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Anthropology (with Foundation Year)

BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons)

UCAS code: L60F

Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026

Full time: 4 years

Part time: up to 11 years

Location: Headington

School(s): School of Law and Social Sciences

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Overview

Our world faces immense challenges: from conflict and poverty to wildlife conservation. We need people with skills to respond.

Anthropology with a Foundation Year starts with learning essential skills to prepare you for degree-level study. Passing this foundation year leads to our Anthropology BA/BSc which covers both social and biological aspects of this fascinating discipline. You will explore our origins, our interactions with nature and contemporary human relations.

Through field trips, work-based learning, lectures and seminars – led by world-class published academics – you’ll gain highly employable skills.

A cross-cultural focus will take you into case studies – drawn from the research of your lecturers – in places like Japan, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, India, Madagascar, South Africa and Spain.

There are opportunities to study abroad and many extra-curricular activities. You'll build your own degree or select one of our exciting pathways focused on social, biological or combined aspects of anthropology:

  • Human Origins,
  • International Development & Conservation
  • Human Cultures.

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Perfect preparation

    Build essential study skills with an integrated foundation year. Gain academic confidence, improve critical thinking, and strengthen subject knowledge for your degree journey.

  • Science and Social Science pathways

    A unique opportunity to study sciences and/or social sciences in a single degree. Build your own programme or choose a social, biological or combined pathway.

  • Field trips and study abroad opportunities

    From integrated residential and one-day field trips to opportunities for overseas study, you have many exciting possibilities with this degree.

  • World-leading published academics

    You’ll be taught by academics actively engaged in fieldwork from archaeological investigations and palaeopathology to wildlife monitoring, research with labour migrants and humanitarian work.

  • Sought after employment skills

    NGOs, humanitarian organizations, corporations, educational bodies, research agencies, international institutions, local initiatives and small businesses all need people with the skills you will gain.

  • Learn a language

    Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

  • Study abroad

    You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Oxford Brookes. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

Course details

Course structure

In your foundation year, you will study a Foundation in Humanities, building confidence and essential academic skills.

In the first year of your degree you’ll study both social and biological aspects of anthropology. Fantastic field trips and activities will help you to build strong relationships with fellow students and lecturers.

In the second and final years you’ll be able to focus on areas that inspire you. You can build your own degree, or follow one of our three focussed pathways:

  • Human Origins
    You will focus on Biological Anthropology, and engage with a wonderful opportunity to explore human origins, evolution, archaeology and primatology.
  • International Development and Conservation 
    You will study across Social and Biological Anthropology, you will have the unique chance to examine issues like international development, humanitarianism, human rights, environmental protection and wildlife conservation.
  • Human Cultures
    You will focus on Social Anthropology, you’ll explore human culture, politics, migration, economy, care, culture, ethnicity, sexuality and gender.

Students sitting around table listening to the tutor

Learning and teaching

You’ll learn through a mix of group discussion, independent research and hands-on practical work.

You’ll participate in:

  • lectures
  • small seminars
  • tutorials
  • practicals
  • lab work.

All your learning will be led by expert practitioners, who carry out fieldwork alongside teaching. This means your learning will always be underpinned by the latest thinking and research.

Assessment

Your assessments will be diverse, and will support different learning styles - you’ll have a real opportunity to showcase your strengths. 

You might write a blog, create a video diary or give a presentation. You’ll be able to carry out lab work, write essays and participate in seminar discussions. You’ll have some exams and in-class tests as well.

Study modules

Teaching for this course takes place face-to-face. In your foundation year, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. When you begin your degree programme, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Foundation Year

Compulsory modules

  • Being Human: Love, Sex and Death

    Love, sex and death - how do these make us human? In this module, you’ll gain core analytical skills, key to studying Humanities at university, as you explore human bodies and emotions through time. 

    You’ll understand the ideas, practices and experiences that we have around bodies and feelings. You’ll also explore how bodies and emotions are shaped by: 

    • politics
    • religion
    • science
    • medicine
    • literary and artistic fashion.

    You’ll analyse texts, images and artefacts to understand the core role of human emotions and bodies in our world. 

  • Cultural Moments

    How do genres - styles or categories of literature - grow from major events in history and culture? In this module, you’ll explore how drama and literary studies relate to genre. You’ll get to grips with genres as categories that have evolved historically to become key influences on culture, taste and fashion. You’ll investigate real life cases of key movements across a range of disciplines. You’ll also consider how art responds to life and life to art. 

  • Language, Vision and Representation

    In this module, you’ll learn about basic theories of meaning-making. You’ll begin to undertake a critical analysis of systems of representation - which could be spoken or written language, and virtual or physical texts. You’ll come to understand how meaning is made, but also challenged, through acts of interpretation which often we’re not conscious of making. You’ll also be encouraged to reflect on your own role in producing ‘meanings’. 

  • Research Project

    This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll gain the key skills you need to succeed as a university student, as you create, manage and complete your own research project. You’ll have one-to-one guidance  from an expert academic supervisor in your chosen subject area who will support you to shape your research from your initial ideas through to your completed project. 

  • The Reflective Learner

    In this module, you’ll gain the core skills and strategies you need to succeed as a university student. You’ll build up knowledge of each of the subjects within your foundation year and learn how to turn critical reading into clear and successful undergraduate assignments. You’ll also learn effective study strategies, including: 

    • learning from lecture content 
    • taking part in seminars 
    • working and studying in groups.

  • Nation and Identity

    What is a nation? Do nations develop through shared language or the history of a people? Are they about laws and governance, or habits and customs? In this module, you’ll get to grips with core themes from subjects, including: 

    • Sociology
    • Politics and International Relations
    • History
    • Philosophy
    • English Literature.

    You’ll develop a strong understanding of the concepts of a nation (including elements such as borders and national identity) and its challenges.

Optional modules

  • Customs, Icons and Symbols

    Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

  • Development Studies

    This is your opportunity to explore some of the key issues (e.g.urbanisation, poverty and social exclusion, environmental concerns and gender issues) within the field of Development Studies. You’ll also look at the factors causing poverty in countries defined as less developed. 

    Exploring the fundamentals of how sociology, human geography and economics interact in the process of development. You’ll study key topics that will teach you to draw on your own knowledge and experience where possible to evaluate the policies in pursuit of development, and to address the problems faced by least developed countries. You’ll build your skills in identifying and reflecting on some of the key social, economic and environmental issues that challenge sustainable development.

  • Political Philosophy

    How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies.

    You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

    • Conservatism
    • Communism
    • Fascism
    • Communitarianism
    • Anarchism
    • and Feminism. 

    You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

  • French Beginners 2

    As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries. 

  • Spanish Beginners 2

    As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries. 

  • Origins of the Climate Crisis: A Global History of the Environment

    You will engage with the ways in which the environment and the climate have changed over the past six centuries, looking at:

    • sustainability
    • climate change
    • and conservation.

    These are pressing issues with a rich and compelling history. You will investigate environmental changes and how they were contested and experienced at communal, national and international levels. You'll think about the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of resource management, energy use, and food production, including a focus on future policy solutions.

  • Global Issues

    What is ‘global politics’? What do we mean by ‘international relations’? And how do our personal values affect our understanding of politics and historical events? In this module you’ll explore the global challenges we face, and how they are understood by different groups. You’ll examine issues like power structures and global conflict. And you’ll come to understand how these issues impact societies and the environment we live in.

  • Creating Criminology 2

    On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies. 

    You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact.

  • Young Children's Outdoor Learning

    In this module, you’ll explore how young children learn through play. You’ll also discover how adults plan exploration and play for children in outdoors environments. You’ll get to grips with two key areas: 

    • maintaining good provisions and interactions in an early years outdoors area
    • teaching and learning through the Forest School approach. 

    You’ll look at how children and adults interact in a variety of situations. You’ll also gain core knowledge of health and safety training, as you study issues such as: 

    • children as risk-takers
    • off-site travel
    • maintaining a safe environment.

    You’ll develop core analytical skills as you explore how research and the government affect children’s outdoor learning. 

  • Modern British Art

    In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century - from the Camden Town Group, to Modernists like Barbara Hepworth and Pop Artists like Peter Blake. You’ll examine paintings, sculptures and films as you discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. You’ll also investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

    • exhibitions
    • manifestos
    • books
    • little magazines.

    You’ll enjoy on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • Becoming an Anthropologist 1

    Develop your key academic skills through a consideration of social and biological anthropology. You will engage with:

    • literature
    • deductive reasoning
    • critical thinking
    • different approaches to writing.

    You will carry the skills you've gained to address issues that are central to the discipline.

    You will also have the opportunity of fieldwork trips to local museums, plus a two-night collective trip to a site of significant interest. You will explore the importance and relevance of Anthropology as an academic discipline.

  • Becoming Human

    How did humans emerge as a species? Why do human societies vary across time and space? How can we understand the diversity of human experience today? In this module you'll address these questions by exploring anthropology as a discipline. 

    You’ll take an integrated approach, covering social and biological anthropology. You will also study other living primates and archaeology. You will also engage with a range of research taking place at Oxford Brookes University to build your anthropological skills.

    You'll explore the application of anthropology to contemporary life and examine how anthropological approaches offer solutions to issues facing humanity today.

  • Being Human

    What does it mean to be human? How do humans interact with each other and with the world around them? In this module you'll tackle these questions. You'll consider how anthropology provides an important understanding of the relationships humans have with their past, present and future.

    Your studies will include social and biological anthropology. You will also study other living primates and archaeology. You will develop a keen analytical knowledge of the range of anthropological research.

    You'll explore how we can use anthropology to understand what it means to ‘be human’. You’ll consider how anthropological approaches can address issues across the span of humanity as well as challenges in the contemporary context.

  • Family, Kinship, and Society

    How do people in different societies conceptualise, organise and negotiate social relationships? In this module, you’ll examine human relatedness and kinship. You’ll draw on studies from a range of historical and contemporary contexts to explore households and kinship networks. Your studies will reveal the often complex, ambiguous, and unequal relationships between men, women and children. As this module progresses, you’ll examine the impact that wider economic and political transformations have on shaping personal lives and the relationship between these intimate social relations across the contemporary world. 

  • Primate Societies

    What’s the difference between humans and the 600 other species of primates? In this module, you’ll explore humans through the diverse social behaviour of other primates. You’ll observe how primate societies interact and compromise to survive, looking at primate populations through time. You’ll gain the key analytical skills to succeed in your Anthropology degree, as you identify patterns of social interaction in primates in terms of:

    • ecology
    • energetic
    • demography
    • tradition 
    • phylogeny (the evolution of genetically related groups).

  • Becoming an Anthropologist 2

    You will build on your knowledge from Becoming an Anthropologist 1, where you focused on key academic skills. In this module you will further enhance your abilities. You'll have a chance to engage with creative methods and ways of presenting anthropological material from theatre, art and photography, conservation techniques, 3d printing, and virtual reality.

    We'll help you to progress your 'outside the box' thinking to illustrate that there are many ways of working within anthropology beyond the standard approach. 

    You will build a creative foundation of knowledge that you'll be able to use on other modules, including your higher level studies.

  • Introduction to Physical Geography

    In this module, you’ll be introduced to selective themes and topics in physical geography. Using climate change science as a disciplinary grounding, you’ll explore recent and future developments, as well as other areas that are inherently linked with climate change in physical geography (including environmental processes, systems and management).

  • Contemporary Societies: Structure and Change

    What’s the relationship between the economy, the state, and society? How have labour markets and welfare states changed over time? In this module, you’ll examine the issues that are shaping social and political developments in contemporary society. You’ll explore questions relating to power and politics, and will look at other topics such as:

    • international immigration patterns
    • the formation of ethnic minorities
    • the role of religion in modern society
    • the challenges posed by global environmental change.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Human Evolution

    In this module, you’ll dive into human evolution. You’ll explore how the biological stages of human evolution link to changes in society and behaviour. You’ll gain specialist knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental (environment of a past age) and palaeogeographical (geographical features of a past age) context of human evolution.

  • Social Anthropology Theory

    In this module you’ll explore theoretical developments in social anthropology. ‘Theory’ may seem opaque and intimidating, but through creative teaching and embodied learning you will gain a strong knowledge of how social theory helps us to understand the world.

    From social structures and forms of transformation, to gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and identity, you will consider fascinating debates and approaches.

    You will be challenged to explore concepts such as:

    • functionalism
    • symbolic anthropology
    • structuralism
    • post-structuralism
    • postcolonialism
    • marxism.
    You will also explore emerging ideas grounded in materiality, embodiment, ontology, critical race theory and decolonising theory.

  • Anthropology in Practice

    This module will provide you with the core methodological skills you need to take your research interests in exciting directions. You'll have the support to gain the skills you'll need for your disseration and other work, including:

    • planning
    • research
    • analytical techniques 

    From ethnographic fieldwork to surveying and data analysis, the module provides a great platform from which to launch into your own projects.  

    This module links to ‘Anthropology in Action’, where your focus is on the applications of anthropology. This ensures you will be able to take the practice based approaches developed in this module and put them ‘into action’ as you progress.

  • Anthropology in Action

    In this module you’ll start to cultivate your career skills by exploring practical and applicable outputs that have potential for 'real-world' impact. You'll gain insight into the applications of anthropology beyond academia and have the opportunity to put knowledge gained in the parallel module, 'Anthropology in Practice', into action.

    You will also find out about the wide range of career options open to Anthropology graduates. Using the skills you’ve gained in your degree, you’ll learn how anthropology contributes to areas such as:

    • international development
    • business
    • conservation
    • human health  
    • urban planning.
    • activism
    • social and political change.

Optional modules

  • Understanding India: Society Culture and Economy

    In this module, you’ll get to grips with the diversity of India as a nation. You will explore politics, society, economy and culture. You will consider the fascinating history of India, shifting imaginaries of the country over time, and its changing relationship with the global context today. You will use a strong engagement with ethnographic material to understand the everyday lives of India’s citizens and wider diaspora through explorations of work, labour, migration, religion, politics and sociality.

    At the interpersonal level, you will gain a deep understanding surrounding questions of:

    • intimacy
    • gender
    • sexuality
    • ethnicity
    • caste
    • class
    • identity.
    At a structural level, you will tackle issues of social, cultural and economic transformation in the context of:
    • cultural practices
    • religious influences
    • capitalist development
    • political change
    • neoliberalism
    • postcolonialism
    • forms of protest or conflict.

  • 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.

  • Anthropology Work Placement

    On this module, you will build skills that are attractive to employers. You will gain an understanding and awareness of work and your future employability.

    You will be supported to participate in work, community and extra curricular settings. You will develop and engage with self-directed learning and structure reflection. Learning from your experience and personal advancement, you will gain insight and direction for possible future professional roles.

  • Health, Culture, and Ecology

    The module covers two main areas in the study of interactions between humans and their biological and social environments, past and present. 

    Throughout the module your focus will be to build a deep understanding of the principles of human ecology, with a particular focus on the relationship between human health and environmental sustainability.

  • Gender and Society

    In this module, you’ll look at gender and its central role in society. You’ll explore the social processes that affect the lives and roles of people in society. You’ll consider the centrality of gender in everyday life, and how society reflects and reproduces gender relations.

  • ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Inequality

    Why do we exclude some ethnic groups from society? In this module, you’ll explore race, ethnicity and racism through:

    • employment
    • education
    • housing
    • migration
    • policing
    • the impact of anti-discrimination legislation.

    You’ll engage with pressing debates on race, ethnicity and racism. You’ll explore the experiences of minority ethnic groups and you’ll explore the factors which exclude them from mainstream society. You’ll focus on the UK, but also consider ethnic minorities in other cultures. You'll highlight the complexities of social constructions of race and other social inequalities.

  • 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
    • molecular biology
    • evolutionary history.

    You’ll discover what marks us as human against other species. You’ll gain a detailed knowledge of other species as you trace our inheritance and explore the reasons for our unique characteristics.

  • Conservation and Heritage Management

    In this module, you’ll explore heritage landscapes and their identity as places of cultural or community value. You’ll study some of the world’s most magnificent heritage as you consider how heritage landscapes have evolved over time. You’ll look at their conservation and management, and the physical and human impact upon them. You’ll get to grips with the core concepts and themes of environmental conservation, heritage management and sustainable development. You’ll understand the rules and regulations, as well as the roles of advisors, in how we protect sites. You’ll also build up knowledge of different ecosystems, their origins and how human interactions impact their development.

  • Quaternary Environmental Change

    Sea levels are rising; glaciers are melting; Arctic sea ice is thinning and weather events are becoming more extreme. We are in the grip of global warming. But how do these changes compare with the environmental changes that have occurred in the past? What does the past teach us about how natural and human factors may interact to change our climate and environment in the future? 

    In this module you’ll examine changes to the physical environment throughout the Quaternary: the last 2.6 million years of geological history and time during which humans have evolved and spread across the earth. You’ll examine the causes of climatic and environmental change over different timescales and the complex interactions between human impacts and natural processes, gaining perspective on current environmental and climatic concerns.

  • Independent Study

    This module gives you the chance to do research on a question or issue that fascinates you. You can home 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. This will include:

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

Optional Placement Year

Optional modules

  • Year Abroad

    This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

    You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

    Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

    This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

Final Year

Compulsory modules

  • Anthropology Dissertation (compulsory for single honours, optional for joint honours)

    This module gives you the chance to do research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll have the support of expert tutors, and it is an opportunity for you to showcase your passions, expertise and advanced learning in Anthropology.

Optional modules

  • 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.

  • Development and Humanitarianism

    In this module, you’ll gain a strong grounding in international development (the idea that different countries have different levels of development). You'll explore the changing relationship between anthropology and 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
    • environment
    • 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. You'll also disrupt the lines we draw between North and South, developed and underdeveloped, or advanced and emerging economies and societies.

  • 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'll also draw on:

    • evolutionary psychology
    • cognitive science
    • philosophy
    • linguistics
    • primatology (the study of intelligent mammals).

  • Culture and Care

    How do our brains make us care for children, the elderly and the vulnerable? How do different cultures encourage people to nurture others? In this module, you’ll look at the evolutionary and ecological reasons for care, nurturance and social support. You’ll dive into the care practices of other cultures, as you look at how they approach:

    • religion
    • healing
    • child care
    • elder care.

    You’ll also look at how we care for non-human living things and the planet as a whole. You’ll gain key analytical knowledge as you apply what you learn to yourself, your community and pressing social issues.

  • 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.

  • Africa: Social and Economic Transformations

    In this module, you’ll explore key themes in African cultures - from the colonial era to today. You’ll reflect on core economic arguments, asking how far theories of modernisation can shed light on African social and economic transformation. You’ll dig into detailed, ethnographic (the study of people and their cultures) 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. You’ll discuss what anthropology can tell us about global impoverishment, as well as how men and women navigate fragile livelihoods in shaky economies.

  • Political geographies of borders: past, present and future

    This module closely examines the complex history, contested present and potential futures of one of the most important and consequential geographic devices in today’s world: borders. You'll trace the historical development of territorial and sovereign practices that have led to the concept of borders as we know them today. You'll address debates about the continuing relevance of borders in today’s world, and you'll look ahead to the future of borders as they intersect with pressing concerns such as climate change, migration and identitarian movements.

  • 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’ll gain key practical skills through lab-based sessions and through researching primary material. You’ll also learn how forensic anthropology can help us understand different populations.

  • People and Other Animals

    As humans, we’ve lived closely with other animals since the dawn of time and 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.

  • 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, from 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.

  • Independent Study

    In this module, you’ll develop fantastic transferable skills for work, and gain the research skills to succeed in your degree. You’ll develop the knowledge and expertise to become an independent researcher. Within our internationally acclaimed department, you’ll enjoy access to the current research our staff are working on.

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.

Careers

An anthropology degree at Oxford Brookes offers numerous possibilities for future careers or further study. The core skills you’ll develop around investigative techniques, writing, research, cultural understanding and fieldwork practices are needed by NGOs, humanitarian organisations, charities, government agencies, private companies and educational institutions.

Our pathways help you to build and refine these skills.

The Human Origins Pathway could lead you into a career as an archaeologist, a forensic anthropologist, a nutritionist, a museum curator, a lab scientist or many other fields.

The International Development & Conservation pathway provides skills that are essential for development, humanitarian and conservation projects around the world.

The Human Cultures Pathway develops cross-cultural understanding with potential to specialise in regions like Asia, Africa or Europe. This expertise is needed in sectors from government and education to the corporate world and international institutions. 

Entry requirements

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: 48

A Level: DD

IB Points: 24

BTEC: PPP or MP

Further offer details

Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications or international qualifications. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process


Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCAS


Part time Home (UK) applicants
Apply direct to the University


International applicants
Apply direct to the University

Full time international applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
International full time
£16,750
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)*
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)*
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
International full time
£16,750
2026 / 27
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)*
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)*
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

*Tuition fee level for 2025-26. Tuition fees for home undergraduate students in 2026-27 will be confirmed by the Government later in 2025 and will be updated on our website as soon as the information becomes available.

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

For further information please see our 2025-26 tuition fees FAQs.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.

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.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

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.