Overview
If you work in medicine or allied fields and want to learn more about how illness and wellness are considered in difference cultures, anthropology is an ideal route to greater understanding.
Medical anthropology is the study of cultural beliefs and practices associated with the origin, recognition and management of health and illness in different social and cultural groups.
Brunel was the first university in Europe to establish a master's degree in medical anthropology and since then has continued to develop the course to reflect the changing world in which we live.
The Medical Anthropology MSc will equip you with a broad, general understanding of anthropology and how it might be applied to medical and health-related problems.
You will develop a deeper understanding of how people’s ideas about the world, as well as the structural constraints within which they find themselves, have an impact on their understanding and experience of health, sickness and disease.
You’ll achieve this through close study of key texts in medical anthropology, the original fieldwork experiences of your lecturers, and through designing and undertaking your own research project.
The course will address questions such as:
- How does poverty contribute to the profiles of diseases such as diabetes and tuberculosis?
- Why are some diseases, such as leprosy or AIDS/HIV, feared and stigmatized?
- Why do some biomedical interventions seeking to control infectious and non-infectious diseases work, and others fail?
- What might stop some patients seeking conventional treatments for cancers and other conditions – even when they are offered for free – despite the apparent efficacy of the medicines available?
Students take the opportunity of fieldwork to travel to a wide variety of locations across the world that have included India, Mexico, Bolivia, Papua New Guinea, China, Nepal, Peru, Morocco, and New Zealand as well as in the UK and the rest of Europe.
In additional, Brunel offers an exclusive scholarship to help fund a student’s medical anthropology fieldwork in memory of pioneering Brunel Medical Anthropologist, Professor Cecil Helman (1944-2009).
A 30 month part-time option of the course is also available. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
"What I learned [at Brunel] helped to build a foundation of knowledge upon which I built my business and charity and will go on to create greater things. " - Seffie Wells
"What I learned [at Brunel] helped to build a foundation of knowledge upon which I built my business and charity and will go on to create greater things. " - Seffie Wells
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Course content
The main objectives of the course are to provide a rigorous grounding in key topics and perspectives in medical anthropology, and to equip you with a range of research skills to enable you to complete your research successfully.
Compulsory
- SA5513 - Dissertation in Medical AnthropologyIn this key module you will carry out a major research project on a subject of your choice within medical anthropology using the application of appropriate research methods.
- SA56xB - Ethnographic Research
To introduce students to the methods employed by anthropologists when undertaking ethnographic research and to prepare students for the field research on which their dissertations will be based.
- SA5XXH - Global Health: Critical Perspectives
This module aims to provide a theoretical introduction to the anthropological study of global health. It will provide students with a detailed insight into the ways in which medical anthropology can contribute towards the critique of existing interventions in the field of global health and with a detailed insight into the construction of global; health problems such as plagues and epidemics Finally, it will assess a range of ethnography and theory bearing on issues pertaining to global health, enabling students to bring a comparative perspective to familiar problems.
- SA5602 - Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community SettingsDelve into the contemporary texts that have contributed to the development of medical anthropology as you consider its innovations and how the application of anthropological research in the subject can contribute to improving medical practices.
Optional
- SA2705 - Anthropological Perspectives on War and HumanitarianismIn this subject you will analyse the social and economic consequences of contemporary warfare and the rebuilding war-torn societies from an anthropological perspective and by doing so, understand the different ways anthropological research can enhance the understanding of contemporary warfare.
- SA56xD - Kinship, Sex and Gender
This course introduces students to some of the key social anthropological literature on kinship, gender and sexuality. These include general themes such as universalities and particularities in the construction of gender roles and different theoretical paradigms on gender and sexuality; central concepts and methods that have been developed for the description and analysis of kinship relations; as well as more specific themes such as masculine domination, gay kinship, abortion debates and new reproductive technologies. The course will critically review a range of new directions in these fields while exploring theoretical and ethnographic issues.
- SA5639 - Migration, Citizenship and Identity
This module introduces students to a range of key concepts and theories in the anthropology of ethnicity, culture, nationhood and identity. These classical anthropological themes will be examined through the lens of high-profile contemporary social issues, including migration, citizenship, transnationalism and globalisation, xenophobia and deportation. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from settings across the world, we will explore how categories of identity and belonging are constructed, deployed and contested, and the ways in which they are embedded in broader social, political, legal and economic contexts.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Hundreds of students – doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and other medical professionals among them – can testify to the quality of our programme, having used it either to enhance their professional practice, to change career or to develop their research interests for future studies.
Students will acquire analytical and research skills that can be used in a wide range of careers. In particular the course is ideal for enhancing professional development in fields such as midwifery, general practice, sexual health, psychiatry, nutrition, psychotherapy, public health, non-governmental agencies and international development.
Some of our graduates also go on to do further research for a PhD in medical anthropology.
UK entry requirements
- A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree, or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification in a Humanities, Social Science or Health-related Science with a personal statement demonstrating knowledge of interest in the subject area .
- Applicants with other degrees will be considered on an individual basis.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2026/27 entry
UK
£12,125 full-time
£6,060 part-time
International
£20,400 full-time
£10,200 part-time
N.B. UK and EU applicants: the 30 month part-time course will not be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Assessment is typically by essay or practical assignments (for example, analysis of a short field exercise), and a dissertation of approximately 15,000 words based upon your own fieldwork experience. There are no examinations.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.