Category: Universities

Social Anthropology is the comparative study of human behaviour and ideas in their social contexts. Societies around the world vary enormously in their social, cultural, religious, and political forms, and the study of these variations lies at the heart of Social Anthropology.

We are amongst the largest departments in the UK and our research interests are correspondingly diverse. Our teaching is research-led and we are committed to taking our students along with us on our critical journeys through the comparative study of culture and society.

Choose to study Social Anthropology at Edinburgh and it could change the way you think about the world.

Find out more: https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees/index.php?action=subject&code=21

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology
Material Culture/Archaeology	✔️
Entry Requirements	AAA / IB 36/ 665 HL (ABB/ IB 34/655 HL contextually)​
Preferred Subjects	No specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.
Single Honours?	MA Social Anthropology
Joint Honours?	MA Social Anthropology and Politics MA Social Anthropology and Social Policy MA Social Anthropology with Development MA Arabic and Social Anthropology MA Archaeology and Social Anthropology MA Geography and Social Anthropology MA Law and Social Anthropology MA Linguistics and Social Anthropology MA Persian and Social Anthropology MA Sociology and Social Anthropology
Part-time option?	No
Contact	futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

The Department of African Studies and Anthropology is the only one of its kind in the world and is ranked first in University Compare for anthropology and eighth in the UK (Complete University Guide 2025

Benefit from more than 50 years’ experience of teaching and research, including particular strengths in social and cultural anthropology. Your study will include theories from anthropologists working all over the world, the interplay with other academic disciplines, and developmental and humanitarian concerns.

Our degree will equip you with a grounding in social and cultural theory and provide opportunities for you to put your knowledge into practice through your own research projects. This practical focus begins from the first year, when you will have the opportunity to apply an anthropological lens to the dynamic city of Birmingham, the UK’s most ethnically-diverse city. In the second year of the course, you will undertake more systematic and applied research methods training, leading up to an individual dissertation project in your final year.

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology
Material Culture/Archaeology	✔️
Entry Requirements	ABB to BBB/For ABB, IB 32/HL 6, 5, 5 and for BBB, IB 32/HL 5, 5, 5
Preferred Subjects	For BA Social Anthropology and History course, A level Humanities Subjects are preferred. There are no preferred subjects for other Anthropology undergraduate courses.
Single Honours?	L600 BA Social Anthropology
Joint Honours?	BA Anthropology and African Studies LT65, BA Anthropology and Classical Literature and Civilisation LQ68, BA Anthropology and History LV61, BA Anthropology and Political Science LL62
Part-time option?	No
Contact	artsandlaw-ug@contacts.bham.ac.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuuLoMvAwf4

Cambridge is the world’s top rated anthropology department, with a diverse community of researchers and students, and resources such as an anthropology museum, and a Visual Anthropology Lab with filmmaking equipment.

Students that would like to study with us can apply to our degree in Human Social and Political Sciences, and learn more about our Social Anthropology courses here.

The department has two great resources for people that want to know more about Social Anthropology: the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology, and the podcast series Camthropod.

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology	✔️
Material Culture/Archaeology	✔️
Entry Requirements	A*AA/IB 40–42/20 or 776 at HL
Preferred Subjects	No preferences
Single Honours?	BA Human, Social and Political Sciences BA Archaeology (Biological Anthropology is offered through the Archaeology course, either as a stand-alone track or as a combination with Archaeology)
Joint Honours?	Social Anthropology with A) Politics and International Relations B) Sociology BA Archaeology (Biological Anthropology is offered through the Archaeology course, either as a stand-alone track or as a combination with Archaeology)
Part-time option?	No
Contact	lmb97@cam.ac.uk enquiries@socanth.cam.ac.uk

Social Anthropology
Biological Anthropology	✔️
Material Culture/Archaeology	✔️
Entry Requirements	A*AA/ IB 40-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
Preferred Subjects	No preferences
Single Honours?	BA Human, Social and Political Sciences BA Archaeology (Biological Anthropology is offered through the Archaeology course, either as a stand-alone track or as a combination with Archaeology)
Joint Honours?	Social Anthropology with A) Politics and International Relations B) Sociology BA Archaeology (Biological Anthropology is offered through the Archaeology course, either as a stand-alone track or as a combination with Archaeology)
Part-time option?	No
Contact	outreach@arch.cam.ac.uk

    

Sample Lectures and Seminars

At UCL Anthropology we study humanity in all its aspects: from our evolution as a species, to our relationship with the material/digital world, and our vast variety of social practices and cultural forms.

