MA Social Anthropology (2019 entry)

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Who is this programme for?: The programme is designed on a modular basis offering different pathways to suit, broadly, 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

Students come to the course from all over the world, following BA study, work and travel experience or after long careers in other fields.

Many of our students have not previously trained as anthropologists. This combination of diverse experience and skills makes for an intellectually exciting atmosphere for both teachers and students.

The MA degree programme in Social Anthropology is designed on a modular basis offering different pathways to suit, broadly, three categories of student:

• 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, who are required to pass all the examinations with appropriately high marks.

Programme Overview

The programme consists of 180 credits in total: 120 credits of modules and a dissertation of 10,000 words at 60 credits.

All students are expected to take the core and compulsory modules listed below, except for students with a previous Anthropology degree, who are not required to take the Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology module but may wish to select this as part of their 120 credits from the options lists.

All students must audit the compulsory module, Ethnographic Research Methods during term 1.  This will not count towards the 180 credits.  Students will be expected to attend only lectures and do not attend seminars or submit any assessments.  Students may choose to take this module (worth 15 credits) as part of their 120 credits from the option lists.

Students with a previous Anthropology degree are required to take 30 credits from the Anthropology and Sociology options.

All students can select the remaining credits from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology or relevant options from other departments or a language module.  See below for a detailed programme structure. 

Programme Detail

Dissertation

Students must complete a Dissertation (10,000 words)

For students WITHOUT previous Anthropology degree

Core Module

Compulsory Module

AND

Guided Option

Choose modules from the List of Anthropology & Sociology modules below to the value of 60 credits

OR

Choose modules from the Postgraduate Open Options List to the value of 60 credits.

For students WITH previous Anthropology degree

Core Module

Compulsory Module

AND

Guided Option

Choose modules from the List of Anthropology & Sociology modules below, OR from the Postgraduate Open Options List, to the value of 30 credits

AND

Choose modules from the List of Anthropology & Sociology modules below to the value of 60 credits

OR

Choose modules from the Postgraduate Open Options List to the value of 60 credits

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Anthropology and Sociology

Religions and Philosophies

South Asia

South East Asia

Programme Specification

• MA Social Anthropology Programme Specification 2019/20 (pdf; 236kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 1 tuition fee.

Fees for 2019/20 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

A Masters in Social Anthropology at SOAS develops students’ understanding of the world, other peoples’ ways of life and how society is organised. This programme will leave the graduate with an advanced understanding of behaviour in social groups, for instance the social organization of a particular person: customs, economic and political organization, law and conflict resolution, patterns of consumption and exchange, kinship and family structure, gender relations, childrearing and socialization and religion. 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.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

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

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