The MPhil is a 9-month full-time taught course which can be taken as a freestanding qualification or as a route to the PhD. It is a demanding course that enables students to develop their knowledge of social anthropology to a high level of specialization within a short time. It is designed for graduate students who have a strong background in Social Anthropology, either on its own or as part of a joint degree and who want to engage directly and more deeply than before with debates in contemporary social anthropology. The course provides specialist social anthropological training in a dynamic programme of research-led teaching and professional development.In addition to individual supervision to support their dissertation and essay writing, students attend a core course seminar and seminars on specialist modules. The core course covers contemporary themes in social anthropology as well as professional and skills development. Specialist modules cover research methods and themes related to staff research interests, with topics that vary each year. Please see the Department website for planned modules for 2021-22.Students will develop a critical and well-informed understanding of the discipline of social anthropology that they can use as the foundation for focussed individual research, building their capacity for social anthropological research in academic and other professional contexts. For those who intend to go on to doctoral work the course will help them to acquire the requisite research skills and to prepare a well-planned and focussed PhD proposal.