Anthropology and Spanish & Latin American Studies (MA)
Introduction
Anthropology and Spanish & Latin American Studies at Aberdeen is a great study combination, adding to a thorough grounding in what it means to ‘be human’, with an in-depth study of a major modern European language and culture. You will have the flexibility of a five or four-year degree and the language, perspective and skills you will develop will open up a wide range of career options including with an international flavour.
Did you know? Anthropology at Aberdeen is ranked 1st in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2024)
Study Information
At a Glance
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MA
- Duration
- 48 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time
- Start Month
- September
- UCAS Code
- LR46
Anthropology will give you a thorough grounding in humanity, the differences in human cultures and communities and how they have developed. You will gain a unique insight into behaviours, beliefs and attitudes all over the world, and find connections between aspects of life such as family, economics, politics and religion.
Combining this study with a language spoken by 350 million native Spanish speakers in 19 Latin American states, the Spanish Peninsula, and increasingly in the US, is highly appealing to employers operating in increasingly global markets.
Spanish & Latin American Studies at Aberdeen has an outstanding reputation, with the highest possible rating of ‘Excellent’ in the last national Teaching Quality Assessment. You will be equipped to communicate in a global language and widen your studies with Spanish-language literature, films and visual culture.
As an integral part of your 4-year programme, you will spend half of year three developing your language skills as a teaching assistant or visiting student in a Spanish-speaking country.
The combination of skills you will graduate with will have special appeal to employers in European and international business – including the energy sector which is of growing importance to Latin American economies – and in many other fields where people, cultures, and international outlook feature strongly, including NGOs and international development.
What You'll Study
- Year 1
-
Year 1: Compulsory Courses
- Introduction to Anthropology: Peoples of the World (AT1003)
-
15 Credit Points
Anthropology explores ways of life in societies and cultures around the world. Through fieldwork in the places people live, anthropologists connect global issues with everyday lives. In this course you’ll learn about the key topics of anthropology and its research methods. Lectures introduce anthropological research topics such as ritual, climate change and indigenous rights. Small group tutorials will allow you to debate the issues and share your perspectives.
- Introduction to Anthropology: Questions of Diversity (AT1502)
-
15 Credit Points
In this course students will be offered an extended introduction to social anthropology and will focus on topics: language and culture, belief and religion, gender and sex, kinship, and race. Students will develop and refine their understanding of major issues in the discipline of social anthropology through staff lectures, tutorials, and ethnographic films.
- Getting Started at the 51cg (PD1002)
-
This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students and articulating students who are in their first year at the University, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Academic Writing for Social Sciences (AW1006)
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This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.
- Spanish Language 2 (SP1028)
-
15 Credit Points
This is a fast-paced language course for students with some previous knowledge of Spanish. It is aimed at students intending to pursue an honours (single or joint) degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies but is also suitable for students on other degree programmes.
This course involves intensive language study. Upon successful registration to this course, you are expected to complete a short online entry test on MyAberdeen to ensure that you are registered for the most appropriate course for your language ability. You will not be able to access the course site until you have completed this short test.
It is strongly recommended that you complete this test at the earliest opportunity as your timetable/course selections may be subject to change if your language ability would be better suited to an alternative course. You will be informed of this as soon as you complete the test.
The short entry test does not count toward your overall grade for this course.
It is recommended (subject to individual entry test results) that:
- Students who have no experience of Spanish register for SP1027: Spanish Language 1
- Students who have studied Spanish to National 5 level (or equivalent) register for SP1027: Spanish Language 1
- Students who have studied Spanish to Higher level (or equivalent) register for SP1027: Spanish Language 1
- Students who have studied Spanish to Advanced Higher level or A Level (or equivalent) register for SP1028: Spanish Language 2
- Spanish Language 3 (SP2525)
-
15 Credit Points
This course follows Spanish Language 2 or can be taken by students who have the required level of Spanish.
Year 1: Optional Courses
EITHER:
Spain and Spanish America: History, Culture, Politics (SP1039)
AND/OR:
The Global City (LA1501)
Plus 30 or 45 credit points from courses of choice.
- Spain and Spanish America: History, Culture, Politics (SP1039)
-
15 Credit Points
The course introduces students to colonial encounters ranging from Muslim Iberia to the pre-conquest Americas and continuing into the period of the Spanish Empire. From the nineteenth century, conquest and colonial encounters continued as newly-independent Spanish American states seized indigenous territories, while colonial mentalities re-surfaced in contexts as diverse as the Spanish Civil War and Southern Cone dirty wars. These examples show how colonial encounters helped shape contemporary Spain and Spanish America.
