The full-time course runs for a full year, from October to September. Full-time students attend classes between October and December (Michaelmas Term) and January and March (Epiphany), with further assessment in April and May (Easter Term), and then work, under the supervision of a specialist supervisor, to complete your dissertation by September. Core modules introduce the Anthropology of Global Health and Public Health Anthropology and anthropological methods. You can choose to focus on qualitative or quantitative methods or to train in both.
The course is delivered through a mixture of interactive lectures, seminars, practical sessions and workshops, in addition to one-to-one dissertation supervision. Typically, lectures deliver key information on progressively more advanced themes and topics. Seminars provide an opportunity to reflect in more depth upon material delivered in lectures and gathered from independent study outside the course formal contact hours. They give you an opportunity to engage with academic issues at the cutting-edge of research in Anthropology, in a learning environment focused on discussion and debate of current issues.
Full-time students have on average 6-8 hours of formal teaching and learning contact per week, and you are also expected to attend weekly departmental and Anthropology of Health Research Group research seminars, often given by prominent visiting speakers. You also have the opportunity to present your work at the Department’s annual postgraduate conference, and to join activities with other universities, such as our annual advanced medical anthropology workshop with the University of Edinburgh. Outside timetabled contact hours, you are expected to devote significant amounts of time to reading, discussing and preparing for classes, assignments and project work.
Throughout the course, all students meet fortnightly with their degree tutor, who provides academic support and guidance. Furthermore, all members of teaching staff have weekly office hours when they are available to meet with you on a ‘drop-in’ basis, or can be e-mailed to arrange a mutually agreeable time. You will work closely with leading academics to develop an original piece of research for your dissertation, and guidance on your dissertation is also provided by the dissertation leader. Before the academic year starts, we provide information on preparing for the course. On arrival, we have induction sessions, including a field trip and social events, headed by the Director of Postgraduate Studies and the degree tutor for Medical Anthropology. You can also attend an introduction to our departmental research groups, including the Anthropology of Health Research Group.
