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Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£16,800

£8,400

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£35,400

£17,700

Duration

1 calendar year

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in an anthropology- or evolution-related discipline, including from social and life sciences, from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. These disciplines include, but are not restricted to, Anthropology, Archaeology, Human Sciences, Biology, Zoology, Genetics and Natural Sciences. We welcome applicants who have studied other subjects, including Psychology and Economics, and have a strong interest in evolutionary theory.

The English language level for this course 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

The Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc will teach you the research and analytical skills essential to understanding human and primate evolution, behaviour, ecology and social systems, and the contributions of evolutionary medicine to public health.

You will specialise in the elements of evolutionary anthropology that interest you most, choosing from a range of optional modules to build a personalised learning path. Designed to enhance your professional profile, you will develop highly sought-after transferable skills (such as data analysis and interpretation, and the communication of complex ideas) and subject-specific skills (such as measuring skeletal remains and generating human and non-human primate behavioural data through observation). These skills and knowledge will also prepare you for PhD level study, should you wish to pursue it.

You will join a world-leading research community and benefit from research-embedded teaching in human and primate behavioural ecology, primatology and palaeoanthropology, graduating equipped with the latest knowledge and insights in evolutionary anthropology.

You will study at the top university in London, and 4th in the world, for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025), joining a warm and welcoming department that is continually working to expand and reshape the discipline.

Who this course is for

The Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc is best suited to students looking to gain a qualification and training in evolutionary anthropology as a foundation for professional practice or doctoral research, or for graduates from other fields or careers looking to supplement their existing knowledge and experience.

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

You will receive advanced academic training in the fundamentals of scientific inquiry, including independent research design and implementation, ethical considerations, practical approaches to quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (such as comparative anatomical studies, behavioural observation techniques in humans and non-human primates, and statistics), critical evaluation of research, and interpreting and presenting complex data.

You will also develop demonstrable practical competencies transferable to any profession, including complex problem solving and creative initiative, effective written and oral communication, independent and team working, and time and project management.

"I got to learn how to use 3D scanners, 3D printers and different softwares specific to paleoanthropology, and being in the lab with PhD students and members of staff has been a really great learning opportunity."

Amy Drennan, Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc, 2021-22

“The HEB program has been fantastic—what stood out most were the small, engaging seminars and the chance to work closely with leading researchers. It’s been a uniquely immersive and rewarding experience.”

Evan Gurkin, Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc, 2024-25

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

The foundation of your career

Human Evolution and Behaviour MSc graduates work in a diverse range of industry sectors including:

Health & social care
Teaching & other educational activities
Accountancy & financial services
Policy & government
Scientific research, development & analysis
Academic research and HE
IT, technology & telecommunications

Many also pursue further academic study.

(Graduate Outcomes Surveys carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 2017-2022).

Employability

There is growing demand in diverse professional fields for rigorously trained anthropologists with advanced research skills that can be translated into non-academic contexts.

You will graduate an expert in applying evolutionary anthropological and wider scientific approaches to real-world challenges, equipped to pursue careers in fields related to human behavioural ecology, primatology, palaeoanthropology, evolutionary medicine and public health, or any profession requiring strong project management, problem-solving and communication skills.

The two core modules in research methods and advanced methods will prepare you for employment involving data synthesis, analysis or presentation, providing widely sought-after skills in data management, statistical analysis, interpretation and critical evaluation of results and published research, and written and visual communication of quantitative data and results.

Networking

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

In addition to attending seminars in evolutionary anthropology, you will be encouraged to attend complementary departmental seminars given by active researchers and expert creative practitioners in environmental, medical, public and social anthropology and material, visual and digital culture throughout your studies.

You will benefit from established links with institutions including the Zoological Society of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

All students are encouraged to host and/or participate in a Reading and Research Group (RRG), 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.

You will be encouraged to take advantage of the broader evolutionary anthropology 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 and networking events.

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.

