Subject overview

Programmes

• PhD in Social Anthropology
• MPhil in Social Anthropology

We welcome enquiries from students wishing to undertake research in any areas of faculty interest. Anthropologists at Sussex also provide interdisciplinary doctoral supervision in subject areas such as contemporary European studies, development studies, and migration studies. 

All research students are required to complete an appropriate programme of research methods training. This may involve enrolling on the MSc in Social Research Methods – a stand-alone Masters degree – before proceeding to the PhD. This is known as a 1+3 course. 

Students who have already completed a programme of research methods training can apply for the three-year doctoral degree leading to a PhD. 

Coursework and supervision

Whether you start the three-year PhD or the 1+3 MSc/PhD degree, you will normally be required to complete some research methods training modules and possibly some specialist thematic modules drawn from the MA degrees. 

All students are allocated two academic supervisors with whom they work for the duration of their research degree. Supervisors are allocated according to their regional and thematic expertise, to provide a complementary match with your research. 

Fieldwork

Research degrees usually involve fieldwork away from Sussex during the second year of the PhD. Supervision continues during fieldwork, while you gather data to be written up in the final year. Students on the 1+3 degree can normally go to the field by the middle of their second year. 

Recent thesis titles 

Decentralised network democracy: prefiguring horizontality and diversity in the alterglobalisation movement 

Embracing trauma: youth, human rights and political engagement in ‘post-war’ Guatemala 

‘Hak verilmez, alinir’ (rights are not granted, they are taken): the politicisation of rights in the case of the Muslim-Turkish minority in Greece 

Knowledge, identity, place and (cyber)space: growing up male and middle class in Bangalore 

Land restitution in District Six, Cape Town: ‘community’, citizenship, and social exclusion 

Producing beauty: the social politics of mass production at a special economic zone in South India 

Things falls apart?: a political ecology of 20th-century forest management in Edo State, Southern Nigeria 

Entry requirements

MPhil in Social Anthropology

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in anthropology or a related discipline, but applicants from other backgrounds may be considered. Applicants should submit an outline (two to three pages) of their research interests.

Overseas entrance requirements

If your country is not listed below, please contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Country	Overseas qualification
Australia	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
Brazil	Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 8
Canada	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+)
China	Bachelor degree from a leading university with overall mark of 75%-85% depending on your university
Cyprus	Bachelor degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5
France	Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with final mark of at least 13
Germany	Bachelor degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better
Ghana	Bachelor degree from a public university with second-class upper division
Greece	Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.5
Hong Kong	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
India	Bachelor degree from a leading institution with overall mark of at least 60% or equivalent
Iran	Bachelor degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15
Italy	Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105
Japan	Bachelor degree from a leading university with a minumum average of B+ or equivalent
Malaysia	Bachelor degree with class 2 division 1
Mexico	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8
Nigeria	Bachelor degree with second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Pakistan	Four-year bachelor degree, normally with a GPA of at least 3.3
Russia	Magistr or Specialist Diploma with a minimum average mark of at least 4
South Africa	Bachelor (Honours) degree or Bachelor degree in Technology with an overall mark of at least 70%
Saudi Arabia	Bachelor degree with an overall mark of at least 70% or CGPA 3.5/5.0 or equivalent
South Korea	Bachelor degree from a leading university with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
Spain	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4
Taiwan	Bachelor degree with overall mark of 70%-85% depending on your university
Thailand	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent
Turkey	Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 depending on your university
United Arab Emirates	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
USA	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3-3.5/4.0 depending on your university
Vietnam	Masters degree with CGPA 3.5/4.0 or equivalent

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications, contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

PhD in Social Anthropology

UK entrance requirements

A Masters degree in anthropology, although those with a degree in a closely related discipline may also be considered. Applicants should submit an outline research proposal (two or three pages) indicating the nature, ambitions and primary questions of the research project.

Overseas entrance requirements

If you are an international student and wish to find out if you have the necessary qualifications for this degree, please refer to Overseas qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Related subjects

• Development studies
• Human rights
• International relations and security
• Migration studies

Fees and funding

Fees

MPhil in Social Anthropology

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,900²
Overseas students: £13,000³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

PhD in Social Anthropology

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,900²
Overseas students: £13,000³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

Faculty interests

There is a close academic collaboration between Anthropology, other schools and departments, and interdisciplinary research centres at Sussex. We have particularly strong links with the Department of History, the School of Media, Film and Music, and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). 

Our faculty and students are members of the Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, the Centre for World Environmental History, the Justice and Violence Research Centre, the Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies, and the Sussex Centre for Migration Research. Research interests are briefly described below. For more detailed information, visit the Department of Anthropology.

Dr Paul Boyce Gender, sexualities, health, South Asia. 

Professor Andrea Cornwall Participation, development, gender, sexuality, citizenship. 

Professor Jane Cowan Greece; southern Balkans; nationalism, memory and identity. 

Dr Dimitris Dalakoglou Albania, Greece, the Balkans; migration; protest movements. 

Dr Geert De Neve India, Tamilnadu; informal labour; caste and kinship; industrialisation. 

Dr Nigel Eltringham Human rights, conflict, genocide and the Great Lakes region of Africa. 

Professor James Fairhead Africa south of the Sahara, UK; agriculture and ecology. 

Dr Anne-Meike Fechter Indonesia, South East Asia; corporate expatriates, transnationalism. 

Professor Katy Gardner Bangladesh, UK; anthropology of migration and development. 

Dr Elizabeth Harrison Sub-Saharan Africa, UK; anthropology of development. 

Professor Raminder Kaur Kahlon India, UK; politics and popular culture; nationalism; diaspora; nuclear issues. 

Dr Pamela Kea Gambia, West Africa; globalisation, child labour and education. 

Dr Evan Killick Amazonia, Peru, Brazil; anthropology of development. 

Dr Mark Leopold Uganda, Sudan; violence, peacemaking and memory, conflict. 

Dr Peter Luetchford Costa Rica, Spain; the economics and morality of fair trade production; alternative food chains. 

Dr Lyndsay McLean Hilker Conflict and violence, reconciliation, ethnicity, Rwanda. 

Dr Jon Mitchell Malta; history, memory, politics and national identity; religion and belief. 

Dr Filippo Osella Kerala, South India; migration and globalisation; masculinity; consumption. 

Dr Rebecca Prentice Trinidad, UK; work and industrial relations. 

Dr Dinah Rajak South Africa, UK; the relationship between the state, business and civil society. 

Professor Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner China, Japan; stem-cell research in Asian societies. 

Dr Maya Unnithan India, Rajasthan; fertility and reproductive health; medical anthropology. 

Careers and perspectives

Many of our graduates find employment in the fields of immigration and asylum, international development, and museums and heritage. 

School and contacts