Is BA Anthropology social anthropology, cultural anthropology, or biological?

Social and cultural anthropology — the British and continental European traditions. The course does not cover biological or physical anthropology in depth. Students interested in primatology, evolutionary anthropology or skeletal anthropology should look for biological anthropology programmes elsewhere.

Where do students do their final-year fieldwork on BA Anthropology?

Most students choose a setting in their own community or city — a workplace, a religious institution, a market, a neighbourhood association, a recreational community, an online community. The ethics review process supports both UK-based and international fieldwork; high-risk settings require additional safety review.

Does BA Anthropology prepare me for UX research?

Yes. UX research has become one of the largest single graduate destinations for UK anthropology graduates. The course covers applied ethnographic methods and includes case-study work in design ethnography in year two; many students complete an applied final-year project framed for the UX research market.

Can I take BA Anthropology fully online?

Yes. The online route delivers seminars and lectures over video, with the ethnographic-methods training adapted to remote settings. The final-year fieldwork project is done in your own location wherever you are based, with remote supervision.

How does BA Anthropology differ from BA Sociology?

Both are social sciences; both teach you to study society systematically. Anthropology is rooted in participant observation and ethnographic writing — long-term immersion in a setting. Sociology more commonly uses interview, survey and statistical methods. Many students take some sociology in their option modules to round out their methodological range.

BA Anthropology in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA Anthropology at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree in social and cultural anthropology — the systematic study of how human beings live in groups, make meaning, organise power, and shape and are shaped by their material worlds. The degree pairs the discipline's classical and contemporary theory with sustained ethnographic training and a final-year fieldwork project of your own.

This is anthropology as it is practised by working ethnographers and applied anthropologists today — at universities, in user-research roles, in international development, in healthcare-design work, and in the kinds of policy roles where cultural literacy is the asset that makes the difference. The London setting gives the degree a particular advantage: a city where every fieldwork question is two bus stops away.

Key Features

UK honours degree in social and cultural anthropology — three years full-time, with online and distance routes.
Ethnographic methods training from year one — participant observation, fieldnote discipline, interview technique, reflexive writing.
Final-year fieldwork project — a 12-week ethnographic study in your own community with supervision and ethics review.
Theoretical foundation from classical anthropology (Boas, Malinowski, Lévi-Strauss) through to contemporary work in ontological, multi-species and digital ethnography.
Applied anthropology stream — case studies and optional modules in healthcare ethnography, design ethnography, organisational ethnography and policy ethnography.
Industry-led guest sessions from working applied anthropologists in UX research, NGO programme design, public-sector innovation and journalism.

What You Will Learn

The BA Anthropology is structured around the practice of ethnography and the theoretical sophistication that good ethnographic writing depends on. You finish able to design and conduct fieldwork ethically, write reflexive and analytically grounded ethnographic prose, and apply anthropological thinking to academic and applied questions.

Social anthropology — kinship, exchange, ritual, religion, politics, gender, ethnicity.
Cultural anthropology — symbol, meaning, language, material culture, embodiment.
Ethnographic method — participant observation, fieldnote practice, semi-structured interview, life history.
Reflexivity and positionality — anthropology's reckoning with its colonial inheritance and the contemporary ethics of fieldwork.
Ethnographic writing — reflexive prose, thick description, narrative ethnography.
Comparative ethnography — reading and analysing canonical and contemporary ethnographic monographs.
Applied anthropology — ethnography in design, healthcare, organisations, policy, international development.
Fieldwork project supervision — your own 12-week ethnographic study with structured tutor support.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers with a strong interest in how human societies work and a willingness to do field research outside the classroom.
International students seeking a UK anthropology degree taught in one of the world's most ethnographically diverse cities.
Mature applicants from social work, healthcare, journalism, NGO work or community organising who want to formalise their applied ethnographic skills.
Career-changers moving toward UX research, applied research, international development or museum and heritage work.

Career Pathways

Anthropology graduates are widely sought across applied research, design, international development and the cultural sector — the skills the discipline trains (close observation, structured interview, qualitative analysis, ethical fieldwork) transfer to many roles. Typical first roles include:

UX Researcher (technology company, design consultancy, in-house product team)
Applied Researcher (public-sector innovation unit, charity research function)
NGO Programme Officer (international development, humanitarian organisation)
Museum Curator or Assistant (anthropology, ethnography or social-history collection)
Healthcare Ethnographer (medical anthropology research unit, NHS service-design role)
Continued Study (MA, MRes or PhD in Anthropology or related discipline)

The BA is structured to prepare graduates for MA-level study in social anthropology, medical anthropology, visual anthropology or applied ethnography, and for direct entry into applied research roles.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.