History of Art and Social Anthropology

History of art and social anthropology is a combination that gives you two powerful and complementary ways of understanding human culture. History of art examines the visual and material products of human societies, from paintings and sculptures to architecture and design, asking how they were made, what they meant in their original contexts, and how interpretations of them have shifted over time. Social anthropology investigates the great diversity of human societies and practices, developing frameworks for understanding beliefs, rituals, kinship, power, and material culture across the full range of human experience.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, this combination takes on particular richness. SOAS has exceptional expertise in the arts and cultures of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and you will encounter artistic traditions and social forms that extend well beyond the European canon that dominates many art history programmes. You will develop skills in close visual analysis and art historical research alongside the ethnographic and theoretical methods of social anthropology, and you will learn to move between material and social approaches to culture with genuine fluency.

The programme includes a foundation year, which provides a supported entry route and builds the academic skills needed for degree-level study. The typical entry tariff is 120 UCAS points, and the degree is studied full time over three years.

Graduates from this combination go on to careers in museums, galleries, heritage organisations, international development, journalism, the civil service, education, and cultural policy. The critical, cross-cultural skills the degree develops are also valued in organisations that work across national and cultural borders. Further study options include postgraduate degrees in art history, curating, social anthropology, and related fields.