What distinguishes our degrees from other anthropology degrees in the UK is its intellectual breadth, bringing together Biological Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Material Culture and Medical Anthropology under a single programme of study.

The undergraduate degree programmes will prepare you for a wide range of career possibilities and teach you skills that are transferrable to a broad range of careers including teaching, social work, the civil service, the ‘not for profit’ sector and development, as well as advertising, the arts, museum curation, media, market research and business.

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology	✔️
Material Culture/Archaeology	✔️
Entry Requirements	AAB (BBB Contextual)
Preferred Subjects	No specific subjects. At least two A level subjects should be taken from UCL’s list of preferred A level subjects.
Single Honours?	BSc Anthropology, BSc Anthropology with a Year Abroad.
Joint Honours?	BA Archaeology and Anthropology, UCL Institute of Archaeology
Part-time option?	No
Contact	uganthro@ucl.ac.uk

UCL Anthropology is also where the Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing (ASSA) project is based. This project employed a team of 11 researchers who conducted simultaneous 16 month ethnographies in nine countries across four continents, looking at the impact of the smartphone on the experience of mid-life (people who do not consider themselves either young or elderly) around the world. The ASSA team has created a short trailer to introduce the project.

Our degrees are designed for imaginative, critical thinkers who are passionate about understanding why the world is as it is – and about using the insights anthropology provides to make it better.

You will explore the incredible diversity of human experience, examining how different political, legal, and economic systems influence people’s beliefs, values and practices – and interrogating the very categories we use to describe the world, such as gender, religion, and culture.

In addition, you will explore how anthropological insights can be applied to make a difference: to see how legal systems could be made more just; how public health campaigns could be improved; and how development interventions could be made more effective.

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology
Material Culture/Archaeology
Entry Requirements	AAB (ABB contextual)/ IB 37/666 HL
Preferred Subjects	No preferences
Single Honours?	BA Social Anthropology; BSc Social Anthropology
Joint Honours?	BA Anthropology and Law. Students admitted to the BA or BSc in Social Anthropology can also elect to undertake a specialism in Politics, International History, or a language. If a student takes a unit from one of these three disciplines in each year of their study, they will be eligible to graduate with the following degrees: BA/BSc Social Anthropology with Politics BA/BSc Social Anthropology with International History BA/BSc Social Anthropology with a Language
Part-time option?	No
Contact	Anthropology.Enquiries@lse.ac.uk

https://vimeo.com/168049969

Anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast is taught in the School of History, Anthropology, Politics and Philosophy. We cover the breadth of social anthropology in teaching and research although we have specialised in ethnomusicology, the study of performance and creativity, boarder and migration, conflict and peacebuilding, religion, cognition and morality, and the use of ethnography in engagement for public policy. We encourage our students to study anthropology in interdisciplinary contexts, we share course with our colleagues in history, politics and philosophy and we work within the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, the Institute of Cognition and Culture and the Institute of Irish Studies.

To find out more contact: Prof. Dominic Bryan (d.bryan@qub.ac.uk)

Social Anthropology	✔️
Biological Anthropology
Material Culture/Archaeology
Entry Requirements	ABB/IB 33/655 HL
Preferred Subjects	No preferences
Single Honours?	Anthropology BA
Joint Honours?	Anthropology and English 3 yrs (QL36) Anthropology and French 4 yrs (RL16) Anthropology and History 3 yrs (VL16) Anthropology and Irish 3 yrs (QL56) Anthropology and Spanish 4 yrs (LR64) Anthropology and International Relations 3 years (LL6F) Anthropology and Philosophy 3 years (LV65) Anthropology and Politics 3 years (LL62)
Part-time option?	No
Contact	j.knight@qub.ac.uk f.murphy@qub.ac.uk

A short video with some of our staff sitting at home discussing how anthropology can help us understand the impact of the pandemic:

Studying Ethnomusicology at Queen’s University Belfast. This video looks at the output of one of our teaching modules where students have put on a festival examining ‘radical music’:

This video takes a passionate look at peace building in our world. A number of anthropologists at Queen’s are involved in peacebuilding projects.

One of our student takes you on a tour around Queen’s: