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The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
Anthropology Ranked 1st in the National Student Survey 2012
In the NSS 2012 Anthropology at Kent has been ranked 1st in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction and 1st in the UK for Teaching. Find out more of the reasons why students rank us 1st and about what our alumni are doing now.
BSc (Hons) Biological Anthropology
Study human evolution and adaptation utilising our specialist osteology lab; plus the option to study in the USA.
The BSc in Biological Anthropology focuses on the study of human evolution and adaptation. Biological anthropologists are particularly interested in investigating why variation arose and how it is maintained, as well as trying to explain how people are adapted to the environments in which they live.
They study the human fossil and stone tool record, human material culture and the development of modern human behaviour in evolutionary and comparative perspective. Biological anthropology has four main subdisciplines: human biology and behaviour, genetics, human evolution, and primatology. Typical questions that biological anthropologists might ask are: Why do people living in different areas have different skin colours or facial shapes? What diseases existed in ancient populations? How did humans evolve? How closely related are humans and chimpanzees? Why are symmetrical faces more attractive? What can we learn about how people lived from studying their skeletons? Why is sex fun?
Course Structure
Note: Some modules run in alternate years and all modules are subject to change. Select the module codes to access full details of each module.
"An exciting degree programme that offers a scientifically based approach to the study of humans and provides you a wide range of skills that prepare you for your future. We have expanded and invested in teaching materials to give you a range of unique opportunities in biology and anthropology."
Stage 1 (a total of 120 credits to be taken)
The following modules are compulsory:
SE301: Introduction to Social Anthropology, 30 credits, term 1 and 2
SE302: Foundations of Biological Anthropology, 30 credits, term 1 and 2
SE307: Thinkers and Theories: An Introduction to the History and Development of Anthropology, 15 credits, term 2
SE308: Skills for Anthropology and Conservation, 15 credits, term 1
The following modules are recommended:
SE305: Practical Introduction to Biological Anthropology, 15 credits, term 1 and 2
SE306: Animals, People and Plants, 15 credits, term 2
SE309: Violence and Conflict in the Contemporary World, 15 credits, term 1 and 2
BI305: Fundamental Human Biology, 15 credits, term 1 and 2
OR
BI307: Human Physiology and Disease, 15 credits, term 1 and 2
Further modules may be chosen from a very wide range available to first-year Social Science students.
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Students take 240 credits over Stages 2 and 3. 120 credits are taken at each Stage. 60 credits must be taken in each of Autumn and Spring tems.
The following 75 credits are compulsory:
SE567: Methodology in Anthropological Science, Stage 2, 15 credits, term 2
SE581: Biological Anthropology: The Human Animal, Stage 2, 15 credits, term 2
SE582: Comparative Perspectives in Primate Biology, Stage 2, 15 credits, term 1
SE533: Project in Anthropological Science, Stage 3, 30 credits, term 1 and 2
The following modules are recommended: (all 15 credits)
SE541: The Evolution of Hominin Behaviour, Stage 3, term 1
SE565: Sex, Evolution and Human Nature, normally Stage 2, term 1
SE566: Human Osteology, Stage 2, term 1
SE569: Palaeopathology, Stage 3, term 1
SE570: Current Issues in Evolutionary Anthropology, Stage 3, term 2
SE580: Primate Behaviour and Ecology, normally Stage 2, term 2
SE593: The Evolution of Human Diversity, normally Stage 3, term 2
The following modules are optional: (all 15 credits)
DI503: Evolutionary Genetics and Conservation, term 2
SE542: Human Ecology, term 2
SE549: The Anthropology of Health, Illness and Medicine, term 2
SE568: History of Evolutionary Thought, term 1
SE575: Medicinal Plants, Traditional Healing, and Drug Discovery, term 1
SE585: Anthropology of Eating: From the Raw to the Cooked, term 1
Students may take up to 30 credits of ‘wild’ modules outside of the School. Appropriate ‘wild’ modules:
BI637: Forensic DNA Analysis, Stage 3, 15 credits, Stage 3, term 1
HI724: The Politics of Progress: Science and Social Change, 1815-1895, 30 credits, term 1
LW584: Forensic Science in Criminal Trials, 15 credits, term 1
LW615: Neuroscience in Law: Forensic, Medical and Ethical Aspects, 15 credits, term 1 and 2
PS502: Forensic Archaeology, 15 credits, term 2
Students may take other ‘wild’ modules options consistent with the programme aims with the approval of the Programme Convenor.
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Year in the USA
"An exciting opportunity to combine our excellent degree programme in biological anthropology with the chance to study the subject for a year at a University in the United States of America. This programme offers a scientifically based approach to the study of humans and provides you a wide range of skills that prepare you for your future. This is a prestige programme with high entrance requirements (typically AAB or equivalent)"
Students taking a year in the USA follow the same module structure as standard BSc Biological Anthropology students. The year abroad is taken during the third year of study following sucessful completion of the second year. Sucessful completion is defined as: obtain at least 2:i average in Stage 2.
During the year abroad 120 credits are to be taken. Spend this year at an American University pursuing a range of modules that either broaden your studies here at Kent, or take them into deeper specialisation. Typically, modules in four of the following areas will be taken:
- Genetics & Molecular Anthropology
- Primatology
- Human Evolution
- Bioarchaeology
- Human Behaviour & Ecology
- Human Biology
- Methods and Techniques in Biological Anthropology
- Theory in Evolutionary Anthropology.
We have partnerships with a variety of institutions in the USA, each of which offers a different experience in terms of the topics available, and in its location and atmosphere.
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