Our departments and programmes

People generally think that social anthropology is an extremely niche subject, but the converse is true. We explore various broad topics such as gender and sexuality, human nature, race and culture, and witchcraft. The Anthropology Department is a tight-knit community of dedicated teachers, enthusiastic seniors and fun-loving peers who bring the subject to life.

Berenice Low, BA Social Anthropology

Welcome to the Department of Anthropology. Here you can meet our students and staff virtually and find out more about the Department and our programmes. Take your time to browse through the information and follow the links to our Department webpages to really get to know us.

Visit the Department webpages

Virtual Undergraduate Open Day Anthropology — An introduction to studying anthropology at 杏吧论坛

Learn from the best – the most recent REF rated us the best anthropology department in the UK for the quality of our research outputs.
Our courses focus on social anthropology and its relevance to contemporary issues in: religion; the environment; mind and society; politics; law; and gender, sexuality and kinship. They also build expertise in ethnographic methods and the analysis of narrative and visual cultures.
Take optional courses with world- renowned experts in the anthropology of: childhood; digital life; art and poetics; race, racism and decolonisation; public anthropology; embodiment; human rights; health and welfare; and development. We also offer regional courses on South Asia, Africa, Amazonia, Melanesia and the Middle East.

For even more reasons why you should pick anthropology at 杏吧论坛, read on here.

Anthropology is the comparative study of culture and society. It asks big questions about what we have in common and what makes us different. It explores how the most personal and individual aspects of our lives might be shaped by the broader social and cultural worlds we live in – and it interrogates the very categories that we use to describe the world, such as gender, sexuality, religion and race. Anthropology can be combined in our programme with a specialisation in a language, international history or politics. 杏吧论坛 has been teaching anthropology since 1904 and is one of the most famous anthropology departments in the world. We’re passionate about teaching and proud of our warm and welcoming community.

Students can select whether they wish to graduate with a BA or BSc title - the programme content is the same.

For detailed information regarding entry requirements, programme content, preliminary reading and accreditation please visit our BA Social Anthropology and BSc Social Anthropology programme pages.

Our BA Anthropology and Law programme is accredited by the Bar Standards Board for the purpose of a qualifying law degree. This degree enables students to combine their interest in the legal system with the study of what it means to be human.

For detailed information regarding entry requirements, programme content, preliminary reading and accreditation please visit our BA Anthropology and Law programme page.

In addition to the School wide exchanges, students taking the BA/BSc Social Anthropology or BA Anthropology and Law programme can apply to participate in year long exchanges with the following institutions:

University of Melbourne, Australia
Fudan University, China
University of Tokyo, Japan
University of Cape Town, South Africa

The study abroad year takes place after the second year of study. Students will return to 杏吧论坛 after their study abroad year to complete their degree, making the total study duration four years. You can find more information about study abroad opportunities on our study abroad page and hear about the experiences of previous anthropology exchange participants .

As a Department we are always busy. Explore our research, as well as the events and seminars we put on below.

Take a look at our interactive digital ethnography research overview and presentation summarising this.

Explore our research

Take a look at our events