Curious about studying Anthropology - BSc (Hons)at Brunel University of London? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Main Site
Full Time
Sep 2026
3 Year
Anthropology offers a unique and powerful means for understanding cultural and social diversity in the modern world. It considers issues which can lead to mind blowing revelations about how individuals and cultures experience life differently. Anthropology is concerned with contemporary issues such as multiculturalism, identity politics, racism and ethnic nationalism, changing forms of the family, religious conflict, gender, and the political role of culture. It also addresses perennial questions about human nature, such as: ‘What do we have in common with each other cross-culturally?’ and ‘What makes us different?’. If you are intrigued by these questions and want to study a discipline that will enrich your everyday life as well as equip you for a great variety of occupations, anthropology is the right course for you. Our rigorous programme gives you the freedom to choose one of our pathway options:- -Anthropology -Anthropology (Childhood, Youth and Education) -Anthropology (Global Health) -Anthropology (Development, War and Humanitarian Assistance) Through a set of compulsory modules in your first year, you will gain a firm foundation in the central themes and debates in anthropology as you are introduced to the international work carried out by the teaching staff that explores the practicalities of undertaking anthropological fieldwork. Towards the end of your first year, you get to choose your degree pathway – either to remain on the general Anthropology route or to specialise in Anthropology (Childhood, Youth and Education), Anthropology (Development, War and Humanitarian Assistance), or Anthropology (Global Health). In years two and three, you will follow a pre-set group of compulsory modules according to your pathway choice, plus optional modules choices according to your interests. A special feature of the course at Brunel is the opportunity to do fieldwork placements anywhere in the world according to your anthropological interests. Fieldwork is excellent preparation for work and a chance to make useful contacts and will help to add greater meaning to academic studies. Around half of Brunel’s anthropology students carry out a placement or fieldwork abroad, in places as wide ranging as India, Nepal, Australia, South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica. Recent UK placement destinations include the Royal Anthropological Institute, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, Amnesty International and the Department of Health. Examples of dissertation titles based on fieldwork findings have included work in a Nepalese monastery, a South African women’s refuge, the Police Complaints Authority (on the Stephen Lawrence case), as well as in schools and charities. Outside of classes, you can look forward to a one of the most cultural diverse campuses in the UK with opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Additionally, Brunel’s anthropological student society arrange class trips to places like the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, and the campus’s London location makes it ideal for exploring places like the British Museum in Central London.
Hands-on experience of how social and political science operates outside the university. Over ten weeks, students work in small groups on applied research addressing real-world social, political and institutional problems, supported by mentoring, methods training and structured reflection.
Introduces key concepts, theories, thinkers and approaches in the social and political sciences and history, and the techniques used for gaining and validating knowledge of the social and political world.
Students take three classes - at least one from their degree subject, others from across the department - covering topics from media production to African history, crime investigation to the climate crisis.
Students take three classes - at least one from their degree subject, others from across the department - covering a range of topics across the social and political sciences.
How politics and economics relate to anthropological knowledge: how anthropologists have studied economic and political lives of others, and how politics and economics have shaped anthropological studies.
Training in how to conduct a research project in preparation for a qualitative dissertation; ethical and practical problems of ethnographic research with human participants in varied social and professional contexts.
Key concepts and theories in the anthropology of ethnicity, culture, nationhood and identity, examined through contemporary issues including migration, citizenship, transnationalism, globalisation, xenophobia and deportation.
Introduction to key social anthropological literature on kinship, gender and sexuality, including the construction of gender roles and theoretical paradigms on gender and sexuality.
Develops abilities to plan, design and execute a research project in the degree subject area, communicate ideas and critically evaluate the success of the project.
Guides students on the research and writing process for dissertations; developing reading, writing and analytical skills and techniques for designing and executing a research project.
Explores approaches to contemporary issues in anthropology and cognate disciplines.
4.2Founded in 1966, but with origins from 1798, Brunel University of London has achieved much in its history. Always an inn...
