Anthropology

Social anthropology is the study of human diversity, examining how different societies and communities organise themselves, create meaning, relate to the natural world, and manage the fundamental challenges of social life, from kinship and religion to politics, exchange, and identity. It is a discipline that insists on taking other ways of life seriously on their own terms, resisting the temptation to judge all human arrangements by a single standard, and developing instead a genuinely comparative understanding of what it means to be human. In doing so, it cultivates the kind of intellectual flexibility and cultural intelligence that is increasingly valued in a world of complex global interconnections.

At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time programme engages you with the core theoretical traditions of the discipline alongside ethnographic and fieldwork methods that are anthropology's distinctive contribution to social inquiry. You will study how different societies address fundamental human questions, examining kinship structures, religious systems, political organisation, gender relations, economic practices, and the ways in which people engage with place and environment. You will read foundational ethnographic texts and engage with contemporary anthropological debates, developing your ability to analyse social life systematically and to write with precision about complex human situations.

A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to experience another society from within and to develop your anthropological perspective through direct cultural immersion.

With a typical entry tariff of 136 UCAS points, this degree attracts students with curiosity about human diversity and a commitment to rigorous inquiry. Graduates pursue careers in international development, NGOs, humanitarian work, diplomacy, the civil service, social research, journalism, education, cultural heritage, and a wide range of roles in the public and voluntary sectors requiring cultural intelligence. Many continue to postgraduate study in anthropology, development studies, international relations, or area studies, and some pursue doctoral research or academic careers.