Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of what it means to be human, in all the enormous diversity that question reveals. By examining the ways different societies organise themselves, assign meaning to the world, structure kinship and economics, and understand health, disease, religion and politics, anthropology develops a form of cultural relativism that challenges the assumption that our own way of doing things is natural or universal. At Brunel University London, this three-year full-time degree develops your ability to understand cultural and social diversity rigorously and with intellectual humility, using both ethnographic fieldwork traditions and the broader theoretical frameworks of the discipline.

A year abroad is built into the programme.

You will study social and cultural anthropology, including kinship and social organisation, economic anthropology, medical anthropology, the anthropology of religion and ritual, and the history of anthropological thought. You will engage with ethnographic case studies from across the world, developing comparative analytical skills that allow you to think across cultures without reducing them to each other. Research methods, including qualitative fieldwork, participant observation and the ethical frameworks that govern anthropological research, run through the curriculum.

The year abroad provides an opportunity to experience another society at first hand. A typical tariff of around 104 points is expected.

Anthropology graduates are valued across international development organisations, NGOs, humanitarian agencies, public health, government, education, market research, human-computer interaction and the cultural sector. The ability to understand human behaviour in context and to work respectfully and effectively across cultural boundaries is valued wherever organisations operate internationally or work with diverse communities. Many graduates proceed to postgraduate study in anthropology, development studies, public health, museum studies or journalism.