Visual Material and Museum Anthropology

The MSc consists of a structured programme of lectures, classes, and tutorials from October to June, followed by individual study and the writing of a dissertation over the summer. In addition to the teaching provided specifically for the VMMA programme, you will also be able to attend lectures in social anthropology to link your work to broader trends in the discipline.

Graduate destinations

Many graduates enter teaching and research, though this often requires a doctorate. There is some recruitment to public bodies, the larger private companies, museums and galleries, development agencies, NGOs etc.

The MSc is structured around teaching for four papers. Papers one and two are assessed by a 5,000-word essay. Paper three is assessed by a portfolio of methods exercises and a research proposal. Paper four is examined by conventional three-hour unseen examination papers in June.

You will then use the next three months to research and write a 10,000-word dissertation for submission in September; you will be able to choose and refine the dissertation topic in consultation with your supervisor and other tutors as appropriate, but you will be required to write the dissertation unaided as a piece of independent research.

The four papers are as follows:

1. Contemporary themes in visual, material and museum anthropology

This paper focuses on topics such as visual culture (including photography, the internet, art and aesthetics); music and performance; museum ethics and relationships with 'source communities'; landscape and the built environment; dress and body modification; religion and ritual; material culture, mass production and trade; debates concerning tradition, modernity and authenticity; transnational cultural flows and the wider issues of cross-cultural investigation.

2. Option paper

You must select one option paper from those taught each year for MSc candidates at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Titles of options will be made known at the beginning of each academic year and candidates may select their option from any of Lists A, B or C.

3. Research methods in visual, material anthropology and museum ethnography

This paper consists of two parts. Paper 3a is an outline proposal for the MSc dissertation research of no more than 2,500 words. Paper 3b is a methods portfolio consisting of reports (including notes) on trials of three visual and material anthropological methods and/or ethnographic museological methods relevant to the research proposed in Paper 3a. The word limit is 2,500 words.

4. Fundamental concepts in visual, material, and museum anthropology

This paper focuses on anthropology’s distinctive contribution to understanding social and cultural form and process, and the role of human creativity within them, with particular reference to artefacts of material and visual culture, and to the collection, display, production, circulation and consumption of such artefacts.

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in any discipline. Under the UK system, applicants should have a minimum of 65% in at least one prior degree.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Personal statement: Around two to three pages
• Written work: Two essays of 2,000 words each
• References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

• Global Education
• Hill Foundation Scholarships
• A number of Research Council awards are available each year from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).