Anthropology
BSc (Hons)
Key facts
UCAS code
L600
Start dates
September 2020 / September 2021
Location
Course length
Full time: 3 years
Part time: up to 6 years
Department
UCAS Tariff Points
104
Overview
Do you want to become an expert on the most pressing issues facing human societies today? When you choose Anthropology at Oxford Brookes, you’re choosing to study everything from the evolutionary origins of human cooperation, to the politics of global inequality while gaining the skills for a fantastic career.
You’ll be taught by expert researchers, who are active all over the world. Our unique blend of Biological and Social Anthropology gives you a rich, broad expertise, which is attractive to employers.
You’ll enjoy exciting field trips, from visiting the primates at Apenheul Primate Sanctuary, to examining contemporary and ancient cultures at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Whether you're studying human behaviour at festivals or exploring how to save primates from extinction, you’ll follow your own interests, and gain the skills to succeed in your degree.
Combine this course
You can study this course as part of a combined honours degree. This course can be combined with:
How to apply
Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.
Standard offer
UCAS Tariff Points: 104
A Level: BCC
IB Points: 29
BTEC: DMM
Contextual offer
UCAS Tariff Points: 88
A Level: CCD
IB Points: 27
BTEC: MMM
Further offer details
If you accept a Conditional offer to this course as your Firm choice through UCAS, and the offer does not include a requirement to pass an English language test or improve your English language, we may be able to make the offer Unconditional. Please check your offer carefully where this will be confirmed for each applicant.
For combined honours, normally the offer will lie between the offers quoted for each subject.
Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications, international qualifications or recognised foundation courses. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
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
If you do not meet the entry requirements for this degree, or if you would like more preparation before you start, you can take an international foundation course. Once you enrol, you will have a guaranteed pathway to this degree if you pass your foundation course with the required grades.
If you only need to meet the language requirements, you can take our pre-sessional English course. You will develop key language and study skills for academic success and you will not need to take an external language test to progress to your degree.
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.
Credit transfer
Many of our courses consider applications for entry with credit for prior learning. Each application is individually assessed by our credit entry tutors.
If you would like more information about whether or not you may be eligible for the award of credit, for example from an HND, partly-completed degree or foundation degree, please contact our Admissions team.
We operate the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Application process
Full time Home / EU applicants
Apply through UCASPart time Home / EU applicants
Apply direct to the UniversityInternational applicants
Apply direct to the UniversityFull time applicants can also apply through UCAS
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
Please note tuition fees for Home/EU students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.
Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning home and EU students at the maximum permitted level.
Financial support and scholarships
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, if any, are detailed below.
We do not expect students to purchase any compulsory course books, as they are all available in the library. If students wish to purchase additional books to supplement their reading this is at their own discretion.
Learning and assessment
Your learning is informed by our staff’s active research, meaning you’ll always be taught by an expert. In Years 1 and 2, you’ll gain a strong understanding of social and cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology. You can then specialise in:
- social anthropology
- biological and archaeological anthropology
- a mix of both
You’ll focus everything from Japanese pop culture to primate conservation, through your modules in Years 2 and 3.
For Social Anthropology, you’ll look at:
- Religion and ritual in cultures
- Political and economic forces in societies
- Migration and identity
- The research of peoples and their cultures (ethnography)
- Family and relatedness.
For Biological Anthropology, you’ll look at:
- the biological characteristics and variation of human populations
- disease patterns in human history and future infectious disease concerns
- the journey of human evolution over the last 7 million years
- the interaction between humans and their environment
- how humans compare to non-human primates.
Learning and teaching
Through our Anthropology modules, you’ll have access to the latest thinking. All of our modules are based on staff research interests, which include:
- The earliest human settlements in the Middle East, and their archaeology
- Research on primates in Africa and Asia
- Aging and care in Japan
- Artisan economies in South Asia
You’ll be taught through a mixture of:
- lectures
- illustrated lectures
- films
- seminars
- tutorials
Some modules also include:
- practical classes
- group work
You’ll enjoy practical, lab-based classes on:
- human and non-human primate evolution
- anatomy
- molecular anthropology
- prehistoric archaeology.
You’ll also gain key research and IT skills for work, through our specialised training sessions.
- Lectures and seminars
- Placement
- Other learning activities (including group work, research, conferences etc.)
Year 1
- Lectures and seminars - 20%
- Placement - 0%
- Other learning activities (including group work, research, conferences etc.) - 80%
Year 2
- Lectures and seminars - 21%
- Placement - 0%
- Other learning activities (including group work, research, conferences etc.) - 79%
Year 3
- Lectures and seminars - 17%
- Placement - 0%
- Other learning activities (including group work, research, conferences etc.) - 83%
Learning and teaching percentages are indicative. There may be slight year-on-year variations.
Assessment
Assessment methods used on this course
In Year 1, you’ll be assessed by both coursework and examination.
In Years 2 and 3, you’ll continue to be assessed largely through coursework and examinations. Our assessment methods include:
- exams
- coursework essays
- in-class tests
- group and individual presentations
- laboratory practical workbooks
- participation in seminars.
- Written exams
- Coursework
- Practical exams
Year 1
- Written exams - 25%
- Coursework - 75%
- Practical exams - 0%
Year 2
- Written exams - 15%
- Coursework - 85%
- Practical exams - 0%
Year 3
- Written exams - 15%
- Coursework - 85%
- Practical exams - 0%
Assessment method percentages are indicative. There may be slight year-on-year variations.
Study Abroad
You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.
After you graduate
Career prospects
Anthropology gives you a broad intellectual foundation and discipline for many careers that involve numeracy, literacy, communication, problem-solving and a comparative perspective. The interdisciplinary approach gives you flexibility and a wider view of the world which often proves attractive to employers.
Our graduates have succeeded in a wide variety of careers, for example in the fields of branding and marketing, recruitment consultancy, medicine, environmental maintenance, urban planning, personnel management, tourism, education and development aid. A number of our students choose to continue their studies at master's level and beyond.
Further study
Many of our graduates are currently engaged in further study in Anthropology and also in a range of other subjects, such as Education, Archaeology, Geography, International Relations, Security and Society, History, and Primate Conservation, with many choosing to continue these studies at Oxford Brookes.
Student profiles
Our Staff
Professor Anna Nekaris
Professor Anna Nekaris is a Professor in Anthropology and Primate Conservation studying the unique group of evolutionary distinct primates known as the Asian lorises. Her studies cover all eleven species, including six she named or elevated from subspecies. Anna is the Course Tutor for the highly acclaimed MSc Primate Conservation, Director of the Little Fireface Project and Convenor of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group.
Read more about AnnaDr Sam Smith
Sam is an expert in the study of chipped stone tools and his work includes typological, technological and use wear analysis of stone tool assemblages from many regions and periods.
Read more about SamDr Thomas Chambers
Thomas Chambers is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on labour, migration, craftwork and Muslims in India. Thomas has publications in press with Modern Asian Studies on imagination and migration in India and the Gulf and a Special Issue contribution, again with Modern Asian Studies, on urban space, marginalisation and conviviality in India.
Read more about ThomasFree language courses
Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Information from Discover Uni
Full-time study
Part-time study
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.