Social 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/>Social anthropology considers people, through and through, as social beings. Everything that all of us do, in whatever society or culture at whatever period of history, rests on assumptions, which usually are not stated but which are largely shared with our particular neighbours, kin, friends, or colleagues.<br/><br/>Everything social is open to question, including solidly held beliefs and attitudes and ideas about causality, the self in society, and nature and culture. Learning to relate different versions of the world to each other is learning to be a Social Anthropologist and is what we hope you will learn over the course of your degree.<br/><br/><strong>MSc</strong><br/>During the MSc in Social Anthropology you will critically read key intellectual contributions to the discipline and you will be introduced to ethnographic methods and experiences of living among, and writing about, people. You will learn how to comparatively study what makes humans simultaneously similar and yet different.<br/><br/>Course structure<br/>You will follow both core and option courses in social anthropology and may also consider conducting fieldwork over the summer for your MSc dissertation if appropriate (with approval from the school).<br/><br/>Core teaching covers the major theories, approaches and themes in social anthropology, plus comparing cultures, anthropology in the world, and fieldwork theories and methods. The list of available options in the school varies from year to year, but are chosen from around twelve to fifteen that are available. <br/><br/>Teaching is by a mixture of lectures, where you will be listening to a specialist in the topic, classes, where you will be presenting and discussing texts in small groups (eight to nine students), and tutorials, where, in small groups of three or four, you will be exploring with one another and with the tutor issues and ideas raised in your own essays and other work on the topic they have assigned; the tutor will also provide written feedback on the essays.<br/><br/>Methods and skills training are offered through the school and sometimes through other institutions as well. A programme of research seminars is available, some of which feature invited speakers 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 Social Anthropology is intended both as a standalone degree and as a broader and deeper preparation for doctoral research than is possible with the MSc in Social Anthropology.<br/><br/>Course structure<br/>During your first year you will critically read key intellectual contributions to the discipline and you will be introduced to ethnographic methods and experiences of living among, and writing about, people. You will learn how to comparatively study what makes humans simultaneously similar and yet different. You will follow core courses in social anthropology as well as choosing an option course from a range offered within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You may also consider doing fieldwork over the summer in preparation for your MPhil thesis if appropriate (and the school approves).<br/><br/>Teaching is by a mixture of lectures, where you will be listening to a specialist in the topic, classes, where you will be presenting and discussing texts in small groups (eight to nine students), and tutorials, where, in small groups of three or four, you will be exploring with one another and with the tutor issues and ideas raised in your own essays and other work on the topic they have assigned; the tutor will also provide written feedback on the essays.<br/><br/><strong>For the full descriptions, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas</strong>