- The Global City in Text and Film (LA1501)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on major cities in Europe and the Americas, this course unit uses a range of texts, including films, poetry and fiction, to investigate urban spaces as sites of promise, power and loss. Representations of global cities, and experiences of urban dwellers, highlight themes such as empire, identity, leisure, labour and love. Set amid glittering facades and gritty back streets, the texts studied in this course explore the many meanings of the urban experience across place and time. These urban encounters also provide a way of understanding key social, political and cultural moments in the past and present.
- Year 2
-
Year 2: Compulsory Courses
Term 2 to be spent in Spain or Latin America.
- Key Debates in Anthropology (AT2010)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores some of the key questions that anthropologists have debated: what it is to be human, the nature of human interaction with other humans and with other species, the role language plays in thought and culture, and the different ways that people perceive the world and act within it. Themes that will be discussed in this course include rationality, language, species difference, race, and place and community.
- Spanish Language 4 (SP2026)
-
15 Credit Points
This course aims to prepare intending Honours students of Spanish and Latin American Studies for their compulsory period abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.
The course will develop further Spanish language skills, both receptive and productive. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development of both sets of skills. In addition students will complete a structured self learning programme of audio-visual study and grammatical reinforcement study.
- Residence Abroad Preparation for Mlti Students (LA10RP)
-
This course is restricted to MLTI (Modern Languages / Translation and Interpreting) students.
This course is for students preparing their residence abroad, as part of their degree requirements on Modern Languages (Mode A and Mode B) or Translation and Interpreting programmes. This course carries no credits in itself, but provides essential support and guidance as MLTI students organise their residence abroad to meet their degree requirements.
- Spain and Spanish America in Text and Film (SP2041)
-
15 Credit Points
The course will introduce students to several key texts from Spain and Spanish America. It will also introduce a key question in contemporary literary and film analysis: how texts may reinforce or challenge the social structures that underlie local and national communities. To this end we will study plays, novels and films that have had a broad impact in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond, investigating how they work to cement the cultural values that bring communities together or, on the contrary, lead readers to question and rebel against prevailing social norms.
- Reimagining Colonialism (AT2515)
-
30 Credit Points
This course will explore contemporary colonial expressions from an anthropological perspective. It will be split into two main themes: Material Histories; and Mediated Histories. Within these themes it will address topics such as the "capturing" of cultures in museums, kinship and politics, gendered colonialism, economic development, media, aboriginal rights and contemporary resistance movements.
- Spanish Language 5 (SP2531)
-
15 Credit Points
This course follows Spanish Language 4 and aims to prepare non beginners intending Honours students of Spanish and Latin American Studies for their compulsory period abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.
The course will develop further Spanish language skills, expanding on the vocabulary and introducing formal documents and letters. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development of both sets of skills. In addition students will complete a structured self learning programme of vocabulary and grammatical reinforcement study.
- World - Changing Protests: History, Culture, Politics (LA2501)
-
15 Credit Points
The course will span a century of protests across Europe, the Americas and North Africa, with causes including peace, democracy, human rights, anti-racism, labour rights, equality for women and LGBTI+ communities, climate change and decolonisation. Students will learn about the history, culture and politics of the countries where protests erupt, including of the social movements that lead protests. Approaches will include history, literary, film and media analysis, material and visual culture, music and social science methods.
- Year 3
-
Year 3: Compulsory Courses
- Anthropological Theory (AT3027)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores theoretical issues and key debates in contemporary anthropology. We begin with the questioning of the central concepts of culture and society in anthropology during the 1980s. Following this, we ask: how can anthropology proceed if the targets of its investigation can no longer be understood as objective entities? How can anthropology proceed if the anthropologist themselves is inevitably implicated in and part of those very targets? To look for possible answers, the course examines current anthropological interest in power and history, political economy and phenomenology, experience, embodiment and practice, ontology and things that speak.
- Spanish Language 6 (SP30A3)
-
15 Credit Points
This is a core prescribed course open only to Junior Honours Spanish and Latin American Studies students and a selected range of other programmes at the appropriate level. This course aims to enable you to identify and use, accurately, fluently, and with an appropriate level of sophistication, a range of vocabulary and linguistic registers at advanced level.
Year 3: Optional Courses
Plus a further 45 credit points from level 3 Spanish and Latin American Studies courses.
One Term 2 level 3 Anthropology course from the Anthropology Annexe
Comparative Constitutional Systems (AT3557)
Emotions, Self and Society (AT3558)
Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT3559)
More than Human (AT3560)
- Spanish Language 6a (for Mode B Junior Honours) (SP30FY)
-
15 Credit Points
This is a core prescribed course open only to Mode B Junior Honours Spanish and Latin American Studies students. This course aims to enable you to identify and use, accurately, fluently, and with an appropriate level of sophistication, a range of vocabulary and linguistic registers at advanced level.
