Department of Anthropology and Sociology

MA Social Anthropology (2021 entry)

Select year of entry: 2021 2020

Overview

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MA Social Anthropology

Overview and entry requirements

Our MA Social Anthropology programme is designed on a modular basis offering different routes 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

This course in also available as an alternative MA Medical Anthropology pathway, which is an interdisciplinary course of study designed to understand and address pressing global challenges in health and mental health from diverse perspectives: click here for more information.

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 outside world 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

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with 2:ii (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application including supporting statement and references.

Featured events

duration:: One calendar year (full-time) Two or three years (part-time, daytime only) 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 2021/22

UK fees:

£11,520

Overseas fees:: £22,500

Fees for 2021/22 entrants. This is a Band 3 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found in the Fees and Funding tab on this page or in the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page

Convenors

Dr Jakob Klein Convenor

Structure

Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

Structure

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 compulsory modules listed below, except for students with a previous Anthropology degree, who are not required to take the Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology (TASA) module but may wish to select this as one of their options. In addition to TASA, students who choose the Medical Anthropology pathway are required to take the compulsory modules associated with the pathway.

Programme

Compulsory Module

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

AND

Guided Module(s) from the Anthropology and Sociology list below, to the value of 30 credits.

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.

Dissertation

Students must complete a Dissertation (10,000 words) worth 60 credits.

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

Pathway in Medical Anthropology

Students who wish to undertake the MA Social Anthropology with a Pathway in Medical Anthropology must also fulfil the following requirements:

Compulsory Module

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Medical Anthropology: Bodies and Cultures	15PANH088	15	Term 2
Medical Anthropology: Global Perspectives	15PANH089	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.

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Anthropology and Sociology

Module	Code	Credits	Term
African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World: Migration, Space, Identities	15PANH086	15	Term 1
African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World: Cultures of Resistance and the Dissolution of Boundaries	15PANH085	15	Term 2
Anthropology of Food: Diet, Society and Environment	15PANH090	15	Term 2
Anthropology of Food: Politics, Place and Mobility	15PANH087	15	Term 1
Anthropology of Sustainability: Global Challenges and Alternative Futures	15PANH083	15	Term 1
Body politics: the anthropology of "race", gender and desire	15PANH082	15	Term 2
How to Change Things	15PANH093	15	Term 2
Issues in Anthropology and Climate Change	15PANH070	15	Term 2
Issues in Mind, Culture and Psychiatry	15PANH032	15	Term 1
Medical Anthropology: Bodies and Cultures	15PANH088	15	Term 2
Medical Anthropology: Global Perspectives	15PANH089	15	Term 1
Culture and Society of China	15PANH062	15	Term 2
Culture and Society of Japan	15PANH065	15	Term 1

Programme Specification

MA Social Anthropology Programme Specification (pdf; 523kb)

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. The majority of the student’s time will be through their own independent study. Students become more active in class through their reading and essay-writing and should greatly enhance their participation in discussion groups.

Dissertation

The MA Social Anthropology 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.

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 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 3 tuition fee)

Full-time		Part-time 2 Years		Part-time 3 Years		Part-time 4 Years Intensive Language only
UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students
£11,520	£22,500	£5,760	£11,250	£3,840	£7,500	£5,760	£11,250

Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.

Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

Felix Non- Indian Scholarship

Application Deadline: 2021-01-29 00:00