Anthropology
Durham University
UCAS Code: L602 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Durham University
UCAS Code: L602 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent).
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Seventeen points (6, 6, 5) from Higher Level subjects.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
We will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. If an applicant has not been able to take 3 Advanced Highers, offers may be made with a combination of Advanced Highers and Highers, or on a number of Highers.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Course details**
Our BA Anthropology degree is designed to give you a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of social anthropology, in the context of a broad approach to the subject including biological anthropology as well as interdisciplinary perspectives on health.
As you move through your degree, you will shift from being a consumer to a generator of knowledge, ready for professional or postgraduate life.
Studying Anthropology at Durham allows you to gain a deep understanding of humanity in all its rich diversity and complexity, helping to navigate the biggest challenges our societies face today.
**Why Durham University?**
We are among the largest Anthropology departments in the UK with around 120 students in each year group, and one of the few to combine social, biological and medical aspects of anthropology.
The Anthropology Department has a skeletal collection, a fossil cast collection, a material culture collection and other practical resources that are used in relevant modules. You may also be able to use these independently to supplement your learning or for project work.
Flexibility; you can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four.
**Rankings**
**5th** in the Complete University Guide 2025
**5th** in the Guardian University Guide 2025
**29th** in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
**Career Prospects**
Employers worldwide value this skill set, particularly where creativity, curiosity and the ability to understand human diversity are at a premium.
Many progress into careers that require a broad understanding of human society and behaviour as well as the interpersonal, organisational, problem solving and independent thinking skills that come with the discipline. Such careers include advertising, publishing, journalism, teaching, human resource management, law, consultancy and marketing.
A significant number of graduates progress onto higher level study with many pursuing further research in anthropology or other fields.
Modules
For current information please scroll to the bottom of the page for Provider Information and select Visit our Course Page under Course Contact Details.
Assessment methods
We use a wide range of assessments designed to provide training in a variety of anthropological and broader transferable skills, including not only 'traditional' essays and exams but also research projects, popular academic writing and outreach activities.
In your final year you will have the chance to design and carry out your own anthropological research project for your dissertation, with support and guidance from your supervisor.
In addition to the help provided by your subject lecturers, you can also access extensive support for your assessments through ASC, the Academic Skills Centre. See below for details: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/centres/academic-skills-centre/
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Durham University offers a range of scholarship opportunities to academically well-qualified and highly motivated students. For further details, including deadlines for application, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/scholarships/
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Anthropology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Anthropology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a pretty flexible degree and a good one if you want to keep your options open. Just over 1,250 graduates completed anthropology degrees last year, and they were well spread out across a whole range of jobs — many industries have jobs that can be done by anthropology graduates and unlike a lot of degrees, there aren't many jobs we can point to and say ‘graduates from this degree do that job’. Management, marketing, housing and recruitment jobs are the most popular, though, and many graduates go into the education or social care sectors. Graduates are also rather more likely than average to work in London, or to go overseas to work. This is quite a popular subject at postgraduate level, and if you want to go into research, you'll need to think about postgrad study - and it's one of the few where numbers are on the up at the moment.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Anthropology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£25k
£30k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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