Anthropology
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
With three Higher Level subjects at 655
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
T Level
Each application will be considered on its individual merits. Where the T Level subject area does not directly match the degree programme being applied for, the personal statement and reference will be particularly important in demonstrating interest, enthusiasm and suitability for the subject.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**Investigate the world of anthropology from a new angle. The BA Anthropology programme offers a challenging and contemporary syllabus, exploring key anthropological debates, and using them to help you understand contemporary societal and cultural issues.**
**Why study BA Anthropology at Goldsmiths**
- We offer a fresher approach to the subject than other institutions – from the impact of austerity economics, to investigating how the creative arts can tackle inequality, you’ll learn much more than just ‘traditional’ anthropology. This is one of the reasons we've been ranked top 10 in the UK for anthropology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.
- You’ll look at the subject from a contemporary perspective, and be able to apply what you learn in lectures to your everyday life.
- In the first two years, you’ll concentrate on basic anthropological concepts, such as kinship, ritual, world systems, and development. You'll also learn to analyse these concepts using video, film and written texts, and you’ll get to study two regions of the world in depth.
- In your final year you’ll be able to specialise by choosing a selection of option modules, tailoring your degree to your own interests and aspirations. You'll have the opportunity to investigate anthropology in relation to politics, religion, philosophy and psychology in order to develop an interdisciplinary perspective of the subject.
- You'll explore links between theoretical issues and ethnographic studies, enabling you to think critically about culture and society in Britain, and around the world. Our graduates have gone on to work for the UN, World Bank, NGOs, law companies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) consultancies.
Modules
Year 1 (credit level 4)
In your first year, you'll study the following compulsory modules.
Being Related
Approaches to Contemporary Anthropology
Anthropological Methods
Ethnographic Film
Academic Skills for Anthropology
Anthropology in London
Anthropological Ideas
or
Anthropology Today
Year 2 (credit level 5)
In your second year, you'll take five compulsory modules and 45 credits of optional modules.
Compulsory modules
Critical Ecologies: black, indigenous and transnational feminist approaches
Anthropology and Political Economy
Thinking Anthropologically
Thinking Through Race
The Goldsmiths Elective
Optional modules
You'll then take 2 or 3 from the following optional module list:
Anthropology and Public Policy
Indigenous Cosmopolitics, Anthropology and Global Justice
Anthropology of Religion
Working with Images
Anthropology in Public Practice
Goldsmiths’ Social Change Module
Year 3 (credit level 6)
In your third year, you'll complete an individual research project. You can choose either to complete an Individual Project or to complete an extended version.
Individual Project
or
Extended Individual Project
You will make up the remaining 75-90 credits (depending on your chosen project) from a list of optional modules. Recent examples of optional modules include:
Anthropology in Public Practice
Psychological Perspectives in Anthropology
Anthropology of Health and Medicine
Anthropology of Art
Anthropology and the Environment
Anthropology of Development
Anthropology and Gender Theory
Anthropology of Rights
Multimodal Experiments
Theorising the Visual
Anthropology of Violence
Learning from Social Movements
Borders and Migration
Digital Anthropology
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.
The Uni
Goldsmiths, University of London
Anthropology
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.
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
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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.
£16k
£25k
£27k
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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Post-six month graduation stats:
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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:
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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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