SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Structure

Programme Overview

The programme consists of four units in total: three units of taught examined courses and a one unit dissertation of 10,000 words.

Core Courses:

• Cultural Understandings of Health - 15PANC093 (1.0 unit).
• Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology - 15PANC999 (1.0 unit). This is a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic agreed with the Programme Convenor of the MA Medical Anthropology and the candidate’s supervisor.
• Additionally all MA Anthropology students 'audit' the course Ethnographic Research Methods during term 1 - this will not count towards your 4 units.

Foundation Course:

• Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology - 15PANC008 (1.0 unit). This is compulsory only for students without a previous anthropology degree.

Option Courses - Group A and Group B:

• Students then choose TWO 0.5 unit courses from the Group A and B lists below.  
• AT LEAST ONE of the two 0.5 unit courses must come from Group A.
  

Option Courses:

• Students not taking Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology may then select their fourth unit (either a single 1.0 unit course or two 0.5 unit courses) from the Option Courses list.
• Alternatively, one language course may be taken from the Faculty of Languages and Cultures.

Programme Detail

Core Courses

• Cultural Understandings of Health - 15PANC093 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology - 15PANC999 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Foundation Course

• Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology - 15PANC008 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Option Courses List 1

Students must choose two of the following half-unit courses, normally with one from group A.

Group A

• Issues in Psychoanalysis and Anthropology - 15PANH032 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Perspectives On Development - 15PANH033 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

Group B

• Anthropological approaches to agriculture, food and nutrition - 15PANH053 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Issues in the Anthropology of Gender - 15PANH024 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not to be combined with 15PDSH010 Gender & Development.
• Gender and development - 15PDSH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Ethnographic Research Methods - 15PANH002 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• African and Asian Cultures in Britain - 15PANH009 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• African and Asian Diasporas in the Modern World - 15PANH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Aid and development - 15PDSH027 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Development practice - 15PDSH013 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology - 15PANC008 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• HIV and AIDS, culture and development - 15PDSH021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Famine and food security - 15PDSH022 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

Option Courses List 2

Students choose up to one full-unit course or two half courses from the list below.

• Culture and Society of China - 15PANC089 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of East Africa - 15PANC084 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of Japan - 15PANC086 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of South Asia - 15PANC087 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of South East Asia - 15PANC088 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of the Near & Middle East - 15PANC097 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of West Africa - 15PANC083 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Mystical Traditions - 15PSRC068 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
• Buddhism: Theravadin Traditions - 15PSRH003 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Buddhist Arts in Context - 15PSRH001 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Christianity and Social Change in Sub Saharan Africa - 15PSRC157 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• East Asian Buddhist Thought - 15PSRH018 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Religious Practice in Japan: Texts, Rituals and Believers - 15PSRC071 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Eastern and Orthodox Christianity - 15PSRC055 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Features of Buddhist Monasticism - 15PSRH014 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Buddhism in Tibet - 15PSRH008 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2013/2014
• History and Doctrines of Indian Buddhism - 15PSRC059 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Esoteric Buddhism in India and Tibet - 15PSRH007 (0.5 Unit) - Not Running 2013/14
• Buddhist Rituals - 15PSRHO12 (0.5 Unit)
• Jainism: History, Doctrine and the Contemporary World - 15PSRC024 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
• Japanese Modernity I - 15PHIH013 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Japanese Modernity II - 15PHIH014 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Text and Context in Classical Hinduism - 15PSRC007 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
• Modern Trends in Islam - 15PNMC228 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Death and Religion - 15PSRC162 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Media Production Skills - 15PANH050 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Comparative Study of Islam: Anthropological Perspectives A (Masters) - 15PANH047 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Comparative Study of Islam: Anthropological Perspectives B (Masters) - 15PANH048 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not Running 2013/2014 - Must be taken with the first term course - 15PANH047 Comparative Study of Islam: Anthropological Perspectives A (Masters)
• Anthropology of travel and tourism A - 15PANH051 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Anthropology of travel and tourism B - 15PANH052 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

Programme Specification

• Programme Specification 2012/2013 (pdf; 209kb)

Teaching & Learning

Year abroad

Destinations

A Masters in Medical Anthropology at SOAS develops students’ understanding of the world, other peoples’ ways of life and how society is organised. This programme will also develop a specialist understanding of social processes and cultural representations of health, illness and the nursing/care practices associated with these.  Over the years the SOAS department has trained numerous leading anthropologists who have gone on to occupy lectureships and professorships throughout the world.  Equally, students gain skills during their degree that transfer well to areas such as information and technology, government service, the media and tourism.  

Postgraduate students leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek, including analytical and critical skills; ability to gather, assess and interpret data; high level of cultural awareness; and problem-solving.  A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.

How to apply

How to apply

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts

Scholarships

For further information visit the Scholarships section