Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of human diversity: the remarkable range of ways in which people around the world organise their societies, make sense of their lives, relate to each other and to their environments, and create the cultural forms that give meaning to experience. It is a discipline that takes seriously the differences between human societies while also asking what these differences reveal about shared human nature. Studying anthropology develops the capacity for genuine cross-cultural understanding, rigorous observation, and the ability to see familiar things from unfamiliar perspectives.
At Queen's University Belfast, this three-year, full-time programme engages with some of the deepest and most pressing questions about human beings: whether globalisation is erasing cultural difference, how post-conflict societies heal, how ritual and art shape cultural identities, and why people are sometimes willing to sacrifice themselves for a group. You will examine topics including kinship, religion, art, politics, and economics across different societies, drawing on the theoretical frameworks and ethnographic methods that anthropologists have developed over more than a century of comparative study. Queen's University Belfast's location adds a distinctive dimension: Northern Ireland has its own ethnographic richness as a post-conflict society navigating questions of identity, memory, and political change.
A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the academic level expected. Graduates from anthropology programmes go on to careers in international development, humanitarian organisations, public health, cultural consulting, the civil service, education, journalism, market research, social work, and a wide range of other fields that require genuine cross-cultural understanding and the ability to analyse human behaviour in context. The research and communication skills developed through anthropology are valued wherever complex social situations must be understood and navigated.
Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in anthropology, development studies, or related social science fields.