Compare 14 Masters of Science in Anthropology

The world has undergone profound social, economic and cultural changes in the last two decades beginning with the collapse of the global bipolar divide of the post- World War II era. These changes are taking place at all levels whether these be at local, national or transnational. The Master of Science in Anthropology will aim at training students to study and interpret these phenomena from a scientific perspective by being methodical, critical and comparative.

The Masters level takes candidates to more advanced studies in the specific various area. This will facilitate the production of conceptual works of theory and research which tie advanced theories with practice in the various domains of professional specialization. This means that the Master's degree is a combined academic and professional degree of specialization which combines academic theory and research with professional hands-on experiential training and learning.... [-]

The Department of Anthropology offers graduate study leading to a Master of Science (MS) degree in biomedical anthropology. This is a course-based professional degree in an emerging sub-disciplinary area within biological anthropology. The program emphasizes an evolutionary and cultural approach to understanding disease and public health. A diverse range of courses trains students to recognize historical patterns and current events and allows students to study across disciplines. Prospective students should explore faculty research areas to see if interests align.

A professional science master’s certificate in biomedical anthropology is also available for graduate students who are interested in developing practical training and skills that will help foster success in the workplace. The curriculum consists an additional 13 credits in professional skills courses that move beyond the training of a traditional master’s degree.... [-]

For students who wish to conduct research that has an applied character aimed at solving problems or contributing understanding where this is directly needed, we offer the possibility to specialize in Applied Anthropology. In this kind of research, the methods and theories of anthropological research are used to provide insights and suggestions to practical problems with which non-anthropological parties such as governments, companies, NGOs or other organizations are confronted. Students carry out research in collaboration with such organizations. As part of answering their research questions, students study the problem as well as the organization: an in-depth understanding of the organization’s interests, culture and morals is needed to understand how its members perceive the problem they want to be solved.... [-]

The Master’s programme in Cultural and Social Anthropology at the UvA is a broadly focused one-year Master’s programme in which you design and conduct high-quality anthropological research. Questions of globalisation, identity and authenticity, migration, citizenship, but also of transnational relations, development, and myths of progress are at the heart of this programme.

Contemporary Cultural and Social Anthropology aims to understand and explain particular ways of living and behaving in societies all over the world, among different groups of people. How do people relate to each other and their social and material environment?

The Master’s in Cultural and Social Anthropology is a broad, one-year programme in which you design and conduct your own high-quality anthropological research. After completing a period of twelve weeks of fieldwork, you are expected to write a well-argued thesis. This programme is designed to transform you into an active participant in the production of anthropological knowledge and the principles and practices of the discipline. A distinctive feature of this programme is the relative freedom in choosing the topic for your Master’s thesis. In terms of regional focus, there are also many options, as there is a wide range of regional specialisations among the Cultural and Social Anthropology staff, who can support and supervise your project.... [-]

The Master’s programme in Medical Anthropology and Sociology focuses on health and healthcare in a political, economic and cultural context. In the Master’s programme in Medical Anthropology and Sociology, you will use social science theory and methods to critically analyse health issues in a globalising world.

Diseases move across national borders - so do patients, doctors and medicines. Health and healthcare is often a matter of politics, economics and culture too. The Master’s programme in Medical Anthropology and Sociology (MAS) trains you to understand health, illness and the body from a social science perspective. During the programme, you will look at contemporary global and local health problems, as well as key topics in social science. It enables you to deepen your knowledge of anthropology and sociology, while at the same time acquiring a specialisation in a health-related topic.... [-]

Ethnobotany is quintessentially interdisciplinary, involving knowledge and use of plants and their ecology in the context of their cultural, social and economic significance.

Ethnobotany is the study of the interrelationship between people and plants, historically and cross-culturally, particularly the role of plants in human culture and practices, how humans have used and modified plants, and how they represent them in their systems of knowledge.

This programme combines anthropological studies of human-environment interaction and sociocultural knowledge of plants in different parts of the world with ecology, conservation science, biodiversity management, and climate change science. It also covers medicinal plant use and ethnopharmacology, plant conservation and sustainable management practices, taxonomy, and economic botany. Students will receive practical training in mixed methods and learn to conduct interdisciplinary research in Ethnobotany, in preparation for doctoral research or a career in related fields.... [-]

The Master's program in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology focuses on the everyday practices of individuals, groups, and communities worldwide and how to situate them within the complex global challenges of diversity, sustainability, and digitalization.

