MA Anthropological Research

Course overview

This programme is designed to prepare students to carry out doctoral level research in Social Anthropology. It provides training in a wide range of research methods and teaches students how to develop a substantive research project in a theoretically and methodologically informed way. Although primarily intended as preliminary to doctoral research, the MA Anthropological Research programme is also available as a stand-alone taught MA degree for people who wish to improve their social research skills and gain an in-depth understanding of ethnographic methods and approaches.

Students on the MA Anthropological Research work closely with an expert supervisor in Social Anthropology, with further guidance from a second supervisor. All students attend the following core course units: Issues in Ethnographic Research I and II, Postgraduate Research Seminar, Independent Theoretical and Ethnographic Analysis I, and Introduction to Quantitative Methods. In consultation with their supervisor they also select three short, 5 credit modules in qualitative or quantitative research methods. Computer training is also available. Students then select two specialist course units, of which one must be within Social Anthropology (options vary from year to year) and one may be elsewhere in the University.

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2019, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MA (full-time)
• UK/EU students (per annum): £9,500 
• International students (per annum): £18,500
• MA (part-time)
• UK/EU students (per annum): £4,750 
• International students (per annum): £9,250

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Scholarships/sponsorships

Please see the School's funding page for further information.

If you are already a graduate of The University of Manchester, please visit,

Faculty of Humanities/School of Social Sciences - Loyalty Bursary

• Faculty of Humanities/School of Social Sciences - Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme

Entry requirements

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• IELTS - overall score of 7, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5
• TOEFL IBT 103 with 28 in writing and no further score below 25 in each section.
• TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757

Scores are valid for 2 years.

For students who require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, your test score is valid for 2 years preceding the course start date.

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Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

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We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

Application and selection

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Apply online

To request a copy of the Postgraduate prospectus for the School of Social Sciences please email [email protected]

If you are a current undergraduate student at the University of Manchester, you may be eligible to apply via the 'Fast-Track' scheme. Please email [email protected] for further information.

_{Advice to applicants}

Points Based System (PBS) International applicants who will require a visa to study in the UK can obtain up-to-date information on the latest student visa advice and guidelines.

Candidates who wish to take the MAAR as a precursor to doing a PhD are usually expected to have an idea of the topic or project they are thinking of doing at PhD level. This need not be a detailed proposal, but an outline allows us to judge whether the appropriate supervision is likely to be available and to assign supervisors who are interested in seeing the project through. Also the structure of the MAAR programme is based on the principle that students have a specific interest or set of interests that they wish to develop. You are welcome to contact individual members of staff who you think might be potential supervisors. Or you can contact the Director of the MAAR programme for advice. In any case, it is useful to have a written outline of your intended research.

Teaching and learning

IMPORTANT NOTE ON PART-TIME STUDY

Part-time students complete the full-time programme over two years.  There are NO evening or weekend course units available on the part-time programme.  

You must first check the schedule of the compulsory modules and then select your optional modules to suit your requirements.  

Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your module choices during induction week with your Course Director

Coursework and assessment

Under the guidance of their supervisors, students are required to complete eight course units and a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation which is, in effect, a doctoral fieldwork research proposal. This is prepared over the summer period and presented in September. Most course units, including the postgraduate research seminar, are assessed by essays of up to 4,000 words. Some units also involve assessment of presentations and practical work.

Facilities

Social Anthropology, and the School of Social Sciences of which it is part, are based in a modern building which allows 24/7 access.

There is shared workspace available for research students within Social Anthropology including networked computers and printing facilities. There are also many work areas elsewhere in the building and in the University.

Careers

In keeping with the main purpose of the MAAR as a research-training masters, many graduates successfully proceed to undertake PhD studies, whether in Manchester or elsewhere. The MAAR is also an excellent programme in which to acquire skills in social research methods, especially the ethnographic methods that are fast becoming popular in the business, voluntary and educational sectors as a way to find out about how people engage with their everyday worlds.

Visit the MA Anthropological Research page on the University of Manchester website for more details!