MA Anthropology of Global Futures and Sustainability
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 3 year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 11,980 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* full-time fees: UK £11,980; Overseas £23,400. Part-time 2 years fees: UK £5,990/year; Overseas £11,700/year. Part-time 3 years fees: UK £3,955/year; Overseas £7,725/year
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time
The MA Anthropology of Global Futures and Sustainability programme focuses on the big challenges of our times, offering students the opportunity to explore, communicate and address the major trends and debates as engaged global citizens. The programme is suited to those who are interested in climate change, sustainability and global equality, and who want to find out how to influence policy and practice in places of power. Climate politics, mass extinction, inequalities, racial injustice and global health crises raise questions about how we currently live our lives and pose crucial questions about how we can build a sustainable future.
The Anthropology of Global Futures and Sustainability MA programme focuses on the big challenges of our times, offering students the opportunity to explore, communicate and address the major trends and debates as engaged global citizens.
It asks fundamental questions about what it is to be human in a complex and ever-changing world, critically questioning existing assumptions and knowledge, and productively thinking about how to envision and create a more just and sustainable world.
Why study MA Global Futures and Sustainability at SOAS
- This is an interdisciplinary MA with an anthropological core drawing on other disciplines.
- Teaching is strongly informed by our regional interests in Africa and Asia, and from professional experiences of working in/with development banks, government departments, NGOs and activist organisations, social businesses and media collectives.
- You will encounter literature raising difficult moral and ethical questions in an academic environment where debate is highly encouraged and prized.
- You can take your own interests into a research project guided by an expert supervisor from our department.
- Our focus on the future and sustainability are areas of growing global concern and significance among private, public and international institutions; our emphasis on skills, communication and methodology give graduates a clear advantage with employers as we put education into practice.
- Overall, this is a unique opportunity within the UK to explore the big issues with a practical focus on communication and change.
- Our Anthropology department is amongst the leading programmes in the UK (ranked #5 in QS World Rankings 2021) and is highly regarded globally (ranked #16 in QS World Rankings 2021).
Explore
Our focus is both on understanding and change.
- To understand: we explore anthropological literature, methodologies and approaches to the future, sustainability and climate change.
- To change: we explore how the world works so we can target our communication, improve the ways in which we speak, write and argue, and develop the tools, approaches and skills to effect change.
- The programme is a key part of the SOAS Department of Anthropology and Sociology’s commitment to economic and social justice, environmental equality and to engage strongly and critically with the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
The programme consists of 180 credits in total: 120 credits of modules and a dissertation of 10,000 words at 60 credits.
This programme is designed to give students practical knowledge and tools for tackling climate change and helping to create a sustainable future. A mix of seminars, lectures, workshops and practical sessions will form the teaching of the programme. Assessment will be conducted through a combination of essays, reflective pieces, practical exercises (such as methodological experiments), presentations in writing and other media and reports.
There are five core elements:
- Sustainability
The big challenges in development and future thinking (environmental movements, humanitarianism, economic alternatives, refugees, racism, pandemics). - Climate change
A focused examination of theory, institutions and knowledge. - Ethnographic research methods
The theory and practice of excellent anthropological research. - How to change things
How to present and target research in the world. You will also receive direct instruction from experts, including engaged anthropologists, activists and artists, on our flagship engaged anthropology module. This includes practical training in how to lobby governments for change, how to produce media for a range of audiences, how to engage with and advocate for communities, and how to effect positive change towards the ends of social justice. - Dissertation
Opportunity to research, produce and present an original project based on the themes of the programme.
Modules
As well as the programme’s core modules, students will also be able to choose other modules offered in the department, such as Anthropology of Food and Migration and Diaspora, among many others. In addition, module options from departments across SOAS, including a range of languages and other disciplines, will be available, allowing students to tailor their MA to their skills and interests.
Compulsory Modules
- Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology
- Ethnographic Research Methods
- Anthropology of Sustainability: Global Challenges and Alternative Futures
- Issues in Anthropology and Climate Change
- How to Change Things
Dissertation
Students must complete a Dissertation (10,000 words) worth 60 credits.
- Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology
Learn a language as part of this programme
Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language that sets SOAS apart from other universities.
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Career Opportunities
The Department of Anthropology and Sociology provides innovative and challenging teaching that develops students' understanding of the interplay of social, economic, cultural, political and interpersonal phenomena around the world. Anthropological methods and modes of analysis are desired by a wide range of employers today, as our discipline trains students to make sense of complex factors that contribute to human behaviour at the individual, collective, and societal levels. As well as detailed subject knowledge, graduates are equipped with a portfolio of transferable skills including qualitative research and analysis, written and oral communication, and planning and organisation, along with the ability to work in teams.
Former Anthropology and Sociology students have gone on to employment in a range of professional roles in business and public sectors, as well as continuing in the field of research either at SOAS or other institutions.
Example employers include:
- Action Against Hunger
- Amnesty International
- Department for International Development
- Dublin Institute Technology
- Etihad Airways
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- London International Development Centre (LIDC)
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- Somali Embassy
- Stroz Freidberg
- UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
- Westat
Example occupations include:
- Advocacy Intern
- Analyst
- Cultural Development Leader
- Education Champions Co-Ordinator
- Food Events Co-Ordinator
- Media Reform Programme Adviser
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Officer
- Programme Manager for Humanitarian Research
- Project Manager
- Research Assistant
Student Testimonials
English Language Requirements
Certify your English proficiency with the Duolingo English Test! The DET is a convenient, fast, and affordable online English test accepted by over 4,000 universities (like this one) around the world.