- Year 4
-
Year 4: Compulsory Courses
- Spanish Language 7 (SP40A5)
-
30 Credit Points
This is the final Spanish language course within the degree that will provide students with advanced comprehension and writing skills in general and specialised registers.
Year 4: Optional Courses
EITHER:
Dissertation in Spanish (SP4039)
One Term 1 level 4 Anthropology course:
Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT4061)
Anthropology of the North (AT4062)
One Term 2 level 4 Anthropology course:
Comparative Constitutional Systems (AT4557)
Emotion, Self and Society (AT4558)
The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT4559)
More Than Human (AT4560)
OR:
Joint Honours Dissertation in Anthropology (AT4047)
One Term 2 level 4 Anthropology course from the table below
Plus further credit points from level 4 courses in Spanish and Latin American Studies to gain a total of 60 credits the each discipline.
- Final Year Project (LA4006)
-
15 Credit Points
The Final Year project offers students the opportunity to undertake in-depth independent study on a topic of their choosing. The topic is chosen by the student, in conjunction with the dissertation coordinator and an individual programme supervisor, both of whom approve the topic. The project can either take the form of an extended piece of writing; a creative output with reflective commentary or an extended translation with accompanying commentary.
- Dissertation in Anthropology By Scholarship (AT4065)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will write a dissertation based on scholarship in Anthropology (e.g. library research) but not on primary fieldwork. The course is available to single honours students who decide not to do a fieldwork-based dissertation and to joint honours students who wish to do a dissertation in Anthropology. This dissertation can be taken by joint honours students who have not previously taken AT3538: Anthropological Research Methods and Research Design.
- Dissertation in Anthropology By Fieldwork (AT4563)
-
30 Credit Points
This course involves a dissertation based on anthropological fieldwork. It builds on the research proposal developed in AT3538 Anthropological Research Methods and Research Design.
- Dissertation in Anthropology By Scholarship (AT4565)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will write a dissertation based on scholarship in Anthropology (e.g. library research) but not on primary fieldwork. The course is available to single honours students who decide not to do a fieldwork-based dissertation and to joint honours students who wish to do a dissertation in Anthropology. This dissertation can be taken by joint honours students who have not previously taken AT3538: Anthropological Research Methods and Research Design.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page. In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips.
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- Research
- Tutorials
Assessment Methods
Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods:
- coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course;
- practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course; and
- written examinations at the end of each course.
The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.
Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.
Why Study Anthropology and Spanish & Latin American Studies?
- Aberdeen is one of the fastest-growing Anthropology departments in the UK
- Study at a nationally and internationally renowned university for Anthropology. The 51cg is ranked 3rd in the UK for Anthropology and Archaeology (Guardian University Guide 2025), 4th in the UK for Anthropology (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025) and in the Global Top 100 for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026)
- Aberdeen is ranked 1st in the UK for overall student satisfaction in Anthropology (National Student Survey 2024)
- Our core staff specialise in regions as diverse as Canada, the Central Asian Republics, Iceland and Scandinavia, Siberia, Scotland and the UK, South America, Tibet and the Himalayas
- We offer innovative ideas and a fresh vision of the subject, with an emphasis throughout on work at the cutting-edge of the discipline and research
- A vibrant student anthropology society regularly organises academic and social events bringing together undergraduate and postgraduate students with staff outside the classroom
- Spanish & Latin American Studies at Aberdeen is a dynamic and successful department. Its national teaching rating is 'excellent'
- Courses give equal weight to the study of Spanish and Latin-American cultures
- The Department's programmes are multi-disciplinary; students have the opportunity to study visual culture, literature, history, politics and anthropology in relation to Spain and/or Latin America
- Spanish is the second most widely spoken language after English in the western hemisphere and is currently spoken by 350 million native Spanish speakers in nineteen Latin American states and a large part of the Iberian Peninsula. Not only is it the second language in many parts of the USA, but Spanish is also the fastest growing modern language in the UK
Interested in this programme?
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the 51cg.
General Entry Requirements
- 2026 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
- 2027 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our .
Fees and Funding
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
- EU / International students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £20,800
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *)
- £14,800
-
The above fee includes the £6,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply.
- Home Students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £1,820
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £9,790
-
The UK Government has confirmed that the RUK fee cap will continue to increase each year to reflect inflation. Tuition fees will increase in line with the Government fee cap each year, and this should be taken into account when budgeting.
Scholarships and Funding
UK Scholarship
Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The 51cg is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme. More about this funding opportunity.
Funding Database
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Careers
- Anthropology in Hispanic speaking countries and organisations
- Academic Researcher or Consultant
- Social Researcher
- Museum and Gallery Curator
Our Experts
Information 51cg Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
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Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
51cg
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX