On our graduate Diploma in Anthropology, you will explore the holistic and comparative breadth of anthropology, studying humans from a variety of social, cultural, biological and evolutionary perspectives.

You can gain a qualification in anthropology at advanced undergraduate level if you are a:

graduate from another discipline or
if you have equivalent qualifications or work experience.

We are one of the few universities in the UK to teach social and biological anthropology side by side.

Join part of a dynamic community of research scholars undertaking internationally recognised and world-leading research. You will benefit from excellent learning resources at Oxford Brookes University, and at Oxford’s museums and libraries including:

the Bodleian Library
the Radcliffe Science Library
the Pitt Rivers Museum
the Museum of Natural History.

You will also have the option to go on a field trip to Apenhuel Primate Park in the Netherlands.

Male Anthropology GradDip student in a lecture on campus at Oxford Brookes University

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

An undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification is required. However, all applications are considered on their merits and we will consider applicants who do not meet the required level, if they can demonstrate through qualifications or experience, they have the knowledge, capabilities and commitment necessary.

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

English language requirements

Please see the University's standard English language requirements.

International qualifications and equivalences

English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Pathways courses for international and EU students

We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.

Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.

If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

Applications for the Graduate Diploma in Anthropology should be made direct to the University.

Application checklist:

application form, fully completed and signed
a personal statement (section 10 of application form)
one recent academic reference
second reference (academic, employer or character reference)
copy of degree certificate(s) and/or course transcripts
English Language Certificate.

Apply now

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note

Home (UK) full time

£6,200

Home (UK) part time

£3,100

International full time

£16,600

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2024 / 25

Home (UK) full time

£6,200

Home (UK) part time

£3,100

International full time

£16,600

2025 / 26

Home (UK) full time

£6,500

Home (UK) part time

£3,250

International full time

£17,750

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Optional costs

Additional costs
Additional costs	Amount (£)
Travel and associated costs if relevant when undertaking work placements.	£30-700 per year
You may have the opportunity to visit a zoo or animal sanctuary in the UK or mainland Europe.	£40-150
It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required. Please note that a lot of the coursework is now submitted online.	From £30
You may choose to purchase books to support your studies. Many books on our reading lists are available via the Library, or can be purchased secondhand.	£20-60 per book
Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills)	£94-265 per week
Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs)	£122-180 per week
Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography. Gowns are not compulsory but typically students do hire robes, starting at £41.	Typically £0-200
Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes. BrookesBus travel is subsidised for full-time undergraduate students that are on a course with a fee of £9,250 or more, or living in an Oxford Brookes hall of residence. There is an administration fee for the production of a BrookesKey.	From £10

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Learning and assessment

Throughout the course, you will receive intensive training in selected aspects of anthropology at advanced undergraduate level.

If you wish to continue with anthropology at masters or a higher level, such as PhD, this course can constitute a conversion course.

You can choose to follow a pathway focusing on social or biological anthropology, or take advantage of our broad expertise by studying both.

There are two compulsory modules that you will be able to choose from our three core components in theory and methods. You will also put together a programme of six additional modules according to your aims and interests, including an option for independent study with an individual academic supervisor.

Start this course in January or September

You have the option to start this course in January. You will study a range of modules between January and May. During the summer months of June, July and August you will study further modules. Between September and December you will complete your final modules.

Study modules

Taught modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

Choose 2 Compulsory Modules from the 3 listed below
The Study of Human Evolution - semester 1

Considers the relationship between the various biological stages in human evolution, changes in society and behaviour, as interpreted from the material record. Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the role played by the palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical context of human evolution and behavioural change.
The Study of Social Anthropology Theory - Semester 1

In this module, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of social anthropology theory. You’ll engage with abstract theories, and learn how to apply them to different contexts. You’ll use ethnography (the study of people and their cultures), and real life examples to understand how ideas in social anthropology apply to everyday life. You’ll look at the time and place in which key theories are produced. You’ll gain core analytical skills as you grasp how social anthropology theory is shaped by everyday experiences, and their historical and geographical contexts.
The Study of Anthropology in Practice - Semester 2

You will have two key aims on this module. You will gain the basic practical skills you need to conduct your own independent research. From a conceptual point to planning your project approach. Where you'll gather data, analyse and present your findings. Helping you develop key employment skills. This will will provide you with preparation for forming a research proposal to further your postgraduate study.

