Overview
- Degree awarded
- Master of Arts (MA)
- Duration
- MA 1/2 years (ft/pt); PGDip 9/18 months (ft/pt)
- 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.
- How to apply
- Apply online
Course options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | Y | Y | N | N |
| PGDip | Y | Y | N | N |
Course overview
- Learn from elite academics at one of the UK’s top 5 universities for social sciences (Times Higher Education, 2024).
- Tailor the programme to fit your interests with an array of optional course units.
- Learn how to read ethnography and question taken-for-granted assumptions about human nature from an anthropological perspective.
- Pioneer your own research project with support from our staff, who are conducting global studies, from places like Everest to the Arctic.
Open days
The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to find out more about our facilities and courses.
On this day, you will find out more about the School, our resources, and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have.
See open days and visits for more information.
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MA (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £17,500
International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,000 -
MA (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £8,750
International, including EU, students (per annum): £15,000 -
PGDip (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £11,667
International, including EU, students (per annum): £20,000 -
PGDip (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £5,834
International, including EU, students (per annum): £10,000
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
For information on available funding, please see fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database .
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Social Sciences
- Contact name
- School of Social Sciences Admissions Office
- Telephone
- +44 (0) 161 306 5500
- pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/social-anthropology/
- School/Faculty
-
See: School Subjects
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
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.
English language
Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:
- IELTS Academic test score of 7 overall, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5
- TOEFL IBT 100 with 25 in writing and no further score below 22 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 76 overall, with 76 in writing and no further score below 70
Priority will be given to applicants who have provided evidence of meeting these scores when making offers.
Further information on accepted language requirements can be found here .
Pre-Sessional English Courses
We will consider applicants who do not meet these scores but you may be required to complete a pre-sessional English language course at the University of Manchester prior to the start of the course.
To be considered for a pre-sessional English language course for this programme we require the following minimum IELTS (Academic) scores:
6 Week Pre-Sessional Course : IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no more than one sub-skill of 6.0.
10 Week Pre-sessional Course : IELTS 6.0 overall with 6.0 or above in each sub-skill
If you have not yet completed your current academic study and are interested in studying a pre-sessional course, you must hold an IELTS for UKVI (Academic) test certificate to ensure that you are eligible for a separate visa for the English language course.
English language test validity
Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.
Applicants from Majority English-speaking countries
If you are a national of a majority English-speaking country (or have studied for a full bachelor's degree or higher from one of these countries) you may be exempt from submitting further evidence of English language proficiency.
Other international entry requirements
We accept a range of qualifications from across the globe. To help international students, the university provides specific information for many individual countries. Please see our country-specific information page for guidance on the academic and English language qualifications which may be accepted from your country.
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
Application deadline: 31st July 2025
Please note, due to the high volume of applications we receive the course may close before the advertised deadline and as such, early application is advised.
If you meet our entry requirements but we are unable to make you an offer you may be placed on a waiting list. Candidates on a waiting list will receive an offer only if places become available.
Re-applications
Course details
Course description
Our Social Anthropology master’s course will empower you to examine differences and similarities between cultures, so we can better understand the essence of what makes us human.
This course sets out the key classical and contemporary debates in the field. It also explores the diversity of human cultural and social experience around the world.
Via mandatory course units, you’ll develop your research skills. You’ll gain significant, expertise in modern and traditional ethnographic research methods.
You can also to tailor the programme to fit your interests, with optional course units including:
- Anthropology of Displacement and Migration: Why and how do people move
- Ethnographies and Adventures in Manchester
- Food and Eating: The Cultural Body
- Anthropology of Human Learning: Childhood and Education
- Anthropology of Humanitarianism and Development
Throughout the course, you’ll develop transferable skills in research, critical enquiry and creative thinking, preparing you for a stimulating and worthwhile career.
Special features
You’ll complete your own ethnographic research project as part of the core module Images, Text, Fieldwork. This is ideal preparation if you choose to undertake research for your dissertation project. you’ll also have the opportunity to learn about how to incorporate visual methods in their research projects.
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.
Many elective units are worth 15 credits.
In total, you are required to achieve 120 coursework credits.
Over the Summer holidays, you are required to write a dissertation which is worth a further 60 credits.
Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years.
There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time course.
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.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| MASA Dissertation | SOAN61000 | 60 | Mandatory |
| Images, Text, Fieldwork | SOAN70452 | 15 | Mandatory |
| MA Ethnography Reading Seminar | SOAN70691 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Key Approaches in Social Anthropology | SOAN70811 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Contemporary Debates in Social Anthropology | SOAN70822 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Anthropology of Development and Humanitarianism | SOAN60112 | 15 | Optional |
| Migrants, Borders and Im/mobilities | SOAN60252 | 15 | Optional |
| Urban Anthropology in Britain | SOAN60382 | 15 | Optional |
| Anthropology of Health and Wellbeing | SOAN60412 | 15 | Optional |
| Food and Eating: The Cultural Body | SOAN60881 | 15 | Optional |
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Scholarships and bursaries
The School offers a number of awards for students applying for master's study.
To find our more, please visit our master's funding opportunity search page.
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
The University of Manchester is the most targeted by the UK’s largest graduate employers (High Fliers, 2023).
Graduates from this course can apply their research and critical thinking skills in a range of fields. Training in ethnography-based studies is increasingly popular among businesses and organisations as a way of finding out how people - from consumers to employees - interact with their everyday worlds.
Past graduates have succeeded in a range of careers in fields such as:
- academia
- the media and cultural industries
- The Civil Service and public sector
- the business and charity sector
- international humanitarian institutions like the UN
As a 'conversion' course aimed at those who completed their undergraduate studies in another field, this course is ideal if you’re seeking a new career direction.
The University also has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate.
At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability.