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Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc

London, Stratford (UCL East)

Want to learn how to use anthropological skills to solve real world problems? Studying Anthropology and Professional Practice will give you hands-on, research-led anthropological training. This flexible degree will develop your professional outlook and teach you to apply anthropological perspectives and insights in diverse professional fields. You will design, pitch and execute your own projects and learn how to use anthropology to make a difference to the organisations you go onto work in.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£18,400
£9,200
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£33,000
£16,500
Duration
1 calendar year
2 academic years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

An upper second-class Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

Applicants with a lower second-class Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard and a minimum of two years’ work experience may also be considered.

We are keen to attract applicants from the broadest backgrounds and, therefore, do not limit the entry requirement to a specific range of disciplines. The criteria for entry will be at the discretion of the Programme Lead based on an overview of your professional experience, your justification for study in the personal statement, and the award and subject of your undergraduate degree.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Designed to drastically enhance your skill set and professional profile, this degree is unique in the UK in training students to use anthropological concepts and methods in an array of professional settings. You will explore and demonstrate the relevance of anthropological perspectives and insights to real-world problems and professional challenges.

The Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc will give you comprehensive training in social and cultural anthropology with a specific focus on its relevance to professional practice in contemporary society.

You will develop your professional outlook and skill set through hands-on research-led anthropological training, enabling you to apply anthropological perspectives and insights in fields including social research, user experience research, ethnographic consultancy and design research, as well as the creative industries, policy making, think-tanks and social enterprise.

You will join a world-leading research community and benefit from research-embedded teaching, in addition to mentorship from industry experts.

You will specialise in the elements of anthropology that interest you most, choosing from a range of optional modules to enhance your learning experience, and graduate equipped with the latest knowledge and insights in the field.

You will study at the top university in London, and 4th in the world, for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024) and The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2024. 

You will study in a warm and welcoming department that is also one of the largest and broadest anthropology departments in the UK, which researches and teaches across five sub-sections and which continually works to expand and reshape the discipline.

Who this course is for

The Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc is suited to both those in employment seeking continuing professional development by adding anthropological perspectives and skills to their toolkit, and students who wish to specialise in applying anthropological concepts and skills in professional practice.

The degree is well suited to working professionals who wish to study part-time over two years.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc is taught by a team of world-leading experts with direct experience of adapting anthropological ways of thinking and problem-solving in diverse professional settings. Building a bridge between academic anthropology and diverse industry settings, you will benefit from unparalleled opportunities to apply your insights and skills in ways that enhance your career goals.

While a number of the degree's modules will be delivered at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, the programme's home is UCL East, UCL’s exciting new campus at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is devoted to inter-disciplinary teaching and community- and industry-facing research.

You will receive year-long support in developing your own career aspirations. Focused unremittingly on our students’ employability, the degree offers bespoke support for in situ workplace research, providing students with regular input as well as individual mentorship from relevant industry experts.

Students also develop demonstrable practical competencies including complex problem solving and creative initiative, effective and succinct oral and written communication, including the ability to interpret and present complex data to diverse audiences, independent and team working, leadership and time and project management.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc graduates will be equipped to pursue a range of careers, including:

  • Consultancy
  • Design research
  • Ethnographic and visual research in both academic and commercial settings
  • Marketing and communications
  • Media and journalism, including TV, radio and publishing
  • Policy and advocacy in governmental, non-governmental (NGOs) and intergovernmental (IGOs) organisations
  • Social and market research
  • Social enterprise
  • User experience research

A number of our graduates choose to progress to PhD-level study (Graduate Outcomes survey 2017-2022).

Employability

There is growing demand in diverse professional fields for critically trained anthropologists, with advanced research skills increasingly relevant in non-academic contexts.

You will graduate an expert in applying anthropological concepts and methods to professional practice challenges, fully equipped to pursue a successful career in any professional setting requiring strong project management, problem-solving and communication skills. 

You will be able to solve problems and issues, and to build positive working relationships. This means you will be a good team player, who can manage and delegate to others and take on responsibility.

Through your independent research project, you will develop skills highly sought after by employers, including data analysis and interpretation and the communication of complex ideas. These will also prepare you for PhD level study should you wish to pursue it.

Students also receive training in industry-specific presentation and research skills, including research design and implementation, ethics, practical approaches to quantitative and qualitative data synthesis, collection and analysis, including ethnographic studies and behavioural observation techniques, critical evaluation and academic writing and publishing.

Networking

You will become part of the department's Social Anthropology section, learning from and networking with leading internal and external researchers through a weekly research seminar series.

Students are also encouraged to attend the following events:

  • Reading and Research Groups (RRGs), which are open spaces to exchange ideas on themes of mutual interest and welcome staff and student participation from across UCL and our neighbouring institutions.
  • Events hosted by the broader anthropology, society and professional communities at UCL, our neighbouring institutions and across London more widely, including attending and participating in seminars, conferences, exhibitions and research partnership opportunities to help you establish industry connections and extend your professional networks.
  • You will be encouraged to engage with the department’s active careers support activities and initiatives, which include regular career development seminars, networking events and an Employability Workshop in term two, in which industry partners participate.


The department's central London location presents a range of opportunities to work, volunteer and carry out fieldwork in major government, business and third sector organisations, and you will benefit from cultural and educational connections with our East Bank partners, including the V&A and BBC.

The department also houses London's global non-fiction film festival, Open City Documentary Festival, which all students are invited to volunteer to support to network with non-fiction film industry leading professionals.

Teaching and learning

The degree fosters a strong sense of cohort through tight-knit seminar teaching throughout the year, involving collaborative teamwork and hands on project design and execution. Teaching involves regular guest lectures by industry experts, who also act as individual student mentors. For your final project, you will receive specialist individual supervision.

The Anthropology and Professional Practice MSc goes beyond traditional forms of academic assessment (e.g. essays) and includes visual and oral presentations, industry pitches and reports, blogs, videos and podcasts, giving you ample opportunity to practice and receive academic and peer feedback.

Term one

In term one, contact hours typically amount to 6-8 hours a week in seminars and one-to-one tutorials. You will be expected to spend approximately 25-50 hours per week reading and preparing assignments.

Term two

In term one, contact hours typically amount to 6-8 hours a week in seminars and one-to-one tutorials. You will be expected to spend approximately 25-50 hours per week reading and preparing assignments.

Term three

In term three, you will work on your final project, which may involve 4-8 weeks of fieldwork.

Modules

The programme is for students of diverse academic and professional backgrounds and does not require prior training in anthropology. It consists of three elements:

Compulsory modules

This includes the introductory module Thinking Like an Anthropologist, relating core anthropological concepts and methods to students’ own real-life experiences; Method in Ethnography, providing hands-on methods training; Theory, Ethnography, and Professional Practice, allowing you to apply anthropology to professional fields of your choice; and Everyday Ethics in Enterprise, exploring the ethics of industry-based research.

Optional modules

Students can choose two modules from a curated list of practice-related options taught by world-leading anthropologists.

Final project

In term 3 you will develop your own desk- or fieldwork-based project.

The majority of compulsory modules will be taught at UCL East, our exciting new campus on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which is dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching, and community- and industry-facing research. You will also experience our historic Bloomsbury campus, where the compulsory Method in Ethnography module will be delivered. You will be able to select from a range of optional modules based at Bloomsbury and UCL East.

Part-time students will typically complete their compulsory modules and two optional modules in their first year of studies, and then devote their second year to their final project. There is flexibility, however, and part-time students can choose to do one or both optional modules in their second year.

Compulsory modules







Optional modules





Anthropology of Capitalisms








Migration and Health

Current Themes in Material, Visual, Digital and Design Anthropology: Smart Phones





Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Anthropology and Professional Practice.

Fieldwork

You will spend the summer term researching and producing your final project, for which you may choose to conduct self-funded ethnographic fieldwork in a professional organisation in the UK or abroad.

The scope and nature of fieldwork is formulated in discussion with your appointed supervisor and, where relevant and useful, can be supported by a relevant industry-based mentor.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £18,400 £9,200
Tuition fees (2025/26) £33,000 £16,500

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students can choose to conduct ethnographic, archival and/or library-based research, with many students taking the opportunity to do fieldwork-based projects in the UK or abroad. This can entail additional costs, including travel, accommodation and living costs, which students must cover themselves.

As this programme is based at the UCL East campus in Stratford, students choosing to take an optional module only available at the Bloomsbury campus will need to fund their own travel between campuses. Tickets from zone 2 to zone 1 costs £8.50 for students or a travel card zone 1-4 for £15.90.

There are a number of small to moderate grants available from funding organisations both within UCL and further afield. In recent years, our students have received fieldwork funding from the department’s Turing Scheme and Anna Sturm Law Travel Prize.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

UCL East Scholarship

The scholarship works to support the ambitions of east Londoners by funding the fees and living costs of eligible Master's programmes including this MSc at UCL. For further details, please visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships/ucl-east-london-scholarship.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Aziz Foundation Scholarships in Social and Historical Sciences

Value: Full tuition fees (equivalent to 1yr full-time) (1 year)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

UCL East London Scholarship

Deadline: 26 June 2025
Value: Tuition fees plus £16,000 stipend ()
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

• why you want to study Anthropology and Professional Practice at graduate level
• why you want to study Anthropology and Professional Practice at UCL
• how your personal, academic and professional skills and experience inform your interest in, and will enable you to succeed on, this MSc programme
• where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Anthropology
Anthropology

anthro-masters@ucl.ac.uk

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