Master of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Leuven, Belgium
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English, Dutch
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,533 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* there is no strict application deadline | for the most recent – and only official – information on application deadlines, please check the KU Leuven webpage
** for non-EEA; EUR 1157 for EEA | for the most recent – and only official – information on tuition fees, please check the KU Leuven webpage
Introduction
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About the programme
What is the impact of globalisation on family life? What kind of symbols and rituals shape our daily lives? What is super-diversity and what does it mean for the social dynamics of the city and its infrastructure? How do people shape their religious identity using social media? This is just a small selection of questions that the programme engages with.
As an aspiring anthropologist, you study issues such as the impact of colonisation, the making and unmaking of identity, the relation between people and their environment, and the calibration of agency with institutions and political economies. You will be taking the perspective of the actors involved, emphasizing their daily experience. This angle adds a different dimension to phenomena such as globalisation, ecology or migration.
Such a power-sensitive, agency-driven, collaborative approach is reflexively practised in the Master of Social and Cultural Anthropology at KU Leuven. The programme offers students exciting pathways and critical insights into the fundamentals of the discipline and invites them to pursue their own scientific interests and societal concerns in individual research projects. Drawing on the cutting-edge research conducted at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, the master provides an ample research outlook, informed by – but not limited to – its regional focus on Europe, and Northern and Central Africa.
Strengths
- The programme trains you in empirical and comparative research methodologies, which challenge your familiar ways of being-in-the-world and the prejudices you hold about yourself and others.
- Throughout the programme you develop your own research focus by conducting fieldwork, critically analyzing data and writing on this particular topic in your final master's thesis.
- Depending on your research topic, students have the opportunity to engage in qualitative research in many different locations around the world, possibly in combination with an Erasmus exchange or a summer school.
Curriculum
The Master of Social and Cultural Anthropology is a two-year programme of 120 credits.
During the first year, students gain insight into the basic concepts and theoretical foundations of the discipline. The programme starts with a preparatory package covering a historical and thematic introduction to anthropology and ethnography. This introduction is accompanied by a set of mandatory in-depth courses on the basic components of the discipline.
A research trajectory spanning two years offers training for a 6-week individual ethnographic fieldwork project, which results in the final master thesis. Here, students explore ethnographic methods and theories, research design, data interpretation and analysis, as well as reporting and thesis writing.
In the second year, students deepen their interests through a vast array of electives, both from within and outside the social sciences, and work towards their master's thesis in consultation with their supervisor.
Ideal Students
For our Master of Social and Cultural Anthropology, we are looking for students who can combine an insider's and outsider's viewpoint on people and society.
- You hold an academic bachelor's, preferably in the social sciences, human sciences, humanities, or equivalent fields.
- You have an interest in contemporary, worldwide, social phenomena, and the motivation to professionalize your critical involvement with ethical and cultural issues
- Proficiency in English at all levels (writing, speaking, reading) is essential
- You are inspired by sharing ideas and developing a project with other students.
Admissions
Program delivery
The courses are taught in English and also available in Dutch.
Program Outcome
- Credits: 120 ECTS
- Degree Type: Master
Program Tuition Fee
Why study at KU Leuven
What sets us apart as a university?
A highly ranked university
KU Leuven is among the best 100 universities in the world according to both Times Higher Education World Rankings and QS World University Rankings. All of KU Leuven’s disciplines proudly belong to the top 100 of their field. Furthermore, KU Leuven was ranked by Reuters as the most innovative university in Europe in 2016.
Research-based education
Education at KU Leuven is research-based, which means students will learn from the same professors who are performing the ground-breaking research you read about in the press. New insights are instantly integrated into classes and students are encouraged to perform their own research. In our FabLab, students can use a number of high-tech machines to create whatever they want – all free of charge.
Affordable tuition fees
Higher education is highly valued in Belgium and therefore subsidised by the government. This allows KU Leuven to keep tuition fees relatively low, which gives you a price/quality ratio very few top-100 universities can match. We take pride in keeping our programmes as accessible as possible to allow the brightest students from around the globe to join our courses.
International student life with respect for diversity
According to Times Higher Education, KU Leuven is in the top 50 of most international universities worldwide with staff and students from over 150 different nationalities. For all our international students, the Pangaea student centre is their home away from home. Our university also strives for diversity and inclusion and wants to work together on a pact for more respect.
Program Leaders
Scholarships and Funding
Several scholarship options are available. Please visit the university website for more information.
Info Sessions
KU Leuven combines the best of both worlds by hosting both online and live info sessions. You choose how, where and when to get your information in your search for the right program
Rankings
KU Leuven is among the best 100 universities in the world according to both Times Higher Education World Rankings and QS World University Rankings. All of KU Leuven’s disciplines proudly belong to the top 100 of their field.
Accreditations
Gallery
Career Opportunities
Graduates of Anthropology find employment in numerous areas. Anthropologists are especially valued as highly critical professionals, who know how to analyze complex situations from different angles. They are well-versed in setting up, executing, and evaluating (research) projects independently. Educated in a highly diverse and international program, graduates are able to communicate and report adequately in an intercultural environment. Our alumni are employed as:
- diversity experts
- cultural and political formation consultants
- employees in non-profit organizations
- educational consultants
- healthcare workers
- policy advisers
- researchers
- youth workers
- professors
- directors of socio-cultural organizations
- journalists