BSocSc Social Anthropology
Manchester, United Kingdom
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
30 Jun 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 27,800 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international student full-time fee
Explore human behaviour, relationships, and challenges across different cultures.
Course overview
- Study at a UK Top 10 and Global Top 25 university for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025).
- Engaging in real-world ethnographic research with support from our staff, who are conducting studies from Everest to the Arctic.
- Enjoy a year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions.
- Join our thriving student-led Anthropology Society.
Scholarships and bursaries, including the Manchester Bursary , are available to eligible home/EU students.
Some undergraduate UK students will receive bursaries of up to £2,000 per year, in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.
You can get information and advice on student finance to help you manage your money.
The University of Manchester has an excellent reputation for employability. For the past 5 years, we have been in the UK's Top Two most targeted universities by the UK's top 100 employers (High Fliers Graduate Market Report, 2020 - 2024).
Graduates pursue careers in a wide range of paths, reflecting the broad nature of our courses.
Popular careers include journalism and the media, charities, consultancy, civil service, finance, marketing, social work, teaching, and the law. Recent graduates work for:
- British Red Cross;
- Friends of the Earth;
- Department of Work and Pensions;
- Manchester City Council;
- Royal Bank of Scotland;
- Teach First;
- Manning Gottlieb.
Another popular route is postgraduate study with us.
The University 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 .
BSocSc Social Anthropology is a single honours course for Social Anthropology specialists.
You will learn the diverse ways human beings live in the world today.
Contemporary social anthropology is a discipline that critically tackles some of the most pressing issues of our time.
These range from the implications of new reproductive technologies, environmental crises, migration, and challenges to health and wellbeing through the analysis of ritual, kinship, and material culture.
You will also study violence, poverty, and the means to alleviate human suffering.
You will learn about our distinctive character focusing on the political and economic aspects of social and cultural life, and the anthropology of visual and other sensory media.
The course has both regional and global scope, teaching you to challenge common sense assumptions through cross-cultural comparisons.
Special features
Learn from experts
We focus on contemporary political and economic challenges and are specialists in:
- visual, sensory, and digital media;
- race and genetic technologies;
- migration, climate change and disasters;
- AIDS and medicine;
- death;
- masculinities;
- social class;
- cities and infrastructures;
- border politics;
- humanitarianism and development;
- religion.
Study abroad
If you would like to broaden your horizons and your degree, you can apply to study overseas for a year at one of our partner universities. You apply in Year 2 to spend a year abroad in Year 3.
If successful, you will put together a programme of study at the host university in consultation with your Academic Exchange Advisor, to complement your studies at Manchester.
You will then come back to Manchester to study for a fourth year and graduate with a degree title including ‘with International Study'.
Paid placement opportunities
Apply for a paid Q-Step internship between Years 2 and 3.
It is an excellent opportunity to gain work experience and future contacts.
Professional Experience Year
You apply in Year 1 to boost your employability through a paid Professional Experience Year. If you meet the criteria, the Professional Experience Team and Careers Service will work with you to find a suitable placement in Year 2.
You will complete your Professional Experience Year in Year 3 extending your degree to four years, before returning to University to finish your final year.
Your degree title will include 'with Professional Experience'.
Teaching and learning
Course units feature formal lectures supported by smaller tutorials or seminars where you explore the contents of lectures and recommended reading in greater depth.
Tutorials and seminars are key to improving your written and oral communication skills through group discussions, essay-writing, and presentations.
You are assigned an Academic Advisor who can advise you on selecting course units and career opportunities.
Coursework and assessment
The range of methods is designed to promote in-depth learning and understanding, including:
- essays, coursework, and other mid-term evaluations allow development and feedback on your knowledge and understanding;
- dissertations promote the development of argument and understanding of academic material, and test how you work independently;
- presentations or group projects promote the development of teamwork and communication skills.