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

Teaching and learning

You will learn through lectures, interactive seminars involving critical discussion, collaborative exercises including group presentations, practical laboratory work and independent directed and self-directed reading.

While researching and writing your dissertation, you will benefit from one-to-one academic supervision.

You will be assessed through a series of formative (exercises for which you will receive feedback but that do not count toward the degree) and summative exercises (exercises for which you will receive feedback and that do count toward the degree), including essays, lab books, practical tests, presentations, take-home exercises and your dissertation.

Typical contact hours vary between 8-12 hours per week, depending on the chosen modules. The two compulsory modules typically amount to 18 contact hours overall (weekly 2-hour seminars or practical sessions). The optional 15 credit modules typically amount to 18-36 contact hours overall (which include 2-hour seminars and, in some modules, additional lectures or practical sessions), but will vary according to module selection. Dissertation supervision typically amounts to 20 hours, including group sessions.

During teaching weeks, all students are also required to attend the Evolutionary Anthropology research seminars (2 hours per week), when researchers from other universities are invited to present their recent work in topics related to the programme.

A further 12-30 hours per week is expected to be spent on independent study, which typically includes reading, revision work, proposed formative activities, preparing for class and dissertation work.

Modules

For full-time students, the degree will comprise:

a compulsory module in Research Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology (Term 1)
a compulsory module in Advanced Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology (Term 2)
a compulsory dissertation (Term 3)
four optional modules, including at least three options from List A (below) and the option to select one external module from other programmes and departments
attendance at the research seminars in evolutionary anthropology

List A modules:

Palaeoanthropology
Primate Anatomy, Evolution and Environments
Human Behavioural Ecology
Primate Behaviour and Ecology
Evolutionary Medicine
Skills in Field Primatology

If you are a part-time student, the compulsory modules Research Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology and Advanced Research Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology are provided in year 1, while the dissertation is written in year 2. The optional modules are distributed across both years. Attendance at the research seminars in evolutionary anthropology is compulsory in both years.

Compulsory modules

Research Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology

Advanced Methods in Evolutionary Anthropology

Dissertation

Optional modules

Palaeoanthropology

Primate Anatomy, Evolution and Environments

Human Behavioural Ecology

Primate Behaviour and Ecology

Evolutionary Medicine

Skills in Field Primatology

Prehistoric Stone Artefact Analysis

Dispersals, extinctions, and intensification in the later Palaeolithic

The Archaeology of Early Human Origins

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 Human Evolution and Behaviour.

Fieldwork

You will spend the summer term researching and writing your dissertation, for which you can choose to conduct field-, museum-, lab-, or desk-based original research, with some students choosing to undertake self-funded fieldwork-based projects in the UK or abroad.

The scope and nature of fieldwork is formulated in discussion with your appointed supervisor, and subject to departmental approval. Faculty have active field projects and may be able to facilitate research opportunities in local and global field sites including Namibia, Tanzania, Congo and Japan.

The optional module Skills in Field Primatology is fieldwork-based and consists in two weeks of learning in Western Tanzania, East Africa, during the summer. All essential costs for travel, accommodation and maintenance during this field course are covered by the university.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£16,800	£8,400
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£35,400	£17,700

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, 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.

As this programme is based at the Bloomsbury campus, students choosing to take an optional module only available at the UCL East campus in Stratford will need to fund their own travel between campuses. (£8.90 with a zone one to two travelcard.)

The choice to take a fieldwork-based approach to research is optional and can entail additional costs, including travel, accommodation and living costs, which students must cover themselves. These costs can vary greatly, depending on the location and duration of fieldwork.

There are a number of small to moderate competitive grants available from funding organisations both within UCL and further afield that can help cover these costs. In recent years, some of our students have received fieldwork funding from the department’s Turing Scheme.

For in-person teaching, 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 £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. 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

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

CLOSED FOR 25/26 ENTRY

Value: Tuition fees plus £16,000 stipend ()

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course 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 Human Evolution and Behaviour at graduate level
• why you want to study Human Evolution and Behaviour 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 courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.