Postgraduate Programmes and Research Degrees

Why undertake an Anthropology MSc at Brunel?

Brunel is a pioneer and leader in postgraduate teaching and research. Over twenty years ago we established Europe’s first masters in medical anthropology, led by two founders of the field, Ronnie Frankenberg and Cecil Helman (author of the anthropology textbook most widely used by health professionals worldwide). Since then, Brunel has launched the world’s first masters in the anthropology of childhood and the only masters in psychological and psychiatric anthropology outside the USA. Our graduates have gone on to set up similar programmes in Europe and Africa.

Brunel’s anthropology community is diverse and international. Many of the 50 postgraduates we recruit annually are taking time out for career development; others go on to do PhD research. People working in the health, social or psychological professions, or in development, charity or educational sectors derive enormous intellectual stimulus and a competitive professional advantage from these degrees. As a Brunel postgraduate, you will belong to one of the largest concentrations of researchers in medical anthropology in Europe. We are also expanding our cohorts and research base in the newer anthropology degrees; in 2012, we will launch a unique Masters in the Anthropology of International Development.

We currently offer five Master's level courses in Anthropology:

Anthropology of Childhood, Youth & Education MSc

Learn why the perspectives of the young are vital in understanding their worlds; how childhood and youth differ cross-culturally; how people learn through formal and informal education; and how childhood and youth impact on the adult world and vice versa.

Anthropology of International Development and Humanitarian Assistance MSc

This MSc is for those interested in critically assessing the policies and practices of international development and humanitarian assistance to war-affected regions from an anthropological perspective. While its approach is anthropological, this degree offers genuine multi-disciplinary possibilities by drawing on modules from Politics, Health Sciences, Law and Business.

Medical Anthropology MSc

Learn how health and illness are understood and managed in different societies, how indigenous and informal healing systems work, why biomedical interventions sometimes fail, and how epidemiological perspectives can be enhanced by ethnographic knowledge.

Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology MSc

Is there a human nature underlying cultural difference? How deep does culture go? How is mental illness diagnosed and treated in different societies? This degree provides a grounding in the anthropological understanding of consciousness, emotion, personhood and mental illness in Britain and around the world, giving students a critical and ethnographically-informed perspective on current debates.

Social Anthropology MRes

This degree provides research training and advanced modules in anthropology, either in preparation for a PhD or as a stand-alone Masters. For students without an anthropology background it serves as a conversion course.

What does a Masters entail?

All our degrees (whether full- or part-time) combine intensive coursework, training in research methods, and up to two months’ fieldwork leading to a dissertation. In all cases, the dissertation research project provides valuable experience and in many cases, it leads to job contacts; it often forms a bridge to a future career or time out for career development.

Here are some recent projects:

• Psychological suffering on the borders of Myanmar/Thailand
• Malaria prevention in Laos
• NGOs and youth activism in Trinidad
• Neo-shamanism in Germany
• Outcast London: attitudes and perspectives among hard-to-reach TB patients
• Volunteer tourism and its impact on children in Nepal
• Rap music and politics in Equatorial Guinea
• Ayahuasca use among Westerners in the Amazon
• Religious education in London’s secondary schools
• Mental health in Ghana
• The Tibetan diaspora in India
• Life on a forensic psychiatric ward in Britain
• Gender and sexuality in a hammam in Cairo
• Youth and unemployment in Bari, Italy
• Cultural factors and the experience of dementia in the UK
• Management of diabetes in Cambodia
• Trachoma and medical pluralism in Ethiopia
• The prevention of neglected tropical diseases in East Africa