Study location	United Kingdom, Birmingham
Type	Bachelor courses, full-time
Nominal duration	3 years
Study language	English
Awards	BA
Course code	LT65

Tuition fee	To be confirmed

Entry qualification	High school / secondary education (or higher) The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Language requirements	English IELTS: 6.5 (with a minimum of 6.0 in each skill) CAE: 176 (with a minimum of 169 in each skill)

Other requirements	At least 1 reference(s) must be provided. A motivation letter must be added to your application.

More information	Expenses, accommodation, working etc. birmingham.ac.uk/..nd-african-studies.aspx

Overview

The African continent is humankind’s original home. It is a continent of vast cultural and natural resources.

The range of African societies today and in the past are enormous: from egalitarian communities to elaborately hierarchical empires. There are extremes of wealth and poverty; ancient oral cultures exist side by side with old traditions of literacy and state-of-the-art electronic media; successful local exploitation of Africa’s massive pools of biodiversity contrasts with the famines we are all too familiar from the news. What is indisputable is the creativity of the continent. Whether in coping with massive urbanisation, in developing new kinds of politics, or in inventing original literary and theatrical genres, Africans have been active and resilient makers of their own fortunes. The Department of African Studies and Anthropology teaching programmes are grounded in Africans’ own views of the continent and the world.

Studying Anthropology will enable you to develop a distinctive set of skills and attributes. You will learn how to search for, select from and evaluate sources of information, weigh up arguments, and present your findings effectively. As an anthropologist however, you will also become sensitive to the assumptions and beliefs that underlie behaviour in a range of social and cultural contexts, and this gives you a critical edge.

Programme structure

First year
The first year provides a broad introduction to anthropological ideas and you will explore a wide range of issues relating to the African subcontinent from different academic perspectives.

Compulsory modules

Focus on Studying Societies (20 credits)
Thinking Anthropologically (20 credits)
Anthropology of Africa (20 credits) Examples of African Studies and Anthropology Optional modules (60 credits to be chosen)

Introduction to African Cultures (20 credits)
Introduction to African History and Politics (20 credits)
Introduction to African Development (20 credits)
Introduction to Geography and Africa (20 credits)
Detailed descriptions of first year modules
Second year
In this year you take Theory, Ethnography and Research (40 credits), Perspectives on Africa (20 credits) which provides dissertation preparation, as well as 20 credits of optional modules that have an anthropological focus and two further optional modules available from the Department of African Studies and Anthropology.

Compulsory modules

Theory, Ethnography and Research (40 credits)
Perspectives on Africa (20 credits)
Examples of optional modules (choose 60 credits)

Rural Livelihoods and Development Interventions in West Africa (20 credits)
South Africa in the 20th Century (20 credits)
Kinship, Gender and Sexuality (20 credits)
Ethnographies of the Marginalised (20 credits)
From Colony to Nation: Ghana 1874-1966 (20 credits)
Caribbean Challenges to the Modern World (20 credits)
Theory and Ethnography (20 credits)
Aid, NGOs and Development (20 credits)
New African Writing (20 credits)
Trajectories of Emancipation: Slavery, Labour, and Migration in Twentieth Century West African Societies (20 credits)
Africa, the Arts and Social Change (20 credits)
Independent Study (20 credits)
Detailed descriptions of second year modules
Year abroad
You can apply to study abroad for a year in an approved university around the world. If you achieve a grade of 2.1 or above in your first year then you will be invited to apply for a Year Abroad in your second year. If your application is successful, you will go abroad in your third year and return to us for your final year. Find out more.

Third/Final year
In your final year you will write a Dissertation on an anthropological topic (10,000 words, 40 credits). You will be supported in a series of one-to-one meetings with your supervisor, and will present your research to other students and members of staff during a series of workshops. In addition, you will take 80 credits of taught modules from a list of options.

Compulsory modules

Dissertation
Examples of optional modules in African Studies and Anthropology (80 credits – Choose four modules)

Rural Livelihoods and Development Interventions in West Africa (20 credits)
South Africa in the 20th Century (20 credits)
Kinship, Gender and Sexuality (20 credits)
Ethnographies of the Marginalised (20 credits)
From Colony to Nation: Ghana 1874-1966 (20 credits)
Caribbean Challenges to the Modern World (20 credits)
Theory and Ethnography (20 credits)
Aid, NGOs and Development (20 credits)
New African Writing (20 credits)
Trajectories of Emancipation: Slavery, Labour, and Migration in Twentieth Century West African Societies (20 credits)
Africa, the Arts and Social Change (20 credits)

Career opportunities

Our African Studies and Anthropology graduates have gone on to careers such as:

Adjudicator
Graduate Research Executive
Pensions Administrator
Teacher
Graduate Intern
Compliance Executive
IT Project Management Trainee
Production Runner
Parliamentary Researcher
Business Adviser
Caseworker
Event Manager
Postgraduate study