Society for Medical Anthropology

A section of the American Anthropological Association

Academic Resources: Graduate Programs

 

University of London

Degrees offered:

  • MA in Medical Anthropology

Program information:

  • The MA Medical Anthropology comprises two pathways catering for candidates with or without anthropological training. Students come to the course from all over the world, following BA study, work and travel experience or after long careers in other fields. This combination of diverse experience and skills makes for an intellectually exciting atmosphere for both teachers and students.
  • The course is distinctive in its focus on medical and health issues pertaining to Africa, Asia and Latin America. It covers anthropological theory, cultural understandings of health, and various options. These include combinations of anthropology and food, gender, shamanism and therapy, psychoanalysis, religion and healing in South Asia, China and in Africa, and study of the language and ethnography of a particular region.
  • The programme consists of four elements, three examined courses and a dissertation of 10,000 words.
  • The degree is suitable for students with an intellectual interest in anthropological approaches to the study of health as well as for those who work in health care in Africa and Asia.

The aim of the degree is to provide:

  • A phenomenological understanding of the body, which implies also subjective attitudes to notions of health, sickness, disease, recovery and personal vulnerability, and an understanding of these experiences within regional, political, economic and cultural contexts

Duration:

  • One calendar year (full-time) Two or three years (part-time, daytime only)
  • We recommend that part-time students have between two and a half and three days free in the week to pursue their course of study.

Entry Requirements:

  • Minimum good second class honours (or equivalent).

Administered By:

  • Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Contact:

  • Arts & Humanities Faculty Office
    School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
  • Telephone: (0)20 7898 4020
    Fax: (0)20 7898 4699
    email: anthropology@soas.ac.uk