Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Anthropology

Entry requirements


104-120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels

Pass a named Access to HE Diploma with at least 33 credits at Merit and/or Distinction.

Considered in combination

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26-30

English and Mathematics accepted within as GCSE equivalent.

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

H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H2,H2,H2,H3,H3


104-120 UCAS tariff points English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent.

Considered in combination

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

D*D-D*D*

Any subject is considered.

Considered in combination

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

DMM

Any subject is considered.

Considered in combination

104 to 120 UCAS tariff points. GCSE English and Maths can be accepted within

Considered in combination with Advanced Highers

T Level

M

Any subject is considered.

UCAS Tariff

104-120

from a minimum of 2 A Levels

Considered in combination

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Anthropology

Immerse yourself in the variety of cultures on our doorstep and beyond to build your understanding of the world and your role in it. Learn by doing, whether that’s collecting stories from refugees housed in the region, working with local communities to understand how different people engage with sport or using our location to explore the importance of the sea to coastal communities.

* **All our modules rely on 100% coursework.** We want to create inclusive learning environments, designing forms of assessment that reflect real working conditions and truly test the skills anthropologists will need to apply in their future careers.

* **Learn anthropology through an innovative, hands-on approach.** Throughout your time with us, you will get many opportunities to participate in real anthropological research.

* **You will be taught by research-active anthropologists,** who constantly publish work in renowned academic journals, ensuring your course is based on cutting-edge developments in the field.

* **Take part in two major, funded field trips** that enable you to practice core anthropological skills, and get to know your colleagues better. Travel to London and Oxford to visit various ethnographic museums, and take part in an international field trip to carry out fieldwork in a non-British setting.

* **Shape the way anthropology is taught.** Many of the subjects we teach are directly proposed by students themselves. That’s why you’ll learn about marine ethnography, humour and laughter, conspiracy theory, and anything in between.

Modules

In your first year, we introduce you to the core of the discipline. You will learn how to think like an anthropologist, comparing data from across the worlds to make solid statements about human behaviour. You will also have the chance to start actually doing your own ethnographic fieldwork, not just reading about it!

In your second year, you will further develop your social scientific research skills, and get to practice more advanced ethnographic fieldwork techniques (such as multi-species and multi-sensory ethnography, and participant observation of digital worlds). You will be also able to explore many specialist subjects, and start to identify the topic you’d like to explore for your dissertation.

Gain valuable on-the-job experience through our optional placement year. We will support you in your second year in deciding whether to take this opportunity, and assist you in finding a placement and being prepared for it.

In your final year, you will work closely with your personal supervisor and use all the skills you’ve learned to produce an anthropological dissertation on a topic of your choice. At the same time, you will also take on the role of live consultant to apply anthropology to solve a particular problem, ideally in an area in which you wish to work or pursue further study.

The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.

Assessment methods

100% of assessment is by coursework.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

School of Society and Culture

Read full university profile

What students say


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

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

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.

£17,500
low
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
40%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Welfare professionals
12%
Customer service occupations

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.

£18k

£18k

£23k

£23k

£26k

£26k

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.

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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