Also it will help you to develop your theoretical skills in Anthropology. Giving you the conceptual tools to read and critique other anthropologists’ work.

Optional modules

Ritual and Society

What are rituals, and why do we perform them? In this module, you’ll explore the key role of rituals in society. You’ll look at various human communities as you consider the origins of ritual, and its different definitions. You’ll gain valuable critical skills as you explore key anthropological concepts, including:

rites of passage
liminality
anti-structure
communities.

Africa: Social and Economic Transformations

In this module, you’ll explore key themes in African cultures - from the colonial era to today. You’ll explore how anthropology can shed light on experiences of social and economic transformation across the continent. You’ll dig into detailed accounts of people’s everyday lives, reflecting on:

the shifting nature of kinship
gender issues
intergenerational tensions
economic morality.

Through these intimate stories, you’ll explore broader issues of vulnerability and marginalisation. We’ll discuss what anthropology can tell us about global impoverishment. And we’ll discuss how men and women navigate fragile livelihoods in shaky economies.

The Study of Personhood, Gender and the Body in Contemporary Japan

From tattooed gangsters and drag queens to salarymen and hostesses, how does gender and the body affect Japanese society? In this module, you’ll question your assumptions about femininity and masculinity, and gain core critical skills as you explore topics such as:

LGBTQ+ rights
the ethics of organ donation
abortion
end of life care
martial arts
religious practice.

You’ll explore the topics that fascinate you in greater depth, through:

student-led seminars
group work
a research essay.

Culture and Care

Why is care so fundamental to human survival and adaptation? In this module, you’ll focus on care as an alternative to anthropological accounts of conflict, competition, and violence.

You will begin by debating

the evolutionary basis for care
the evidence of care in prehistoric times
notions of empathy, sympathy, and altruism.

You’ll also examine how different cultures care for children, the disabled and the elderly. You’ll look critically at whether current social institutions deliver care, as well as cure. You will look at how we care for non-human life and the planet. And you’ll gain core research skills for your future career, as you investigate care in the world around you through fieldwork assignments and contribute to the class blog to share your work with the world.

The study of Primate Adaptation and Evolution

Are humans any different from other primates? In this module, you’ll dig into the relationship between humans and other primates. You’ll investigate:

structure
physiology
evolutionary history.

The Study of Human Ecology

How do humans interact with their environments, past and present? In this module, you will explore two key themes - nutrition and disease - and what these can tell us about humans and their biological and social surroundings. You’ll gain a strong grounding in the principles of human ecology. And you will gain key critical skills as you explore humans and their evolution.

Anthropology in Action

In this module, you’ll kick-start your career, as you explore the wide range of career options open to Anthropology graduates. You’ll put anthropology into practice, using the skills you’ve gained in your degree to explore how anthropology contributes to:

business
conservation and development
human health and wellbeing
forensic investigations.

Development and Humanitarianism

In this module, you’ll explore the changing relationship between anthropology, and international development, the idea that different countries have different levels of development. You’ll gain a strong grounding in international development. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you dive into debates on the relationship between anthropology and development. You’ll explore key issues for anthropologists working in international development, including:

gender relations
environmental issues
health
youth
religion.

You’ll compare ideas and practices in international development. You’ll look at approaches to social policy, inequality and well-being in the UK. And you disrupt the lines we draw between North and South, developed and underdeveloped, or advanced and emerging economies and societies.

Forensic Anthropology

In this module, you’ll analyse human bones from archaeological sites. You’ll get to know the ancient diseases that we can understand through human and animal bones. You will gain key practical skills through lab-based sessions and through researching primary material. You’ll also learn how palaeopathology can help us understand different populations.

