Queen's University Belfast

MA in Anthropology

The Anthropology MA is designed to provide students with a strong grounding in the principles and methods of Anthropology. It offers the opportunity to study innovative modules taught by leading experts in key anthropological fields, including Conflict and Borders, Religion, Cognition and Culture, Business and Sustainability, Material Culture and Art, Migration and Diasporas, Anthropology of Ireland, Human-Animal relations and the cross-cultural study of Emotions. Anthropology at Queen’s also has a distinguished history in Ethnomusicology, the cross-cultural study of music.

The MA teaching is research-led and draws on our staff’s theoretical work in these areas, as well as regional expertise, including research in India, Pakistan, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Japan, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Romania, Finland, the UK, and the island of Ireland. Anthropology at QUB is ranked 2nd in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2021) and 1st in relation to research intensity (Research Excellence Framework 2014). With 97.8% for overall satisfaction!

Our MA in Anthropology explores current debates in the study of cultures and societies and offers specialised knowledge and advanced skills for a range of competitive careers or further study at PhD level. Studying anthropology at postgraduate level combines an in-depth understanding of human diversity and critical social theory, with hands-on training in carrying out grounded ethnographic research.

Studying Anthropology at Queen’s gives you the opportunity to design and carry out field research anywhere in the world. Under the guidance of experienced supervisors, students develop original projects among diverse groups of people across the globe. Doing ethnographic fieldwork will give you real-world skills that are uniquely valued among employers and offer you unforgettable cultural and social experiences. At the same time, Belfast and the island of Ireland, more broadly, offer unique sites to conduct research locally on most topics of anthropological interest, including conflict transformation and peacebuilding, religion, borders, arts and creativity, identity, ethnicity and nationalism, material culture, and policy-engaged anthropology.

Studying anthropology is a great way to get involved in contemporary issues and gain a wide range of critical and applied skills highly relevant in a globally interconnected world. MA students in our programme learn how to discover and understand human societies and cultures, and to work in collaboration with people in their places and communities.

This programme provides students with the opportunity to work in the centre for anthropological study and research in Northern Ireland. Our staff and programmes have long-standing connections with a number of local and international organisations, NGOs, and community groups. Anthropology postgraduate life centres around the weekly Anthropology Postgraduate Seminar, and regular Anthropology Research Seminars, as well as regular events in the Institute for Cognition and Culture, the Institute of Irish Studies, and The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

We also have collaboration with University College Cork and Dublin City University and students have the opportunity to partake in a three-day workshop in Dingle (Republic of Ireland), called Atlantic Anthropological, where participants engage in contemporary theory and method with research-active scholars. The thematic content of that workshop varies from year to year to reflect new trends and practices in anthropological research.

Anthropology Highlights

Global Opportunities

Studying Anthropology at Queen’s gives you the opportunity to design and carry out field research locally or anywhere else in the world. Under the guidance of experienced supervisors, students develop original projects among diverse groups of people across the globe.

Career Development

Studying anthropology is a great way to get involved in contemporary issues, and gain a wide range of critical and applied skills highly relevant in a globally interconnected world. In the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021, Anthropology was ranked 3rd in the UK for Graduate Prospects.

Industry Links
Our staff and programmes have long-standing connections with a range of stakeholders and beneficiaries, including national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations, cross-border and community groups, arts, music and museum professionals as well as politicians and policy-makers.
We value our student achievements and offer opportunities for placements and internships in our dissertation module which invites students to participate in work activities at home or overseas. Some of our students have completed successful placements through the Science Shop.

Internationally Renowned Experts

Anthropology at QUB has offered a seminal programme in Ethnomusicology since the 1970s, when the subject was introduced by the late Professor John Blacking.
Students will also benefit from the work carried out in the Institute of Cognition and Culture (ICC) which is one of the world's first centres for research in cognition and culture. This is a burgeoning interdisciplinary field in which scholars seek to explain patterns of cultural stability and variation utilizing theories and methods of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences.

World Class Facilities

Our new state of the art McClay Library has extensive book and journal holdings, and also subscribes to many of the principal online resources for anthropological study, including AnthroSource, Anthropological Index Online, JSTOR, Project Muse and many others. MA researchers also have access to other local libraries, like the historic Linen Hall Library, archives, such as the newly enhanced Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), and a number of collections and museums, such as the Ulster Museum and the Ulster Museum of Folk and Transport. Anthropology at Queen’s also has its own Performance Room with several instruments from across the world, as well as ped labs in the Institute of Cognition and Culture.

Student Experience

• Doing ethnographic fieldwork will give you real-world skills that are uniquely valued among employers and offer you unforgettable cultural and social experiences.
• In the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021, Anthropology was ranked 5th in the UK for Student Experience.
• Queen’s ranked 18 in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023).

Career Development

Queen’s postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes, alongside sterling integration with business experts, helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally. Queen’s is ranked in the top 170 in the world for graduate prospects (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022).