Are you interested in how people create the world around them? Do you want to conduct three-month ethnographic research on a socially relevant topic of your own choice anywhere in the world?

Study global problems on small scale

You you feel engaged with a particular group of people or society or you have a socially relevant question in mind which you want to explore? This master's programme enables you to develop a research on a topic of personal preference. Possible topics vary from the fate of LGBT refugees to initiatives of global sustainable tourism, from water management in African gold mines to digitalisation of heritage in Holland, from kickboxing Muslimas to storytelling in the Caribbean.... [-]

The Top Programme Evolutionary Biology is part of the Master's programme in Ecology and Evolution. It provides an optimal preparation for excelling students pursuing a career in academic research.

As a student of the Top Programme, you will be involved with research within the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences that harbours research groups of international excellence. The hallmark of the programme is to explore the interface between ecology and evolution. In line with the mission of GELIFES, the programme also strives to integrate mechanistic 'proximate' approaches (how does a biological system function?) with evolutionary 'ultimate' approaches (why does the system function the way it does?).... [-]

The MSc in Social Anthropology provides students with a strongly research-based Master’s degree. The programme combines deep subject knowledge with broadened perspectives and links with wider society. The MSc in Social Anthropology applies deep and broad perspectives to an understanding of social communities and culture as a coherent whole. The programme provides specialisation in the scholarly approach that is fundamental to students aiming to pursue PhD studies but which is also of considerable value for advanced work as a policy or operational officer in organisations and activities at different levels. Furthermore, the programme provides students with broadened theoretical perspectives, expanded knowledge of qualitative methodology, skills to adapt to a changing working life and the ability to contribute to development in society and working life.... [-]

Sustainability is one of the key concepts of our times, although a contested one. As the product of concerns about environmental degradation, climate alteration, rising socioeconomic inequalities, increasing mobility, and accelerated change, the term has many different meanings and imperatives: our lifeworlds must be environment-friendly, but also economically viable and socially equitable.

This Master’s program in Cultural Anthropology: Sustainable Citizenship, therefore, departs from an integrated understanding. It focuses on the triangle of People, Planet, and Profit, pointing out that sustainability has not only an environmental meaning, yet also an economic and sociocultural one. As such, the program seeks to understand how citizens worldwide are negotiating and restructuring their living environment to be safe and sustainable at the same time. It incorporates both local and global understandings of the concept of sustainability and, in doing so, scrutinizes various expressions of active citizenship in building sustainability around the world.... [-]

Despite strong forces of globalization, sociocultural sameness does not increase. Power tensions and violent conflicts continue to persist and even erupt. Why? To answer this question, we need an anthropological analysis of the relation between cultural diversity and power within the process of sociocultural transformation. The Master's program Cultural Anthropology: Sociocultural Transformation (CASTOR) equips you with the knowledge and skills to make this analysis.

This two-year Master has a strong international focus, and it introduces you to the complex interplay of cultural diversity and power in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. You’ll conduct ethnographic fieldwork abroad.... [-]

You will be taught by academics currently carrying out highly regarded research in this field

These questions, which are at the heart of the recent renaissance in the scientific study of the origins and evolution of human language, will be tackled on this interdisciplinary postgraduate programme.

The Evolution of Language and Cognition programme is a unique and fascinating interdisciplinary programme which focuses on the treatment of language as a dynamic evolving system, bringing together origins, acquisition and change.... [-]

This unique Master's programme, which is at the cutting edge of social and cultural anthropology as well as development studies, also includes knowledge derived from sociology, politicology, economics and geography. Using a multidisciplinary perspective you will be encouraged to go deeper into the most relevant current local and global issues, including poverty, health, environment, inequality, mobility, multiculturalism and transnational networks. It is a study designed for those who want to break with traditional paradigms.

The programme attracts ambitious, enterprising students. You are not afraid of a vigorous training in methodology; you are involved with social issues and themes and you want to play a role in the international debate around global policy issues. You will learn how to reformulate these issues into research questions and discover the best methods to use when exploring them. We will also teach you to think critically and analytically and we will train you in academic and communication skills.... [-]

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.

36 credits, including:

Three of the following:

6 credits of thesis:

Two additional laboratory or field research courses in different disciplines

Electives selected in consultation with the faculty from a list of relevant courses in Anatomy, Anthropology, Biological Sciences, Geography, Geological Sciences, Human Paleobiology, Psychology, and Speech and Hearing Science, or relevant courses from the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.... [-]