Medical Anthropology MSc

<strong>The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.</strong> <br/><br/><strong>MSc</strong><br/>The MSc in Medical Anthropology is a one-year course offering a coordinated learning programme in both social and biological anthropological approaches to health and illness. <br/><br/>The course provides the necessary basis for future anthropological research and an excellent cross-cultural grounding for those aiming to pursue a career in anthropology, global health, or other health-related fields.<br/><br/>Course structure<br/>During the course, you will complete four papers and a dissertation. The three core papers, taught across Michaelmas and Hilary terms, each comprise lectures, tutorials and seminars.<br/><br/>You will also select an option paper, which may have a topical or regional focus, based on your own interests. <br/><br/>There is one core seminar series in medical anthropology; the student led Medical Anthropology Research Seminars. In addition to those, there is a rich seminar culture at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME) and students are expected to actively participate in those.<br/><br/>The dissertation is an independent piece of work written after the June examinations. Dissertation classes are held over the course of Hilary and Trinity term, during which you will be able to present ideas for your dissertation project to colleagues and staff, and a maximum of two individual supervisors.<br/><br/>A programme of research seminars is available, some specifically for research students and others featuring talks by invited speakers, often from outside the university. The principal event in this programme is the departmental seminar, run weekly during term time.<br/><br/><strong>MPhil</strong><br/>The MPhil in Medical Anthropology is a two-year course offering a coordinated training in both biological and social anthropological approaches to health and illness, with special emphasis on methods. <br/><br/>The MPhil is similar in topical scope and breadth to the MSc in Medical Anthropology, but it allows for a deeper engagement with the theory and practice of anthropological research. It is intended both as a standalone degree and as a broader and deeper preparation for doctoral research than is possible with the MSc. It provides the necessary basis for future anthropological research and an excellent cross-cultural grounding for those aiming to pursue a career in clinical medicine, international health or other health-related fields.<br/><br/>Course structure<br/>During the first year of the MPhil you will follow the same course of instruction as MSc students through to the June examinations.<br/><br/>The first year consists of four papers. The three core papers, taught across Michaelmas and Hilary terms, each comprise lectures, tutorials and seminars. You will also select an option paper, which may have a topical or regional focus, based on your own interests. <br/><br/>At the end of the first year, you will use the summer vacation to acquire a firm grounding in medical anthropological literature and develop your dissertation outline based on this background reading. If appropriate you may also consider carrying out doing fieldwork over the summer in preparation for your MPhil thesis (if approval from the school is given).<br/><br/>Study towards the MPhil degree in the second year consists of class-based course work, participation in seminars and individual research, written up in a thesis.<br/><br/>Coursework in the second year has three components: ethnographic writing classes in Michaelmas term and participation in two different methods classes in Michaelmas term and/or Hilary term.<br/><br/>The research component is comprised of a 30,000-word thesis. MPhil students receive individual tuition from their supervisor on their dissertation writing throughout the second year.<br/><br/><strong>For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page</strong>