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James Leach (Programme Director)
The Master of Science in Design Anthropology is a postgraduate taught programme in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. It will be available from Autumn 2012.
Qualifications for entry: A good 2.1 degree or higher in a social science, arts, design or technology discipline, or relevant employment experience to the same level.
Duration: 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time.
Design Anthropology is a novel and exciting interface where the speculative imagination of possible futures meets the comparative study of human ways of living and knowing. It is about how the creation of new architectures and new things can be informed by in-depth understanding of how people inhabit the structures they build and relate to the things they use. It offers a radical rethinking of the ideas and concepts that have traditionally underpinned design practice, such as nature and artefact, form and content, knowledge and skill, making and using, creativity and innovation. And it seeks to place design in its wider political and institutional context, amidst concerns about environmental change, sustainable development and the conservation of energy.
This is a field that we have pioneered in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with colleagues from Europe and North America. It is grounded in our world-leading research on the themes of environment and perception, creativity and knowledge, carried out in regions as diverse as Papua New Guinea, Latin America, and the circumpolar North.
The MSc in Design Anthropology is not a course in design. It is rather intended to provide designers, or those with an interest in design, with a set of critical, conceptual and methodological tools, drawn from contemporary anthropology, that they can bring to bear in their own practice – above all outside the academy. Students will be encouraged to experiment with ideas and methods developed through the course by way of internships or other placements towards the end of the programme.
The course is appropriate for those who have been trained at an undergraduate level in any relevant discipline including the social sciences, arts and technical subjects. Students will be expected to be proactive in their style of learning, and will be encouraged to bring to the course their own interests, connections outside academia and aspirations for the potential application of anthropology in widely conceived processes of design.
The programme will consist of 180 credit points comprising four taught courses at 30 credits each, and a dissertation valued at 60 credits. One course (Concepts and Approaches in Design Anthropology) and the writing of a 12000 word Dissertation based on project work will be compulsory.
In addition, Students will usually be expected to take three more courses relating to Design Anthropology, typically choosing from:
Anthropological Theory for Design Anthropology
Art, Anthropology, Architecture and Archaeology for Design Anthropology
The Anthropology of Knowledge for Design Anthropology
Materials, Technology and Power in the Andean Region
Exceptions can be made to these expectations in specific circumstances (such as a documented existing knowledge of Anthropological Theory, for example) in which case students would be free to choose other options from within the School (or College) MSc level courses, in consultation with their supervisor.
Core modules
Concepts and Approaches in Design Anthropology (30 Credits) lays the foundations for the Design Anthropology MSc through introducing students to the concept and practice of Design Anthropology as understood in Aberdeen, and elsewhere. It will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills in techniques and conceptual/analytic methods specific to Design Anthropology, and prepare them for the practical and real world application of those techniques across different sectors. There will be exercises in how to translate key anthropological insights and understandings for specific audiences. Finally, the course encourages reflexive consideration of the practice of anthropology in organisations and corporations outside the academy.
Dissertation in Design Anthropology (60 Credits). The dissertation in Design Anthropology offers students the opportunity to undertake a practical assessment of the skills and techniques they have learned across the taught courses by applying them in a specific context outside the academy. This practical study may take the form of internships in relevant organisations or corporations and placements in companies or other institutions. It could also be based on sustained engagement with people involved in specific making processes. The dissertation will be a report on the context in which the project work has been undertaken, and the form that the application of anthropological approaches took, a reflexive consideration of interventions into that context, and a discussion of the theoretical, methodological and practical elements of the project. Sustained consideration of the usefulness of various tools and concepts through this exercise will equip students with skills in assessing and articulating the value and effect (or otherwise) of approaches in Design Anthropology to specific circumstances while putting into practice the anthropological approaches taught elsewhere on the MSc. While it is hoped students will come to the course with ideas and contacts with relevant sites for this module, there will be possibilities available drawing on the networks of staff for internships and placements of various kinds.
Typical expected modules (3 from this list, or from other MSc courses offered in the College of Arts and Social Sciences)
Anthropology, Art, Archaeology and Architecture for Design Anthropology will expose students taking the Design Anthropology MSc to debates and techniques on the interface between Art, Architecture, Anthropology and Archaeology pioneered in Aberdeen.
Anthropology of Knowledge for Design Anthropology. This course offer Design Anthropology students conceptual and methodological tools for understanding contemporary knowledge production and the knowledge economy, drawing on both anthropological and science studies approaches. It teaches students how to analyse claims made over intellectual creations (Intellectual Property) and to consider the implications of the ownership of knowledge for collaborative and institutional endeavours.
Anthropological Theory for Design Anthropology. Training in the core theory of anthropology is a central component of the MSc in Design Anthropology at Aberdeen. This course explores the development and contemporary significance of theoretical debates surrounding culture and social life. The course will examine the work of major figures in anthropology both past and present and ask questions such as: What is culture? What is society, social life and sociality? How can anthropologists understand historical change? What is kinship in an age of new reproductive technologies? What is it to be human in an age of genetic modifications? How are culture and society linked to issues of embodiment and emotion, technoscience and power?
Materials, Technology and Power in the Andean Region will provide students taking the Design Anthropology MSc with anthropological approaches to technology, technological choices and making things. It provides students with tools for making links between technology and the exercise of political power.
Assessment method for all taught courses is one 3000 word essay and one 3000 word project on topics relevant to the course, chosen in consultation with the student’s supervisor. The nature of the project may vary from course to course and include, reports, exercises and presentations. Courses are 100% in course assessment.
Students can obtain a Diploma in Design Anthropology should they exit with modules worth 120 credit points passed successfully (ie, not undertake a dissertation).
The MSc in Design Anthropology requires the student to pass the dissertation and the four modules.
The degree of MSc shall not be awarded to a candidate who fails to achieve a CAS mark of 9 or above in the Dissertation, irrespective of their performance in other courses.
All admissions are handled by the University's Student Recruitment & Admissions Service (SRAS) and not the Department. James Leach can provide more information about the course and SRAS will help with the application procedure.
You can also look through the University's online prospectus.
Please check the University's English language requirements if necessary.
1. Entry to this degree programme is normally restricted to those with a good 2(i) degree or higher but other relevant experience will be considered sympathetically.
2. Individual supervision by a full AT staff member with expertise in the emerging area of Design Anthropology will be a core element of the MSc, offering students tailored guidance on optional courses, dissertation projects and preparation, and regular (weekly) instruction on the specific development of a Design Anthropology training.
3. The dissertation will be completed towards the end of the degree programme, but planned from the beginning of the programme in consultation with the supervisor.
4. Students who leave with 120 credit points receive a Diploma in Design Anthropology. A performance measure will be in operation to permit entry into the dissertation course and thus to exit with the MSc. Students' performance may be recognised with the award of a 'distinction' or 'commendation' in the degree.
