PGDip Social Anthropology
University of Manchester
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Different course options
2 options available
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Qualification

Postgraduate Diploma

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Location

The University of Manchester

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Study mode

Full Time

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Start date

23-SEP-24

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Duration

9 months

Course info

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Qualification

Postgraduate Diploma

Location

The University of Manchester

Study mode

Full time

Start date

23-SEP-24

Duration

9 months

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Qualification

Postgraduate Diploma

Location

The University of Manchester

Study mode

Part time

Start date

23-SEP-24

Duration

18 months

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Anthropology
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Course info

Course descriptionThe objective of this course is to communicate an anthropologically-informed understanding of social life in both Western and non-Western societies. By confronting you with the remarkable diversity of human social and cultural experience, our aim is to encourage you to question taken-for-granted assumptions and to view the world from a new perspective.Through a set of core course units, comprising about a third of coursework credits, you are provided with a comprehensive ...Read more

Course description

The objective of this course is to communicate an anthropologically-informed understanding of social life in both Western and non-Western societies. By confronting you with the remarkable diversity of human social and cultural experience, our aim is to encourage you to question taken-for-granted assumptions and to view the world from a new perspective.

Through a set of core course units, comprising about a third of coursework credits, you are provided with a comprehensive grounding in classical as well as contemporary debates in social anthropology and are introduced to the distinctive research methods and ethical positions associated with the discipline. You can select units of study from a good number of elective modules offered by staff working at the forward edge of their fields of study, and complete augment these by choosing from a broad range of units offered around the Faculty of Humanities.

Through these options, you apply the social anthropological theories and methods learnt on the core units to particular substantive themes and topics.

Diploma students complete their coursework in May and formally graduate in July. Over the summer holidays, MA students carry out research for a 15,000 word dissertation that is submitted in September; normally graduating in December.

Teaching and learning

You will take four 15-credit core course units to a total of 60 credits, including Key Approaches to Social Anthropology, Ethnography Reading Seminar, Contemporary Debates, and Image Text and Fieldwork, and a selection of optional units that you choose shortly after arrival.

You must first check the schedule of the compulsory units and then select your optional units to suit your requirements.

Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your unit choices during induction week with your course director.

Coursework and assessment

Most units are assessed by means of an extended assessment essay. Typically, for 15 credit units, these will be 4000 words, whilst for 30 credit courses, they are normally 6000 words.

Certain options involving practical instruction in research methods, audio-visual media or museum display may also be assessed by means of presentations and/or portfolios of practical work. In addition, all MA students are required to write a 15,000 word dissertation.

Career opportunities

The MA Social Anthropology course trains you in a broad range of transferable skills that are useful in many walks of life, including assessing basic research reports, effective essay-writing, oral presentational skills in seminars and other contexts, basic computing skills, using the internet as a research tool and conducting bibliographic research.

Past graduates have gone on to many different careers, both inside and outside of academic life. As it is a 'conversion' course aimed at those who want to explore anthropology after undergraduate studies in another field, or at least within a different anthropological tradition, it often represents a major change of career direction, opening up a wide range of different possibilities.

Key stats

WUSCA ranking
WUSCA student ranking
These are the 2023 rankings, based on ratings given by past and current students.
61/81
CUG Subject Ranking
CUG Subject Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2024
11th
CUG Ranking
CUG Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2024
19th
What students say
A
Alex
29 Feb 24

Diverse modules, easy..Read more

S
Sophia
29 Feb 24

Awesome..Read more

Modules

Module Options
IDP Connect

Entry requirements

We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline for entry to our MA programme. We require a UK bachelor's degree with a Lower-Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline for entry to our Postgraduate Diploma. When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.

Tuition fees

Students living in

Domestic

£9,333 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from Domestic

This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

£17,333 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from EU

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.

£17,333 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from International

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.

IDP Connect

Latest reviews

Latest Social Anthropology reviews

Social Anthropology
Social Anthropology
S
Sophia
29 Feb 24
MA Social Anthropology
Awesome...
Read more
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How Social Anthropology students rated:

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( 4.2) 22 reviews
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Uni info

University of Manchester
Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL United Kingdom
Nearest train station: Manchester Piccadilly  0.3 miles away
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