology MSc

Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology MPhil

Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology MSc

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Entry requirements