Take your knowledge of culture and society to the next level and equip yourself with a big range of practical and analytical skills for a changing world with our Anthropology and Sociology BSc.

Anthropology is concerned with contemporary issues such as multiculturalism, identity politics, racism and ethnic nationalism, changing forms of the family, religious conflict, gender, and the political role of culture. It also addresses fundamental questions about human nature, such as: ‘What do we have in common with each other cross-culturally?’ and ‘What makes us different?’

Sociology, its sister subject, looks at the foundations of social life and the big issues in contemporary society such as inequality, racism, globalisation, and migration.

In particular, your sociology studies at Brunel will be closely related to the central and ever-increasing importance of the communications media in our culture, for example, how poverty is portrayed and the powerful influence of celebrity.

Brunel is a great choice for this combined study with lecturers from both subjects producing cutting edge research alongside their teaching, on both global issues and local problems.

This research expertise filters down into what you will learn. In anthropology students have learnt about youth and motorcycles in Rwanda, and in sociology, about cosmetic tourism.

Choose this course and you can do fieldwork on any subject, anywhere in the world, whether it’s learning about refugees in Athens or mother and toddler groups in inner London.

Around half of Brunel anthropology students carry out a placement or fieldwork abroad, in places as wide ranging as India, Nepal, Australia, South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica.

Recent UK placement destinations include the Royal Anthropological Institute, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, Amnesty International and the Department of Health. The placement year costs £1,385.

Entry Requirements

Are you eligible to apply?

Course Content

Your first year will be an introduction to academic studies in social science, including an introduction to key theoretical issues as well as practical training in research methods, such as interviewing and participant observation.

In your second year, anthropology modules cover the history and theory of anthropology, and current issues in the fields of ethnicity, gender, religion and kinship. Sociology topics include sociological theory, methods and contemporary social institutions.

In your final year, you can choose your own modules from a wide range of advanced options from both disciplines, alongside your own dissertation research project.

Teaching and Learning

You will be taught by an internationally respected team of sociologists and anthropologists who have conducted research and fieldwork across the globe, on topics like religion, identity, witchcraft, disability, memory, nationalism, political violence, social hierarchies, race, ethnicity, and ecology.

Like most social science subjects, the course is taught through a mixture of lectures and small discussion groups or seminars. For each module, you will usually attend one lecture and one seminar every week.

Uniquely for a UK university, studying anthropology at Brunel will always mean applying what you have read to what you discover in real-life situations with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork experience anywhere in the world.

Year 1

Introduction to Anthropology: Themes

Introduction to Anthropology: Beliefs and Ways of Thinking

Research Methods in Anthropology

Anthropology, Objects and Images

Key Ideas in Sociology

Contemporary Society and Media

Year 2

Political and Economic Issues in Anthropology
Visual Cultures
Classical Anthropological Theory
Sociology of Everyday Life: Issues in Contemporary Culture
Global Communication

Optional Modules:
Ethnicity, Culture and Identity
Ethnography of a Selected Region

Placement Year

Year 4

Core Modules:
Social Anthropology and Sociology Dissertation (40 credits) Core: Block

Optional Modules:
Anthropology of the Person
Anthropology of the Body
Understanding Childhood and Youth
Themes in Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology
Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings
Anthropology of Education and Learning
Contemporary Anthropological Theory
Ethnography of a Selected Region 1
Ethnography of a Selected Region 2
Anthropological Perspectives on War and Humanitarianism
Critical Perspectives on International Development
Global Health in Anthropological Perspective
Comedy, the Media and Society
Racism, Identity and Difference
Digital Cultures
Global Cities: Spaces and Culture
Beyond Human

Careers

As a graduate of a three year anthropology and sociology degree, your research and fieldwork experience, which forms such a major part of our degree course, will help to set you apart from other graduates.

These placements build up fantastic experience and can connect you with organisations and people who will be invaluable when it comes to progressing your career.

Brunel graduates have gone on to work at the World Bank, UNICEF, the NHS, NGOs and charities such as Oxfam and Save the Children, as well as local government, legal sectors and the media.

Graduates have also gone on to work as:

teachers
journalists and research officers in the health and social sectors, and in other professions requiring knowledge of social and cultural processes

Others go on to pursue further research degrees in anthropology and become: