About the Graduate Programme
The Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology, Ethnology
and Cultural History was launched in autumn 2000. It provides an
innovative and lively forum for staff and postgraduates that is
unique to the University of Aberdeen. With its distinctive northern
focus, anthropology received a 'flagged' 5* rating in the 2001 Research
Assessment Exercise. The Elphinstone Institute has a considerable
public profile in the study of ethnology and folklore, and is the
only research centre specialising in the vigorous vernacular culture
of the North and North-East of Scotland. Cultural History at Aberdeen
is a thriving research area. The distinctive Graduate Programme,
which capitalises on the synergy between these three disciplines,
offers an excellent research environment in which to study for the
Master of Research (M.Res.) and the PhD.
Postgraduate Degrees:
Master
of Research (M.Res.)
Doctorate
(Ph.D)
Master
of Letters (M.Litt.)
Areas
of supervision
Postgraduate
life
Sources
of funding
Application
forms
Current Postgraduate
Students
Postgrad Postcards
- what our postgraduates are up to now
Recently Completed
Theses
Postgraduate
Degrees
Master
of Research (M.Res.) in Social Anthropology, Ethnology and Cultural
History
12 months full-time or 24 months part-time
The M.Res. introduces students to current directions
of research in social anthropology, ethnology and cultural history,
and fosters awareness and critical reflection on the epistemological,
conceptual and ethical problems entailed in the conduct of research
in these fields. It aims to guide students in how to access, and
use, key sources of research material (archival, visual, musical
and museological), and to provide training in ethnographic fieldwork
and related research methods (interviewing, audio-recording, filming
and surveying). Students completing the programme should be adequately
prepared either to undertake further research towards the PhD in
any one of the constituent disciplines or in an area that overlaps
two or more of them, or to enter employment as researchers in fields
outside the academy, such as in libraries and museums, branches
of the media, or non-governmental organisations concerned with aspects
of human welfare and development, where the knowledge and skills
cultivated by the programme are in demand.
M Res
in Social Anthropology, Ethnology and Cultural History: Programme
Handbook
Course Guides for AT5001
and AT5501 (Level 5 taught courses)
Doctorate (Ph.D.)
in Social Anthropology
36 months full-time or 60 months
part-time
The
PhD is a 3-year programme of research by the end of which candidates
should be able to demonstrate that they are capable of pursuing
original research in Social Anthropology in a critical and scholarly
way. The programme leads to the submission of a dissertation of
up to 100,000 words, which should make a distinct contribution to
knowledge and afford evidence of originality as shown by the exercise
of independent critical powers. In Social Anthropology the dissertation
is normally (though not necessarily) based on the results of long-term
ethnographic fieldwork, along with archival research and library-based
study.
PhD
Programme Handbook
ASPIRE:
Generic skills training courses for PhD students
Master
of Letters (M.Litt.) in Social Anthropology
12 months
full-time or 24 months part-time
The M.Litt.
is intended for students who wish to pursue a purely research postgraduate
degree over one year (or two years part-time). It cannot be used
as progression towards a Ph.D, for which completion of the M.Res.
or equivalent is required.
Areas
of supervision
Postgraduate supervision leading to the Master
of Research and PhD can be offered in most areas of social anthropology,
ethnology and cultural history, but we have particular expertise
in the areas listed below. Our research
pages contain more details.
Scotland and the North
- The anthropology of the North;
- Culture and traditions of the North and North-East
Scotland;
- Scottish diaspora, emigration and immigration;
- Comparative anthropology in the post-Soviet era.
Politics and identity
- Relations between indigenous peoples and nation
states;
- Citizenship, identity and cultural change;
- Political cultures in historical and comparative
perspective.
The environment
- Perceptions and constructions of society, nature
and environment;
- Systems of knowledge, practice and enskilment;
- Sustainable development and resource management.
History, memory and materiality
- Museums and material culture;
- Science and technology;
- Collective memory;
- Historical anthropology of the body.
Presentation and representation
- Visual culture;
- Linguistic anthropology;
- Indigenous media.
Postgraduate
life
Postgraduates in the Social Anthropology, Ethnology
and Cultural History Graduate Programme are fully integrated into
academic life in Aberdeen. All graduate students are provided with
personal computers, office space and access to an excellent central
computing service. Postgraduate students also have access to the
University's well stocked library, as well as rare manuscript and
printed materials in Special Collections. Aberdeen University's
Marischal Museum holds nationally and internationally significant
ethnographic collections. The Elphinstone Institute holds rare collections
of books and audio recordings from North East Scotland.
Training workshops are held at regular intervals
throughout each academic year for postgraduate students and staff.
These are organised jointly with the Department of Social Anthropology
at the University of St Andrews. They provide excellent opportunities
for research training and the transfer of ideas, knowledge and experience
between students in a mutually supportive environment.
The Graduate Programme organises a weekly SAnECH
research seminar to which visiting speakers are invited, as well
as occasional lectures by distinguished academic visitors. Postgraduate
students are also encouraged to present their work to a student-staff
seminar (seminar information). International
conferences are organised by staff in the Graduate Programme. These
focus on key research areas and postgraduate students are encouraged
to participate.
The Graduate Programme is closely linked with:
Marischal
Museum, offering research opportunities in the field of material
culture studies;
School
of Divinity, History and Philosophy, which has research strengths
in the anthropology of religion;
Northern
Studies Centre, which brings together ecologists, social anthropologists
and environmentalists involved in research in Scotland, the sub-Arctic
and the High Arctic.
Centre for Early Modern Studies,
which promotes interdisciplinary research on the long-term processes
that have shaped, defined and represented the early modern world.
Sources
of funding
Funding is available for postgraduates from the
College
of Arts and Social Sciences.
Research postgraduates who are UK residents or
citizens of an EU country can apply for studentships from the Economic
and Social Research Council (ESRC) or the Arts
and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
International scholarships and bursaries are available
for foreign students at the University of Aberdeen. The University
of Aberdeen is recognised by the US Federal Government as one of
the foreign institutions that US students can come to study at and
use their financial aid in the UK.
For
further information click here.
Other information on University bursaries and scholarships
is available from the on-line Postgraduate
Prospectus
Some paid teaching within the Department may also
be available to postgraduate students.
Application
forms
In particular for PhD applications, prospective
students are advised to contact the Department of Anthropology in
order to identify and consult with a potential supervisor. This
can be done via Dr
Alex King, who is responsible for postgraduate admissions.
Postgraduate
Entrance Requirements
Postgraduate
application form
This link is to the University's Student Recruitment and Admissions
Services pages. The application form can be downloaded or completed
on-line.
Instructions
for completion of postgraduate application form
Postgraduate
referee form