Dawn of Civilisation

How did humans change from nomadic hunter-gatherers to the pioneers of enormous changes in technology, subsistence and organisation? In this module, you’ll look at human history from 10,000 until 1,000 BC that led to an avalanche of development. You’ll gain key critical skills as you review:

archeological data
geography
the environmental record
mythology from the world’s first civilisations.

Culture, Capitalism and Global Transformation

By studying this module, you will develop a detailed understanding of theoretical and ethnographic approaches to culture, capitalism and global transformation.

Your study will focus on ethnographic material that engages with the everyday lives of people and communities from around the world. Through this focus, you will gain insight into the complex relationships between cultural practice and capitalist development, and you will build your understanding of the world around you.

People and Other Animals

As humans, we’ve lived closely with other animals since the dawn of time. We have a long history of interacting with each other. In this module, you’ll examine the complex and contradictory elements in people-animal relations, including:

animals as food
companion animals
animals as nature.

Cognitive Evolution

In this module, you’ll dive into human intelligence and its evolution. You’ll gain fantastic research skills as you evaluate the evidence for the development of cognitive traits such as:

language
Culture
tool use
symbolism.

You’ll uncover fossil and archeological records for evidence of human intelligence and its development. You also draw on:

evolutionary psychology
cognitive science
philosophy
linguistics
primatology, the study of intelligent mammals.

Anthropology Independent Study

This module gives you the chance to do research on a question or issue that fascinates you. You can hone in on any topic in social or biological anthropology, with the support of expert tutors. You’ll enhance the key skills needed for a research project, gaining vital experience for the world of work such as:

planning
explaining a problem in depth
carrying out primary research
collecting and analysing data
structuring and presenting a major piece of work.

Reading Contemporary Ethnography

In this module, you’ll get to grips with reading and writing ethnographic monographs. These are written accounts of a society or culture. You’ll explore ethnography: the method that social anthropologists use to analyse cultures, and the style and concepts behind it. You will:

explore how authors connect arguments and evidence
debate the ethical issues of writing about other cultures
the effectiveness of different aesthetic styles.

You’ll also explore the range of styles in ethnography today that addresses current topics of concern.

Primate Conservation

From forest loss to climate change, living primates, including humans, are facing huge threats to their environment and conservation. In this module, you’ll get to know the impact of humans on non-human primates, including hunting for trade to the issues of co-existence.You’ll discover why our non-human primate relatives are at greater risk of extinction now than ever before. You’ll understand the major challenges facing primates, how international legislation protects them, and how we can help the world’s most threatened species.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Learning and teaching

You will be provided with a broad range of learning experiences, including:

independent study
small group work
seminars
lectures.

You also have the option of a field trip with MSc students to Apenhuel Primate Park in the Netherlands.

Field trips

You have the opportunity to join MSc students on their annual trip to Apenhuel Primate Park in the Netherlands. This carries an additional cost. Please see the Additional costs section of this page for details.

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

You will be assessed through:

essays
book reviews
class presentations
fieldwork reports
exams.

Research

Your research can be undertaken in the following areas:

anthropology of art
anthropology of food
anthropology of work, and play
anthropology of gender
social anthropology of Japan, South Asia and Europe
social anthropology of family, class and gender in Urban South Asia
basque studies
culture and landscapes
environmental archaeology and palaeo-anthropology
environmental anthropology
environmental reconstruction
human origins
human resource ecology
human–wildlife interaction and conservation
physical environmental processes and management
primate conservation
primatology
quaternary environmental change
urban and environmental studies.

Research centres:

Europe Japan research centre
Anthropology centre for conservation, environment and development.

Consultancy:

Oxford Brookes archaeology and heritage (OBAH).

After you graduate

Career prospects

You can choose the graduate diploma as a route to further study, continuing your education at master's and PhD level. However, anthropology graduates also go on to a variety of careers including:

overseas development aid
environmental maintenance
education
eco-tourism
urban planning
civil service

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.