Introduction
What is it to be human? How do people understand the world around them and build lives with others? What do we share, and how are we different?
Anthropology studies the diversity of communities and cultures around the world to bring insights and understandings to the human condition and the possibilities of human flourishing. Anthropology – because we are not all the same.
Aberdeen is ranked 8th in the UK for Anthropology and Archaeology (Guardian University Guide 2026) and in the Global Top 100 for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026)
Our courses examine the connections among all aspects of life – family and kinship, economic systems, political and religious institutions, human-animal and ecological relations – and the way in which they come together to create whole ways of living within an increasingly global and postcolonial world.
Anthropology at Aberdeen is not just the study of human society and culture, it is a skills-focused degree built around training in social research, including ethnographic fieldwork methods, research design, report writing, interview, survey and museum skills. This training culminates in a fieldwork or library-based dissertation project of student’s choice, supported by a specialist supervisor.
Our degree draws on the extensive expertise of staff who specialise in communities around the world: from Scotland and Siberia to Canada, and from North Africa, Tibet and South Asia to the Pacific.
The skills you will develop in critical thinking and analysis will provide you with a deeper understanding of human behaviour which can be applied in a wide variety of careers. Many of our graduates work in development, foreign affairs, journalism and media, as well as business and public sector organisations, and many other fields with international and cultural contexts.
You will receive a warm welcome from the Anthropology department and benefit from excellent teaching, international research expertise, and the global outlook of our friendly staff and student community. You can enjoy our beautiful campus and great facilities for learning, sports and leisure, and many opportunities to develop extra skills, broaden your horizons, and gain the competitive advantage in the career path you choose.
Anthropology is also available as a joint degree along with a range of other subjects that you can find here.
What You'll Study
Anthropology is a diverse field of study that will provide you with unique insights into the differences in human behaviour from a cross-cultural perspective. You'll learn about the beliefs and attitudes of societies all over the world and will study themes such as ethnicity and nationalism, anthropological approaches to religion, colonialism, society, nature and morality. This programme is taught through a selection of compulsory and optional courses adding up to 120 credits each year.
- Year 1
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Year 1: Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the 51cg (PD1002)
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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’.
- Introduction to Anthropology: Peoples of the World (AT1003)
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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)
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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.
- 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.
Year 1: Optional Courses
Select a further 90 credit points from courses of choice.
- Year 2
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Year 2: Compulsory Courses
- Key Debates in Anthropology (AT2010)
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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.
- Reimagining Colonialism (AT2515)
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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.
Year 2: Optional Courses
Select a further 60 credit points from courses of choice.
- Year 3
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Year 3: Compulsory Courses
- Anthropological Theory (AT3027)
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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.
- Anthropological Research Methods and Project Design (AT3538)
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30 Credit Points
This course acquaints students with the practical, methodological and theoretical issues involved in anthropological research. It is particularly useful for students planning a fieldwork-based dissertation. The course focuses on methodological approaches and the relation between fieldwork experience and ethnographic production. It is taught through lectures, tutorials, class discussions and practical workshops, and covers research planning, fieldwork techniques and ethnographic interpretation.
Year 3: Optional Courses
Select one of:
- AT3061: Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT3062: Anthropology of the North
AND one of:
- AT3557: Comparative Constitutional Systems
- AT3558: Emotions, Self and Society
- AT3559: Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT3560: More than Human
NOTE: You are required to gain at least 210 credits from courses in Anthropology across levels 3 and 4.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT3061)
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30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT3562)
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30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- Comparative Constitutional Systems (AT3057)
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30 Credit Points
This course will examine anthropological theories of the state, political organization and violence. Through an analysis of both modern and historical case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, we will critically examine theories of state of modern and non-modern state formation and organisation, and the nexus of religion and colonial history. In the second half of the course, particular attention will we paid to the ethnography of violence as a mode of state and proto-state political action.
- Emotion, Self and Society (AT3558)
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30 Credit Points
This course addresses the anthropological study of emotion and self. It covers the different theoretical approaches to emotion, self and subjectivity. The broad questions addressed revolve around the cultural construction of emotion and self, and the entanglement of psychodynamic processes and power in the formation of the subject. The topics covered include anger and fear, grief and compassion, personhood, technologies of self and subjectification, identification and melancholia.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT3559)
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30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- More Than Human (AT3560)
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30 Credit Points
This course explores new directions in how we think about humans and other species. Recent years have seen an upsurge in interest in how the social sciences and humanities deal with animals, plants and other organisms and we scrutinise these cutting edge ideas in depth. A lot of emphasis is placed on trying to think through real life encounters and issues, from a walk in the park to new revelations about life from the bottom of the ocean. Although the focus is on anthropological work, the course should appeal to students from a wide range of backgrounds.
