MPhil in Social Anthropology
About the course
Social anthropology considers people, through and through, as social beings. Everything that all of us do, in whatever society or culture at whatever period of history, rests on assumptions, which usually are not stated but which are largely shared with our particular neighbours, kin, friends, or colleagues.
Everything social is open to question, including solidly held beliefs and attitudes and ideas about causality, the self in society, and nature and culture. Learning to relate different versions of the world to each other is learning to be a Social Anthropologist and is what we hope you will learn over the course of your degree.
The MPhil in Social Anthropology aims to provide a solid background in analytical and methodological issues as they apply to social anthropology and allows you to develop an extended research project, which may involve fieldwork. It is intended both as a standalone degree and as a broader and deeper preparation for Doctoral research than is possible with the MSc in Social Anthropology.
Course structure
First year
During your first year you will critically read key intellectual contributions to the discipline and you will be introduced to ethnographic methods and experiences of living among, and writing about, people. You will learn how to comparatively study what makes humans simultaneously similar and yet different. You will follow core courses in social anthropology as well as choosing an option course from a range offered within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You may also consider doing fieldwork over the summer in preparation for your MPhil thesis if appropriate (and the School approves).
Teaching is by a mixture of lectures, where you will be listening to a specialist in the topic, classes, where you will be presenting and discussing texts in small groups (eight to nine students), and tutorials, where, in small groups of three or four, you will be exploring with one another and with the tutor issues and ideas raised in your own essays and other work on the topic they have assigned; the tutor will also provide written feedback on the essays.
In your first year you should expect to spend six to eight hours per week in term time in formal teaching contexts (lectures, seminar groups, tutorials, classes), which can be supplemented with attendance of the many research and visiting speaker seminars on offer; the remainder of your time (ie around 30 hours per week) should be spent on independent study and preparation of submitted work.
Second year
During your second year you will take a further specialist option course from the range on offer within the school, you will take your choice of two research methods training modules, and you will research and write your MPhil thesis.
In your second year you will focus principally on research and writing for your thesis so the emphasis is on independent study, but you will still be expected to spend three to four hours per week in term time in formal teaching contexts, including a writing-up seminar and field research training, as well as regular meetings with your thesis supervisor, again supplemented by attendance of research seminars and lectures as you choose.
Methods and skills training are offered through the school and sometimes through other institutions as well. A programme of research seminars is available, some of which feature invited speakers from outside the university. The principal event in this programme is the departmental seminar, run weekly during term time.
Attendance
The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.
The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography takes the view that full-time degrees require full-time study (ie equivalent to typical employment, around 40 hours per week, throughout the year). The periods outside term time are considered to be opportunities for further independent study, consolidating and supplementing the knowledge gained during the preceding term and preparing work for examination, as well as for an appropriate break from study.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.
Workspaces are available in the school on a first-come, first-served basis. Laboratory and other dedicated workspaces and equipment for methods teaching will be provided where required. All students receive an email account.
The Pitt Rivers Museum has its own library, the Balfour Library. The Pitt Rivers Museum also has an online catalogue of its entire collections and a number of dedicated collections-based and research-related websites.
A student-run society, the Oxford University Anthropology Society, runs coffee mornings, talks and other social and academic events throughout the year. Seminars, especially those involving outside speakers, often proceed to local pubs or restaurants after the talk.
Supervision
You will receive all or most of your academic supervision in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You will have a named supervisor, who will have overall responsibility for the direction of your work from inception to submission.
You will receive supervisory guidance in carrying out your research and writing, developing your skills and qualities as an independent researcher. Students will normally meet with their supervisor at least twice per term, but are likely to do so more often than this as their supervisor is typically also involved in their class teaching; students may also contact their supervisor at other times.
The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography.
Assessment
First year
In the second term you will be examined on one core paper. During the third term you will be examined on one core paper and two option papers. These assessments will usually take the form of an essay or timed written exam. The examination of these papers in the first year constitutes the ‘qualifying’ examination for continuation to the second year.
Second year
The second year examinations consists of an option paper and a general essay, and the MPhil thesis is completed in the third term. You will receive support from your tutors in devising a viable thesis project, including discussion of relevant literature, questions of methodology and research implementation.
Graduate destinations
Research and teaching, though this often requires a doctorate, recruitment to public bodies, the larger private companies, development agencies, NGOs etc.
Changes to this course and your supervision
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26
Proven and potential academic excellence
The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying.
Degree-level qualifications
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
- a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline.
Under the UK system, applicants should have a minimum of 65% in at least one prior degree.
For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.6 out of 4.0. However, selection of candidates also depends on other factors in your application and most successful applicants have achieved higher GPA scores.
If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.
GRE General Test scores
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
Publications are not expected of applicants.
Further guidance
The conditions for applicants to proceed from an Oxford master's degree to a doctorate are:
- a viable project
- agreed supervision
- an overall mark of at least 67% in an Oxford anthropology master's degree
- the agreement of the School of Anthropology as a whole.
This degree involves the close analysis of published sources as well as verbal and written critical reflections in the form of oral presentations, essays and exam answers. It is therefore essential to your chance of successfully completing the program that you meet these higher-level English language requirements as stipulated by the University.
English language proficiency
This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.
| Test | Minimum overall score | Minimum score per component |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.5 | 7.0 |
TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 110 | Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24 |
| C1 Advanced* | 191 | 185 |
| C2 Proficiency† | 191 | 185 |
*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
†Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.
Declaring extenuating circumstances
If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.
References
You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Performance at interview
Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process.
Offer conditions for successful applications
If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions.
In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.
Disclosure of criminal convictions
In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.
Other factors governing whether places can be offered
The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the About section of this page;
- the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
- minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.
Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography is the largest anthropology department in the UK. It tackles real world problems through its uniquely wide-ranging approach. It produces internationally recognised research and teaches on challenging issues. At its heart, is an ethos of openness and tolerance that guides its work.
In 2024, the school was ranked first in the QS World University Subject Rankings for Anthropology for the third consecutive year.
The research units that make up the school carry out cutting edge, impactful research and its close ties to The Pitt Rivers Museum, one of the world’s great ethnographic collections, allows for unique teaching and learning opportunities. Together the school and its research units take an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to anthropological research and teaching.
The school embraces the expansive nature of anthropological research methods and the need for ‘undisciplined scholarship’ (Rayner) in understanding the manifold complexities of human beings in the world. Its work ranges from global comparative approaches to locally-focused ethnographic studies and includes the study of humans and other primates across deep time and space. Many large, multi- and interdisciplinary programmes at the University of Oxford are led by, or involve, anthropologists, bringing anthropology to bear on pressing global challenges such as migration, global health, decolonising heritage and museums, and the study of the evolutionary and cultural logics of social cohesion.
Home to over forty academic staff, a hundred plus doctoral students, providing both master’s programmes and undergraduate degrees, the school is divided into a number of constituent parts:
- The Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (ISCA) is a world leading centre for anthropological teaching and research. This is complemented by its close relationship with the Pitt Rivers Museum, one of the world's great ethnographic collections.
- The Institute of Human Sciences (IHS) offers the opportunity for deep engagement across biological and social sciences through their innovative, interdisciplinary degree course and research.
- The Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (InSIS) researches and informs key contemporary and emerging issues and processes of of social, scientific and technological change.
- The Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) conducts high quality research, develops theory and facilitates knowledge exchange in the field of migration.
- The Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion (CSSC) conducts research on the causes and consequences of social cohesion – the bonds that hold groups together, from families and gangs to nations and world religions.
Funding
For entry in the 2025-26 academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.
If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application. There are further Oxford scholarships available which have additional eligibility criteria and where you are required to submit a separate application. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential.
To ensure that you are considered for Oxford scholarships that require a separate application, for which you may be eligible, use our fees, funding and scholarship search tool to identify these opportunities and find out how to apply. Alongside Oxford scholarships, you should also consider other opportunities for which you may be eligible including a range of external funding, loan schemes for postgraduate study and any other scholarships which may also still be available after the January deadline as listed on our fees, funding and scholarship search tool.
Details of college-specific funding opportunities can also be found on individual college websites:
Please refer to the College preference section of this page to identify which of the colleges listed above accept students for this course.
For the majority of college scholarships, it doesn’t matter which college, if any, you state a preference for in your application. If another college is able to offer you a scholarship, your application can be moved to that college if you accept the scholarship. Some college scholarships may require you to state a preference for that college when you apply, so check the eligibility requirements carefully.
Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the school's website.
Costs
Annual fees for entry in 2025-26
Information about course fees
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.
Where can I find further information about fees?
The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
Additional information
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
The following colleges accept students on the MPhil in Social Anthropology:
Before you apply
Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance. Check the deadlines on this page and the information about deadlines and when to apply in our Application Guide.
Application fee waivers
An application fee of £75 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
- applicants from low-income countries;
- refugees and displaced persons;
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and
- applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.
You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?
You do not need to make contact with the department before you apply but you are encouraged to visit the relevant departmental webpages to read any further information about your chosen course.
Completing your application
You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application.
If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.
Referees:
Three overall, academic preferred
Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.
Ideally, academic letters of reference should be provided. Only if one or more such letters cannot be provided should professional reference(s) be supplied instead.
Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, and motivation.
Official transcript(s)
Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.
More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.
Personal statement:
A minimum of 1,000 words up to a maximum of 1,500 words
Your statement should be written in English and explain your motivation for applying for the course at Oxford, your relevant experience and education, and the specific areas that interest you and/or that you intend to specialise in.
This will be assessed for your reasons for applying, expectations of the degree, prior academic background and interests.
If you know that you intend to pursue a DPhil within the department via a MSc + DPhil (1+3-year) route or MPhil + DPhil (2+2-year) route, please indicate and elaborate on this in your statement as this will facilitate your consideration for 1+3-year funding awards at the time of application. For this purpose your statement may be up to 2,000 words in length and should include a proposal outlining your intended doctoral research.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
If you are not yet clear about whether you wish to pursue DPhil research in the future, this will not affect your likelihood of securing a place on a graduate course, or of securing DPhil funding at a later date. If you subsequently apply to continue to study for a DPhil after an MPhil or MSc you will be considered again for award competitions at that time.
Written work:
Two essays, a maximum of 2,000 words each
Applicants should submit written work in English. The items may be separate extracts from a longer work like a taught-course thesis.
Submitted written work need not be in anthropology but may be in any discipline. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
This will be assessed for comprehensive understanding of the subject area; understanding of problems in the area; ability to construct and defend an argument; powers of analysis; and powers of expression.
Start or continue your application
You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.
After you've submitted your application
Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.
Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.