In your first year, you will receive a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of anthropology in the broadest sense, addressing the core disciplines of social and biological anthropology as well as interdisciplinary perspectives on culture, society and health. Currently, students take four core modules in Anthropology and select two elective modules offered by other departments, including the option to study a module in a modern foreign language. In your second year, you will develop a deeper and more complex understanding of biological and evolutionary anthropology enriched by interdisciplinary perspectives on culture, society and health, as well as anthropological theory and methods. Currently students have the opportunity to pursue their individual anthropological interests through an elective module chosen from the remaining anthropology modules. In your third year, you can tailor the course to your own maturing interests by selecting the modules that appeal to you most, provided you have the necessary pre-requisite (preparatory) modules. In the third year, all MAnth students undertake a dissertation and project proposal that helps them prepare for the fourth year, but currently can otherwise choose modules that most interest them. The Anthropology Department at Durham encourages an interdisciplinary perspective, and we offer a broad range of modules. You may also substitute one module from another department or a modern foreign language module. Third year modules are generally based on the research expertise of staff, and reflect the University’s ideal of research-led education. In your dissertation, you will have the opportunity to put your own research skills into practice, and you will also start to plan your fourth year work as part of a project proposal on a topic separate to the one chosen in your dissertation. Students in their third year are also invited to attend the regular round of research seminars given by visiting scholars or Durham-based researchers, and thus can participate in a key forum for current innovative research.

A large proportion of our students progress onto higher level study following their degree in Anthropology. Many remain within their academic field of interest and pursue higher level anthropological research, notably at Durham but also other prestigious institutions including Imperial, University College London, London School of Economics, Manchester and York. Others take a different route and pursue professional postgraduate programmes in both related (development studies, international relations, public health, nursing, medicine, youth work, social work, human resource management, education, social policy, museum studies) and non-related fields (law, finance, marketing, management, journalism and publishing).