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The BA in Social Anthropology is a distinctive degree programme allowing for the holistic study of people’s social relationships and cultural values in a wide range of local, global, diasporic and transnational settings – their political and economic organisation, their use of rural and urban spaces and their systems of knowledge and forms of religious experience. Social anthropology entails a profound understanding of how and why people (including ourselves) do the things they do – for example, how they work, use technologies and negotiate conflicts, relationships and change.
Overview
As a research-led School, we offer a wide range of specialist topics and ethnographic area modules covering regions such as the Amazon, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Pacific. A particularly unique strength of the BA programme at Kent is the opportunity to study visual anthropology, with modules on the anthropological use of photography, film and video, including practical classes and visual anthropology projects. A further special feature of training at Kent is the application of computers and IT to anthropological research and practice.
Anthropology is a friendly and cosmopolitan School where you are taught by leading authorities in their fields. Our Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing (CSAC) was one of the first in the country and our Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) is equally outstanding. Our degrees also offer the chance to study in Europe or Japan.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, Anthropology was ranked 6th in the UK for student satisfaction with 95% of students being satisfied with their programme.
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Teaching and assessment
In our most recent national Teaching Quality Assessment, Kent’s Anthropology teaching was judged to be excellent. This means that our teaching quality, student support and learning resources are among the nation’s best. Our teaching is research-led as all our staff are active in their fields. Social and biological anthropology staff have been awarded national teaching awards, reflecting the quality of the undergraduate programmes.
Anthropology at Kent uses a stimulating mix of teaching methods, including lectures, small seminar groups and laboratory sessions. For project work, you will be assigned to a supervisor with whom you meet regularly. You will also have access to a wide range of learning resources, including the Templeman Library, research laboratories and computer-based learning packages.
Assessment ranges from 80:20 exam/coursework to 100% coursework. At Stages 2 and 3, most core modules are split 50% end-of-year examination and 50% coursework. Both Stage 2 and 3 marks count towards your final degree result.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- provide a broad knowledge in the major sub-divisions of anthropology, showing how it is linked to other academic disciplines
- explore theoretical and methodological issues
- demonstrate the relevance of anthropological knowledge to an understanding of many local, national and international issues
- develop students’ transferable skills and prepare them for employment and/or further study
- provide modules informed by the School's research.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- social anthropology as the comparative study of human societies
- specific themes in social anthropology, such as religion, politics, kinship, nationalism and ethnicity
- human diversity and an appreciation of its scope
- several ethnographic regions of the world including Central Asia, the Mediterranean, Amazonia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- the history of anthropology as a discipline
- the variety of theoretical approaches contained within anthropology
- the process of historical and social change
- the application of anthropology to understanding issues of social and economic development throughout the world
- the relevance of anthropology to understanding everyday processes of social life anywhere in the world.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- general learning and study
- critical and analytical abilities
- expressing ideas in writing and orally
- communication
- group work
- IT
- the ability to review and summarise information
- data retrieval.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- understanding how people are shaped by their social, cultural and physical environments while retaining a capacity for individual agency
- recognising the pertinence of an anthropological perspective to understanding major national and international events
- interpreting texts and performance by locating them within cultural and historical contexts
- using anthropological theories and perspectives in the presentation of information and argument
- analysing the significance of the social and cultural contexts of language use
- devising questions for research and study which are anthropologically informed
- perceiving the way in which cultural assumptions may affect the opinions of others and oneself
- the ability to make sense of cultural and social phenomena which may, at first sight, appear incomprehensible.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in:
- communication – the ability to organise and summarise information; respond critically to written information; make a structured argument
- problem solving – the ability to identify problems; formulate ways of problem solving; evaluate alternative solutions
- improving your own learning – the ability to manage time; develop personal learning strategies; conduct independent research; assess your own strengths and weaknesses
- information technology – the ability to access information on the internet; produce documents; use databases; use technology for oral presentations and online portfolio development
- group work – the ability to participate in joint learning and communication; share ideas and skills; understand group dynamics.
Careers
Studying social anthropology gives you an exciting range of career opportunities. We work with you to help direct your module choices to the career paths you are considering. Through your studies you learn how to work independently, to analyse complex data and to present your work with clarity and flair.
Our recent graduates have gone into areas such as overseas development and aid work, further research in social anthropology, social sciences research, media research or production (TV and radio), journalism, advertising, social work, education, international consultancy and work with community groups.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB excluding General Studies/Critical Thinking |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at Higher Level. |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | ||
| Part-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.