- Year 4
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Year 4: Compulsory Courses
- Dissertation in Anthropology By Scholarship (AT4065)
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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.
- Ethnography (AT4066)
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30 Credit Points
What is ethnographic writing and how do we learn to write ethnographically? This course seeks to familiarise students with the craft of ethnographic writing through a series of lectures, seminars, reading and writing exercises.
Year 4: Optional Courses
Plus, select a further 60 credit points from level 4 Anthropology courses of choice, and a further 30 credit points from level 3 or 4 courses of choice.
NOTE: You are required to gain at least 210 credits from courses in Anthropology across levels 3 and 4.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT4061)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT4562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- Emotion, Self and Society (AT4558)
-
30 Credit Points
This course addresses the anthropological study of emotion and self. It covers the different theoretical approaches to emotion, self and subjectivity. The broad questions addressed revolve around the cultural construction of emotion and self, and the entanglement of psychodynamic processes and power in the formation of the subject. The topics covered include anger and fear, grief and compassion, personhood, technologies of self and subjectification, identification and melancholia.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT4559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- More Than Human (AT4560)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores new directions in how we think about humans and other species. Recent years have seen an upsurge in interest in how the social sciences and humanities deal with animals, plants and other organisms and we scrutinise these cutting edge ideas in depth. A lot of emphasis is placed on trying to think through real life encounters and issues, from a walk in the park to new revelations about life from the bottom of the ocean. Although the focus is on anthropological work, the course should appeal to students from a wide range of backgrounds.
- Politics and Society in the Middle East (SL4502)
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30 Credit Points
This is an interdisciplinary course that critically examines state and society in the contemporary Middle East. Themes covered in the course include colonialism and post-colonialism, state governance and political movements, group identification in religious, ethno-national, and other terms, and gender.
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
The Anthropology programme combines a flexible combination of lectures, small-group seminars and personal supervision of individual project work.
Learning Methods
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- 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
- 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?
- You will gain a deep knowledge and understanding of human behaviour, which can be applied in many other fields.
- You will study anthropology from an international perspective, meaning you will have unique insights into other cultures.
- You will gain transferrable research skills that can help you gain insights to a wide variety of organisations and cultures.
- The critical thinking and analysis skills that you develop will enable you to work with a diverse range of people from all around the world.
- Our teaching is research-led, so you will have unique insights, based on research carried out by staff and postgraduate students.
- A particular strength of our Anthropology programme at is our focus on the study of the circumpolar North. Our core staff also specialise in regions as diverse as Canada, the Central Asian Republics, Iceland and Scandinavia, Siberia, Scotland and the UK, Tibet and the Himalayas.
- You will benefit from the University's close links with other programmes such as Sociology, Politics, International Relations and Archaeology.
- As an Anthropology student, you will have access to the University’s extensive anthropological and ethnographic museum collections.
- Anthropology and Archaeology is ranked 3rd in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2025.
- Anthropology at Aberdeen is ranked in the Global Top 100 by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026.
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.
Additional Information
Entry from College (Articulation)
Year 2 entry: Satisfactory completion of HNC Social Sciences (120 SCQF credit points). Students should take units A and B of the discipline/s they wish to study at university. For joint honours programmes, students must take A and B for both disciplines. Where Anthropology units are not available students may still be permitted to enter the single honours degrees conditional on them taking both first and second year University compulsory courses consecutively in their second year. Entry to Joint honours will not be permitted under these circumstances.
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
The critical thinking and analysis skills that you develop from studying Anthropology at Aberdeen will enable you to work with people in a variety of cultural contexts. Many of our graduates now work in research, teaching, media and politics for private and public sector organisations. Alongside support from the University Careers and Employability Service, the valuable skills you will learn at Aberdeen will give you a competitive advantage in the career marketplace.
Career Opportunities
- Charity Fundraiser
- Curriculum Developer
- Employment Support Worker
- Graduate Trainee Relocation Adviser
- Junior Lecturer
- Marketing Officer
- Publicity Officer
- Recruitment Consultant
- Youth Worker
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.
Features
This programme is delivered by a team of experienced staff and as such, the Anthropology department at Aberdeen is one of the fastest-growing in the UK. By studying Anthropology at Aberdeen, you will benefit from having access to staff and researchers who are Key Opinion Leaders. You will be taught by people who have experience working in anthropological fields and will gain valuable insight into how current issues are perceived by different cultures.
Discover Uni
Discover Uni draws together comparable information in areas students have identified as important in making decisions about what and where to study. You can compare these and other data for different degree programmes in which you are interested.
Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
51cg
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX