Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its fascinating diversity. As a discipline, it aims to discover and explain the patterns of behaviour behind the world’s astounding variety of human societies and cultures: from the hunters and gatherers of the rainforest to the elite worlds of global corporations. Because they endeavour to understand and interpret other cultures, anthropologists are uniquely positioned to foster better understanding of differences such as those of ethnicity, gender, or generation, or across the lines of wealth or politics. Social-cultural anthropology is subdivided into specialities which examine particular realms of human experience – such as political anthropology, material culture, economic anthropology, language and culture, anthropology of development, medical anthropology, anthropology of religion, psychological anthropology, and so on. Even within these fields, however, there is always attention to connections that span the discipline, such as a focus on ethnography (descriptive/analytic accounts based on living with a subject group for an extended period of time) and cross-cultural comparison.

Career Options Our graduates progress to employment in a wide variety of careers. Anthropology has become increasingly important as a job skill in an information-based global economy, where an understanding of cultural difference is increasingly crucial – from local to international contexts. Anthropology provides good preparation for a career in community work, education, the health professions, product design, international aid and development projects, NGO work, and business and administration. The holder of a PhD is a professional anthropologist qualified to teach at university level, to carry out advanced research, or to apply anthropology in the public or private sector, at the national and international level.