Program Overview

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Anthropology (PgDip)

Overview

The Anthropology Diploma is designed to provide students with a strong grounding in the principles and methods of Anthropology. It offers the opportunity to study innovative modules taught by leading experts in key anthropological fields, including Conflict and Borders, Religion, Cognition and Culture, Anthropology of Europe, Material Culture and Art, Migration and Diasporas, Anthropology of Ireland, Human-Animal relations and the cross- cultural study of Emotions. Anthropology at Queen’s also has a distinguished history in Ethnomusicology, the cross-cultural study of music.

Course Structure

Students may enrol on a full-time (9 months) or part-time (three years) basis If you wish to take the programme on a part time basis you will be required to complete 3 taught modules each year (one in first semester and two in second semester or vice versa). It is advised you should complete the core modules in your first year. Please note, all modules run at the same time for full time and part time students. Please contact the programme convenor for further information.

The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete six taught modules (four core modules and two optional modules) and a 15,000 word research dissertation. Full-time students design their research in the spring semester with the help of their supervisor, conduct fieldwork in the early summer, and write up and complete the dissertation over the summer months. Students also participate in the weekly Anthropology Postgraduate Seminar were MA/PhD students present their on-going research and in addition attend the weekly Anthropology Research Seminar, where established academics discuss their work. Students also have the option to audit an undergraduate modules. Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Course Details

This programme is designed to offer students a foundation in the field of anthropology, including transferable skills connected to methodological outlooks (interviews, participant observation, digital and visual anthropology) and to theoretical issues within the discipline. The programme also addresses contemporary themes (climate change, social movements, visual media, conflict and social groups). A key component of the programme is students’ ability to design and conduct their own, original project, under the supervision of a member of staff and an expert in the field, which involves an extended period of fieldwork over the summer months. Alongside the methodological and theoretical courses provided, this programme offers a comprehensive introduction to the discipline and a hands-on experience of conducting ethnographic fieldwork.

People teaching you

• Dr Evropi Chatzipanagiotidou
• Dr Ioannis Tsioulakis
• Dr John Knight
• Dr Paulo Sousa
• Dr Raluca Roman
• Professor Dominic Bryan
• Professor Fiona Magowan
• Professor Jonathan Lanman
• Professor Maruska Svasek

Teaching Times

Teaching times will be a combination of both morning and afternoon with the opportunity for occasional weekend training sessions.

Learning and Teaching

The Diploma is taught through a combination of small-group seminars and lectures. Assessment and Feedback: through a combination of essays, learning journals, blog-posts, placements, projects, presentations and fieldwork-based reflections.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Advanced understanding of theory and method as applied to anthropological study.
• Advanced knowledge of ethnographic accounts of various conflict-affected contexts studied in a comparative perspective.
• The ability to engage critically with historical and contemporary anthropological debates.

Subject Specific Skills

• The ability to explore social and cultural issues with reference to ethnographic case studies
• Familiarity with-and between- the ideas and approaches adopted by various anthropologists
• The ability to identify relevant information and utilise anthropological sources effectively

Transferrable Skills

• Enhanced skills in group work (through seminars), in note taking, in presentation and in written argument;
• Library research skills;
• Critical reading;
• Research Design, interviewing skills, surveying skills;
• Advanced writing and oral presentation skills.

Assessment

Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:

• Through a combination of essays, learning journals, blog-posts, placements, projects, presentations and a fieldwork-based reflections.

Entrance requirements

• Normally a 2.2 Honours degree in an appropriate subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.
• Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 15th August 2025 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page.

International Students

• Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region.
• Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.

English Language Requirements

• Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).
• International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

Tuition Fees

• Northern Ireland (NI) £4,867
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) £4,867
• England, Scotland or Wales (GB) £6,167
• EU Other £14,333
• International £14,333

Additional course costs

• There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.

Career Prospects

• Graduates have pursued careers in a wide range of fields, such as research (academic and non-academic), teaching, music therapy, consultancy, development and charity work, museum and heritage posts, journalism and radio broadcasting.
• Among those who have pursued academic careers, not all have done so within anthropology - several have taken posts in related disciplines.
• Others have found positions within governmental and non-governmental organisations abroad.
• Our graduates have found employment with a very wide range of employers, including the Council for International Educational Exchange, Handelsbanken Bank, the Institute for Conflict Research, US News and World Report and the Bangladesh Civil Service.

Modules

• APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DESIGN (20 credits)
• Advanced Anthropological Methods (20 credits)
• Ethnographic Writing (20 credits)
• Advanced Anthropological Perspectives (20 credits)
• Anthropology of Conflict: Ireland and Beyond (20 credits)
• The Anthropology of Music (20 credits)

APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DESIGN

Overview

This module aims to introduce key approaches to research design, while also introducing some of the contemporary debates in research in the social sciences and humanities. It will also provide students with an introduction to some of the key practical research skills they will find of use when designing and conducting their academic research. These skills are also those which students will find necessary as they continue their academic and research career.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, students will have: pursue their own research or coursework in an analytically rigorous and self-

• obtained a clear understanding of some central issues and methodological debates that are basic to social science and humanities research;
• been introduced to interdisciplinarity in research, and developed an understanding of how it relates to their own work;
• communicated this understanding in an analytically rigorous manner through assessed written work;
• demonstrated the kind of methodological awareness that will allow them to

critical manner.

• been equipped with the intellectual capacity to defend a particular approach to their own research;
• started to make preparations for a research dissertation.

Skills

• Intellectual skills
  • Managing & Prioritizing Knowledge: identify relevant and subject-specific knowledge, sources and data; manage such information in an independent manner
  • Analytical Thinking: identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subject-specific arguments made by others; construct independent arguments
  • Critical & Independent Thinking: ability to think critically and construct one’s own position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field
• Professional and career development skills
  • Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in writing
  • Diversity: ability to acknowledge and be sensitive to the range of cultural differences present in the learning environment
  • Self-Reflexivity: ability to reflect on one’s own progress and identify and act upon ones own development needs with respect to life-long learning and career development
  • Time Management: ability to negotiate diverse and competing pressures; cope with stress; and achieve a work / life balance
• Technical and practical skills
  • Information Technology: demonstrate the knowledge and ability to use contemporary and relevant ICT
• Organizational skills
  • Efficient and effective work practice: demonstrate ability to work efficiently to deadlines
  • Clear organisation of information: show efficiency in the organisation of large amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information
  • Organisation and communication: demonstrate ability to use evidence to develop logical and clear arguments; show aptitude for the effective use of information in a direct and appropriate way
  • Enterprising thinking: Demonstrate ability to think and argue in novel and enterprising ways, to display originality of thought and argument and the ability to clearly support arguments in innovative ways

Assessment

• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• HAP7001

Teaching Period

• Autumn

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Core

Advanced Anthropological Methods

Overview

This module focuses on the key qualitative and quantitative techniques used by anthropologists in their field research, including participant observation, interviewing, the use of archives and written information, the production of genealogies, the collection and analysis of numerical data, etc. Students will learn about the place of these methods in the history of the discipline, and about the key debates surrounding the relationship between the anthropologist and his or her informants in the field; through a series of practicals, the students will learn how to use these qualitative and quantitative methods themselves. Two of these exercises will be formally assessed.

Learning Outcomes

The module has two objectives: to teach students how to use the main methods of anthropological field research and to make them aware of the place such methods occupy in the discipline and its history.

Skills

• Skills in literacy, the organisation of arguments, effective presentation of written work.

Assessment

• Coursework: 100%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 0%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• ANT7007

Teaching Period

• Spring

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Core

Ethnographic Writing

Overview

The module looks at the themes of ethnography and evolution in anthropology. Students choose to specialise in ethnography or evolution. Teaching of the ethnography takes the form of students reading a number of ethnographies and discussing and analysing these texts in class. Teaching of evolution draws on literature in the field of cognition and culture and focuses on the application of the logic of evolution by natural selection to the human mind and behaviour to help us better understand cross-culturally recurrent patterns in thought and behaviour.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module students will:

• be familiar with advanced understandings of anthropological perspectives
• be skilled at analysing ethnographic writing
• have gained experience in debating intricate questions in a critical fashion at an advanced level
• have learnt about the evolutionary perspective in anthropology and its applications
• be prepared for the main specialist areas available in Anthropological Studies at MA level

Skills

• Skills in literacy, the organisation of arguments, critical reflection, effective oral and written presentation, independent research and writing of research essay.

