Department of Anthropology and Sociology

MA Social Anthropology and Intensive Language (2022 entry)

Select year of entry: 2022 2021

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

Our MA Social Anthropology and Intensive Language programme is designed on a modular basis offering different pathways to suit three categories of students:

students with a degree in social anthropology wishing to pursue more specialist topics and/or more regional and language-based study
students with little or no previous knowledge of social anthropology wishing to acquire a broad knowledge of the discipline
students with little or no previous knowledge of social anthropology wishing to take the degree as a conversion course before proceeding to a research degree in anthropology

Combine Social Anthropology and Intensive Language

This two-year intensive language pathway is directed at students who wish to combine knowledge of social anthropology with expertise in a regional language. It prepares students to apply their anthropological knowledge in a specific region by achieving proficiency in a language.

Intensive language pathways: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Persian, South East Asian Languages (Indonesian, Vietnamese), Swahili, Turkish.

Why study MA Social Anthropology at SOAS

SOAS is ranked 5th in the UK in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Anthropology and 16th in the world
draw on the exceptional regional expertise of our academics in Asian, African, and Middle Eastern languages and politics, many of whom have joined us with a practical working knowledge of their disciplines
join our thriving community of alumni and academics who have an impact on the world outside of academia
flexibly structure your programme using our optional modules and/or the optional modules from other departments, including the opportunity to learn a regional language
we are specialists in the delivery of languages; your command of a language at SOAS will set you apart from graduates of other universities
this programme has a first-rate graduate employability record.

For more information email: anthsoc@soas.ac.uk

See Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with a 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher in social science of humanities subject. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.

Please see our 'postgraduate entry requirements' page for Overseas and EU qualifications and equivalencies.

Featured events

duration:: Two years full-time or four years part-time. We recommend that part-time students have between two and a half and three days free in the week to pursue their course of study. The expectation in the UK is of continuous study across the year, with break periods used to read and to prepare coursework.

Fees 2022/23

Home students fees:: £11,980

Overseas students fees:: £23,400

Fees for 2022/23 entrants. This is a Band 1 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found on the Postgraduate tuition fees page

Convenors

Dr Jakob Klein Convenor

Combinations

May be combined with:

MA Social Anthropology can be combined with the following Intensive Language pathways:

Arabic
Chinese
Japanese
Korean
Persian
South East Asian Languages: Indonesian, Vietnamese
Swahili
Turkish

Structure

Students on this two-year Intensive Language programme must take 315 credits in total, comprised of 255 taught credits (45 of which are taught abroad as part of a Summer School) and a 60-credit dissertation as outlined below.

Year 1: students on this two-year Intensive Language programme take 60 credits of intensive language instruction and 60 credits in the discipline. During the summer, they participate in a Summer School abroad.
Year 2: students take another 30 language credits as well as 60 credits in the discipline; they also complete their dissertation in the discipline.

The structure of the programme can be adjusted for those who wish to take the programme part-time over a period of four years and/or for those who have a previous background in Anthropology. For more information email anthsoc@soas.ac.uk

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics offer information on the Intensive Language part of the programme.

Programme

Year 1 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology	15PANC008	30	Full Year
Ethnographic Research Methods	15PANH002	15	Term 1

AND

Guided Module(s) from the Anthropology and Sociology list below, OR modules from the Postgraduate Open Options List, to the value of 15 credits.

AND

Students take 60 credits in the selected language.

Summer Abroad

Students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

Year 2 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Module(s) from the Anthropology and Sociology list below , OR from the Postgraduate Open Options List, to the value of 60 credits.

AND

Language Component

Students take 30 credits in the selected language.

Dissertation

All students are required to take the compulsory dissertation module worth 60 credits.

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology	15PANC999	60	Full Year

For Pathway - Anthropology of Development, Sustainability and Social Change

Year 1 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology	15PANC008	30	Full Year
Anthropology of Development and Sustainability: Knowledge, Power and Inequality	15PANH084	15	Term 1
Anthropology of Sustainability: Global Challenges and Alternative Futures	15PANH083	15	Term 1

AND

Students take 60 credits in the selected language.

