Program Overview

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MSc in Medical Anthropology

The MSc in Medical Anthropology is a one-year course offering a coordinated learning programme in both social and biological anthropological approaches to health and illness.

About the Course

The course provides the necessary basis for future anthropological research and an excellent cross-cultural grounding for those aiming to pursue a career in anthropology, global health, or other health-related fields.

Course Structure

An overview of the course structure is provided below. Details of the compulsory and optional elements of the course are provided in the Course components section.

• During the course, you will complete four papers and a dissertation.
• The three core papers, taught across Michaelmas and Hilary terms, each comprise lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• You will also select an option paper, which may have a topical or regional focus, based on your own interests.
• There is one core seminar series in medical anthropology; the student-led Medical Anthropology Research Seminars.
• In addition to those, there is a rich seminar culture at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME) and students are expected to actively participate in those.
• The dissertation is an independent piece of work written after the June examinations.
• Dissertation classes are held over the course of Hilary and Trinity term, during which you will be able to present ideas for your dissertation project to colleagues and staff, and a maximum of two individual supervisors.

Attendance

The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.

• The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography takes the view that full-time degrees require full-time study, i.e., equivalent to typical employment, around 40 hours per week, throughout the year.
• You should expect to spend six to eight hours per week in term time in formal teaching contexts (lectures, seminar groups, tutorials, classes), which can be supplemented with attendance of the many research and visiting speaker seminars on offer; the remainder of your time (i.e., around 30 hours per week) should be spent on independent study and preparation of submitted work.
• The periods outside term time are considered to be opportunities for further independent study, consolidating and supplementing the knowledge gained during the preceding term and preparing work for examination, as well as for an appropriate break from study.

Resources to Support Your Study

As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources, and IT services.

• The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department, and institute libraries.
• The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities.
• Workspaces are available in the school on a first-come, first-served basis. Laboratory and other dedicated workspaces and equipment for methods teaching will be provided where required.
• The Pitt Rivers Museum has its own library, the Balfour Library. The Pitt Rivers Museum also has an online catalogue of its entire collections and a number of dedicated collections-based and research-related websites.
• A student-run society, the Oxford University Anthropology Society, runs coffee mornings, talks, and other social and academic events throughout the year.

Supervision

You will receive all or most of your academic supervision in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You will have a named supervisor, possibly two, who will have overall responsibility for the direction of your work from inception to submission.

• The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff.
• Under exceptional circumstances, a supervisor may be found outside the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography.
• Students will normally meet with their supervisor at least twice per term, but are likely to do so more often than this as their supervisor is typically also involved in their class teaching; students may also contact their supervisor at other times.

Assessment

You will be examined on three core papers: one in the second term, and two in the third term. During the third term, you will also be examined on one option paper. These assessments will usually take the form of an essay or an unseen timed examination.

• You will also be examined on a 10,000-word dissertation which you will submit in late August.

Graduate Destinations

The conditions for applicants to proceed from an Oxford master's degree to a doctorate are:

1. a viable project
2. agreed supervision
3. an overall mark of at least 67% in an Oxford anthropology master's degree
4. the agreement of the School of Anthropology as a whole.

• Many graduates enter teaching and research, though this often requires a doctorate. Our alumnae have successfully been recruited by public bodies, large private companies, development agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Changes to This Course

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration.

• The safety of students, staff, and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic, or local health emergency occurs.
• In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Course Components

Compulsory Study

The core papers are:

• Critical Medical Anthropology
• Biocultural Approaches to Medicine
• Anthropologies of the Body.
• You will also complete a dissertation.

Options

You will select one option module in your first year. The list of available options in the school varies from year to year, but are chosen from around twelve to fifteen that are available, with topics including:

• current anthropological themes (e.g., sensory experience, and environment)
• specific areas of geographical focus (e.g., Africa, Japan, South America, South Asia, and Africa)
• art and anthropology
• film
• material anthropology.

Entry Requirements

Proven and Potential Academic Excellence

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown.

• As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
  • a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline.
• Under the UK system, applicants should have a minimum of 65% in at least one prior degree.
• For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.6 out of 4.0.

English Language Proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement.

• The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level requirement are detailed in the table below.
  • IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.5 | 7.0
  • TOEFL iBT* including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 110 | Listening: 22, Reading: 24, Speaking: 25, Writing: 24
  • C1 Advanced | 191 | 185
  • C2 Proficiency | 191 | 185
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced | 165 | 155

Funding

For entry in the academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.

• If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships.
• For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application.

Costs

Annual Course Fees

The fees for this course are charged on an annual basis.

• Fees for the academic year at the University of Oxford:
  • Home | Ł25,370
  • Overseas | Ł41,380
• What do course fees cover? Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies.

Additional Costs

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees and living costs.

• However, as part of your course requirements, you may need to choose a dissertation, a project, or a thesis topic. Please note that, depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips.

Living Costs

In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

• For the academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between Ł1,405 and Ł2,105 for each month spent in Oxford.

College Preference

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college.

• The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Medical Anthropology:
  • Blackfriars
  • Exeter College
  • Green Templeton College
  • Hertford College
  • Keble College
  • Kellogg College
  • Linacre College
  • Magdalen College
  • Mansfield College
  • Reuben College
  • St Antony's College
  • St Catherine's College
  • St Cross College
  • St Hugh's College
  • Wolfson College
  • Wycliffe Hall

How to Apply

Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application, including advice to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.

• If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline e.g., under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance.

Application Fee Waivers

An application fee of Ł75 is payable for each application to this course.

• Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
  • applicants from low-income countries
  • refugees and displaced persons
  • UK applicants from low-income backgrounds
  • applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria

Completing Your Application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.

• For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document.

Referees

Three overall, academic preferred.

• Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete.

Official Transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date.

• You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

Personal Statement

A minimum of 1,000 words to a maximum of 1,500 words.

• Your statement should be written in English and explain your motivation for applying for the course at Oxford, your relevant experience and education, and the specific areas that interest you and/or that you intend to specialise in.

Written Work

Two essays, a maximum of 2,000 words each.

• Applicants should submit written work in English. The items may be separate extracts from a longer work like a taught-course thesis.

After You've Submitted Your Application

Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page.

• Whether or not you have secured funding will be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.
• You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.