Sociology and Anthropology

Sociology and anthropology are sister disciplines that between them cover the full range of human social life, from the large-scale structures and institutions of modern societies to the detailed, intimate study of particular cultures and communities. Sociology focuses primarily on how societies are organised and how inequalities of class, gender, race, and power shape the experience of individuals within them. Anthropology broadens the lens to include cultures across the world and throughout history, asking what it means to be human in all the variety that question encompasses.

Together they offer an unusually comprehensive and comparative framework for understanding social life.

At Exeter, this three-year full-time programme develops your skills in both disciplines, building theoretical depth and research methodology alongside substantive knowledge of the topics each field addresses. You will engage with the foundational thinkers of sociology and anthropology, with contemporary debates about globalisation, inequality, culture, and identity, and with the qualitative and ethnographic methods that are central to both fields. A year abroad is built into the programme, providing the opportunity to study in a different cultural and academic environment and to develop the kind of first-hand cross-cultural perspective that makes anthropological and sociological analysis genuinely richer.

Graduates from sociology and anthropology programmes are valued across a wide range of sectors. Careers in social research, policy analysis, international development, NGOs, public health, education, journalism, the civil service, and community development are natural destinations. The deep understanding of cultural difference and social structure that this combination develops is particularly valuable in globally oriented roles.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in sociology, anthropology, development studies, or social policy, and some pursue academic careers in both disciplines.