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Anthropology

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent).

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,D3,M2

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

36

Seventeen points (6, 6, 5) from Higher Level subjects.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H2,H3

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DDD

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A,B

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,B,B

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

136-160

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Physical and biological anthropology

**Course details**
You will receive broad training in the scientific and social scientific study of humanity encompassing our evolutionary origins and relationship to other primates, cultural diversity, as well as interdisciplinary perspectives on health, politics and the environment.

**Year 1**
In your first year, you will receive a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of anthropology in the broadest sense, addressing the core disciplines of social and biological anthropology as well as interdisciplinary perspectives on culture, society and health. Currently, students take five modules in anthropology and select one elective module offered by another department, including the option to study a module in a modern foreign language.

**Compulsory modules:**
Peoples and Cultures
Human Evolution and Diversity
Being Human: An Introduction to the History and Practice of Anthropology
Doing Anthropological Research
Health, Illness and Society.

**Year 2**
In your second year, you will develop a deeper and more complex grasp of biological and evolutionary anthropology and continue to gain "hands-on" experience of conducting research through a series of regional field trips and activities that form our Anthropological Research Methods in Action module. You will also begin preparation for your dissertation through modules that are designed to support you to follow either a more social or biological pathway as you design your own research project, in addition to a core module that will help you develop plans for your dissertation and prepare to do your own research. You will also take two elective modules that will enable you to pursue your interests in specific topics from the wider anthropological discipline.

**Compulsory modules:**
Anthropological Research Methods in Action
Research Project Design
Evolution, Variation and Adaptation
Our Place in Nature
And one of the following modules:
Biology, Culture & Society
Reading Ethnography
Examples of optional modules:
Kinship and Religion
Politics and Economics
Global Health and Disease
Sex, Reproduction and Love.

**Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a Year Abroad)**
In your final year, you will design and carry out your own dissertation project and take part in our Anthropology Field Course Module. The Field Course usually takes place in the September prior to your final year and offers an intensive two-week fieldwork experience at one of the department’s residential field schools. You have a choice of up to six advanced optional taught modules, and you can take an elective option from another department if you wish.

Optional modules are generally based on the research expertise of staff, and reflect the University’s ideal of research-led education. Options available in the Department cover the full disciplinary spectrum, from the entirely biological to the entirely socio-cultural, or a mixture of anthropological sub-disciplines. Options change slightly from year-to-year, with a minimum of 18 different options to choose from every year.

Throughout your degree you are also invited to attend the regular round of departmental research seminars given by visiting scholars or Durham-based researchers and can participate in a key forum for current innovative research.

**Core modules:**
Field School Module
Dissertation

Modules

Year 1
Compulsory modules:
Peoples and Cultures
Human Evolution and Diversity
Being Human: An Introduction to the History and Practice of Anthropology
Doing Anthropological Research
Health, Illness and Society.

Year 2
Compulsory modules:
Anthropological Research Methods in Action
Research Project Design
Evolution, Variation and Adaptation
Our Place in Nature
And one of the following modules:
Biology, Culture & Society
Reading Ethnography
Examples of optional modules:
Kinship and Religion
Politics and Economics
Global Health and Disease
Sex, Reproduction and Love.

Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a Year Abroad)
Core modules:
Field School Module
Dissertation

Examples of optional modules:
Evolution of Cooperation
Comparative Cognition and Culture
Cultural Evolution of Music
Technological Primates
Decolonising Anthropology
Primates in Peril
Primates, Predators and the Ecology of Fear
Homo Narrans: Evolutionary Anthropology of Fiction
Forensic Anthropology
Palaeoanthropology and Palaeoecology
Anthropology in the Contemporary Middle East
Anthropology, Art, and Experience
Poison, Pollution and the Chemical Anthropocene
Exhibiting Anthropology
Capitalism in Ruins
Social Anthropology of Hormones
Anthropology of Ethics and Morality
Anthropology of Sport
Anthropological Skills for Climate Change Survival
Power and Governance
Violence and Memory
Anthropology of Tobacco
Anthropology of Health Inequality
Anthropology of Physical Activity and Health
Evolutionary Medicine: Maternal and Infant Health
Human Reproductive Ecology
Development, Conflict and Crisis in the Lower Omo

Assessment methods

Assessment on the BA Anthropology degree varies by module, but may include written examinations, coursework in the form of essays or research projects, and presentations.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£25,000
per year
International
£25,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course locations:

Durham City

College allocation pending

Department:

Anthropology

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

75%
Physical and biological anthropology

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

92%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
74%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

79%
UK students
21%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

£19,450
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
60%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

27%
Business, research and administrative professionals
9%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
8%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

£22k

£22k

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

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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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here