Summer Abroad

Students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

Year 2 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Ethnographic Research Methods	15PANH002	15	Term 1

AND

Guided Module(s) from the Anthropology and Sociology list below, OR modules from the Postgraduate Open Options List, to the value of 45 credits.

AND

Students take 30 credits in the selected language.

Dissertation

All students are required to take the compulsory dissertation module worth 60 credits.

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology	15PANC999	60	Full Year

For Pathway - Medical Anthropology

More information

Year 1 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology	15PANC008	30	Full Year
Medical Anthropology: Bodies and Cultures	15PANH088	15	Term 2
Medical Anthropology: Global Perspectives	15PANH089	15	Term 1

AND

Students take 60 credits in the selected language.

Summer Abroad

Students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

Year 2 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Ethnographic Research Methods	15PANH002	15	Term 1

AND

Guided Module(s) from the Anthropology and Sociology list below, OR modules from the Postgraduate Open Options List, to the value of 45 credits.

AND

Students take 30 credits in the selected language.

Dissertation

All students are required to take the compulsory dissertation module worth 60 credits.

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology	15PANC999	60	Full Year

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Anthropology and Sociology

Module	Code	Credits	Term
African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World: Cultures of Resistance and the Dissolution of Boundaries	15PANH085	15	Term 2
African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World: Migration, Space, Identities	15PANH086	15	Term 1
Anthropology of Sustainability: Global Challenges and Alternative Futures	15PANH083	15	Term 1
Anthropology of Development and Sustainability: Knowledge, Power and Inequality	15PANH084	15	Term 1
Anthropology of Food: Diet, Society and Environment	15PANH090	15	Term 2
Anthropology of Food: Politics, Place and Mobility	15PANH087	15	Term 1
Body politics: the anthropology of "race", gender and desire	15PANH082	15	Term 2
Culture and Society of East Africa	15PANH063	15	Term 2
Culture and Society of Near and Middle East	15PANH067	15	Term 1
Issues in Anthropology and Climate Change	15PANH070	15	Term 2
Issues in Mind, Culture and Psychiatry	15PANH032	15	Term 1
Medical Anthropology: Global Perspectives	15PANH089	15	Term 1
Medical Anthropology: Bodies and Cultures	15PANH088	15	Term 2

Programme Specification

MA Social Anthropology and Intensive Language Programme Specification (pdf; 525kb)

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

The academic staff in the Department of Anthropology are dynamic, experienced teachers who are widely recognised for their expertise and enjoy working directly with students. Renowned scholars from other institutions also come to share their knowledge. The SOAS Anthropology Department sponsors several lecture series, including the weekly Departmental Research Seminar, the Food Studies Centre's Food Forum and the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies’ Seminar Series.

In addition to these formal settings for learning, our students also learn from one another. Hailing from around the globe and bringing diverse life experiences to bear on their studies, all MA students in the Department of Anthropology can take courses together, making it a rich environment for intellectual exchange. Students also benefit from campus-wide programmes, clubs, study groups, and performances.

Contact hours

During the academic year, modules are delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials and/or seminars. Students can expect an average of two hours of classroom time per week for each module. Outside of the classroom, students explore topics of the module through independent study and through personal exchanges with teachers and fellow students. In some cases, modules are taught by several teachers within the department to provide students with an array of perpsectives on the subject. All modules involve the active participation of students in the discussion of ideas, viewpoints and readings.

Dissertation

The MA Social Anthropology and Intensive Language culminates in a 10,000-word dissertation, based on original research on a topic of the student's own choosing and developed in discussion with a supervisor.

Year abroad

All students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

SOAS Library

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 1 tuition fee)

Full-time
Home Students	Overseas Students
£11,980	£23,400

Please note that fees go up each year. Two-year full-time programmes have 2 years of full-time fees; the fee in the second year will be higher than the fee for the first year (the full time fee above is for the first year only).

For full details of tuition fees, see our postgraduate tuition fees page.