Assessment

• Coursework: 80%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 20%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• ANT7009

Teaching Period

• Autumn

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Core

Advanced Anthropological Perspectives

Overview

The module will study a core set of influential analytical perspectives through readings that demonstrate both continuities and shifts in anthropological enquiry. Topics covered include: anthropological and local perspectives; philosophical approaches in anthropology; new insights from studies of the self, narrative and the emotions; visual anthropology and ethnographic knowledge as part of the debate of ‘ways of seeing’; perspectives on environmentalism, materiality, affectivity, memory and subjectivity; cosmopolitanism as a political and moral condition.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module students will: the development of an original argument

• be familiar with advanced understandings of anthropological perspectives
• become acquainted with recent writings in a variety of anthropological topics
• gain experience in debating intricate questions in a critical fashion at an advanced level
• have produced a critical essay involving critical understanding of texts and

• be prepared for the main specialist areas available in Anthropological Studies at MA level

Skills

• Skills in literacy, the organisation of arguments, critical reflection, effective oral and written presentation, independent research and writing of research essay.

Assessment

• Coursework: 80%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 20%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• ANT7008

Teaching Period

• Autumn

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Core

Anthropology of Conflict: Ireland and Beyond

Overview

This module will explore the development of anthropological approaches to conflict, examining what social and cultural anthropologists have added to our knowledge of conflict. It will particularly examine issues of group identity and cohesion in relations to conflict. Examining theories of ethnicity and nationalism it will examine power and hegemony of the state. In relation to this there will be a focus upon aspects of remembering and social memory, on the use of rituals and symbols and of the way acts of violence are legitimised or delegitimised. The course will look at examples from Irish case studies but work on a comparative basis.

Learning Outcomes

This module will introduce students to the history and the key theoretical debates within the field of ethnomusicology. On completion of this module students will have:

• to develop a broad understanding of theories of group conflict
• to develop a broad understanding of mechanisms of group cohesion and conflict
• to explore the use of the concepts of identity, ethnicity, culture, community, border, symbol, ritual and tradition.
• to apply theories of identity politics to understanding nationalism and ethnicity
• to examine the legitimacy of violence and critically explore the notion of ‘terrorism’.
• To examine lessons from the Irish/British context and compare.
• to increase competency in research and the writing of academic papers

Skills

The course is designed to develop both subject-specific and transferable skills. These include: presentation and in written argument;

• Advanced skills in understanding, evaluating and expressing anthropological arguments, especially concerning the relationship between theory and ethnography;
• Enhanced skills in group work (through seminars), in note taking, in

• Library research skills;
• Critical reading;
• Advanced writing and oral presentation skills.

Assessment

• Coursework: 80%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 20%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• ANT7023

Teaching Period

• Spring

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Optional

The Anthropology of Music

Overview

This module aims to provide an overview of the field of ethnomusicology, outlining the major theoretical orientations and issues being debated within contemporary ethnomusicology. It begins with an introduction to some of the main scholars involved in shaping the discipline as it is currently constituted, and then proceeds by looking at how these ideas have shifted in the modern world. Throughout the semester students participate in an ensemble of non-western music in order to gain a reflexive understanding of the ways in which ethnomusicological knowledge can be obtained through personal musical experience.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module students will have:

• An understanding of how the discipline was shaped and how it is currently developing;
• An overview of contemporary theoretical debates and issues, and of the scholars propelling them;
• An appreciation of how ethnomusicological understandings are generated and disseminated;
• Basic knowledge of at least one non-western musical system.

Skills

• Library research skills;
• Critical reading;
• Communication skills in both written and verbal spheres;
• Practical performance skills in at least one non-western musical tradition.

Assessment

• Coursework: 80%
• Examination: 0%
• Practical: 20%

Credits

• 20

Module Code

• ANT7013

Teaching Period

• Spring

Duration

• 12 weeks

Pre-requisite

• No

Core/Optional

• Optional