Anthropology and History
Anthropology is the systematic study of human diversity, asking how different societies organise themselves, make meaning, structure family and kinship, understand religion and ritual, and respond to change and conflict. It brings together methods from the social sciences with the interpretive depth of the humanities, developing in its students a genuine sensitivity to cultural difference and a habit of looking critically at what is usually taken for granted. Paired with history, anthropology gains a temporal dimension that enriches its analysis of social structure and cultural change, while history in turn benefits from anthropology's attention to lived experience and social organisation beyond the elite and the powerful.
At Queen's University Belfast, this three-year full-time degree develops expertise in both disciplines simultaneously. You will study how different societies live together and think about topics such as kinship, religion, politics, economics, and art, and you will also examine historical patterns of change across diverse societies over time. The programme addresses contemporary questions, including whether globalisation is ending cultural difference, how post-conflict societies heal, and how ethnic and social divisions persist and transform, as well as longer historical patterns of social organisation and inequality.
The typical entry tariff is 136 points.
Graduates from anthropology and history programmes bring to their careers a rare combination of skills: the ability to interpret complex social situations, to conduct qualitative research, to communicate across cultural differences, and to think historically about how the present has come to be. These capabilities are valued in international development, humanitarian work, the civil service, social research, journalism, education, NGOs, museums and heritage organisations, and cultural policy. Postgraduate study in anthropology, sociology, development studies, museum studies, or history opens more specialist options for those wishing to pursue research or professional practice in a specific area.