Environmental Anthropology, MSc, PgCert or PgDip
Environmental Anthropology, MSc, PgCert or PgDip
Introduction
The MSc Environmental Anthropology explores the ecological, social and cultural relationships between people and the environments they live in. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from theories and case studies in climate change research, multispecies ethnography and many other areas of contemporary environmental anthropology from around the world.
This programme has September and January start dates available. Apply Today.
Study Information
Study Options
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MSc, PgCert or PgDip
- Duration
- 4 months, 9 months, 12 months, 21 months or 24 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January or September
- Location of Study
- Aberdeen
Environmental Anthropology gives you the chance to explore the intersection between people’s everyday lives and some of the key issues of our time, including climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and multispecies relationships. You’ll be introduced to theoretical and practical perspectives from across the subject.
Aberdeen’s Department of Anthropology is renowned for environmental anthropology. We have a strong portfolio of projects and publications that you’ll learn from, on multispecies ethnography, climate change, environmental art, mobilities and indigenous rights amongst others.
Our long-standing focus on the Circumpolar North, stretching from Siberia and northern Europe to Canada, is complemented by research in many other regions and we supervise students from all over the world. Many of our courses include field trips and there are wonderful resources in landscape and wildlife close to our campus and across north east Scotland.
This programme's core courses focus on Environmental Anthropology and Climate Policies, Realities and Justice. Optional courses are available in topics related to our expertise, along with training in research methods. Relevant courses from across the University will also be open to you. For your final research project, you will choose between a dissertation focused on your own research and a work placement, where you’ll bring your skills to a project with a relevant organisation.
Environmental anthropologists work in diverse cultural and environmental settings around the world. They often use long-term ethnographic fieldwork that centres the experiences of those they work with. Their findings contribute to environmental and social policies, community rights and well-being, and academic debate.
Upon graduation, you will have the opportunity to enter a wide range of careers including environmental management, consultancy and policy-related jobs across the public and private sectors. You can also progress to a PhD in Anthropology.
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- MSc
- Duration
- 12 months or 24 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- September
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
| Fee category | Cost |
|---|---|
| UK | |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | £11,100 |
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year | £11,100 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year (University of Aberdeen Graduates *) | £7,000 |
|
University of Aberdeen graduates are eligible for the Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship, reducing tuition fees to £7,000 - matching the current SAAS tuition loan - See full terms and conditions |
|
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (University of Aberdeen Graduates *) | £7,000 |
|
University of Aberdeen graduates are eligible for the Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship, reducing tuition fees to £7,000 - matching the current SAAS tuition loan - See full terms and conditions |
|
| EU / International students | |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | £23,000 |
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year | £23,000 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *) | £15,000 |
|
The above fee includes the £8,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply. |
|
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *) | £15,000 |
|
The above fee includes the £8,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply. |
|
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
PD5006 Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (0 credit points)
AT5065 Environmental Anthropology (30 credit points)
This is a team-taught course in environmental anthropology, which serves to introduce students to the key themes, approaches and issues in environmental anthropology. A range of issues and approaches in environmental anthropology are covered, including perception, political ecology, infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, multispecies relations and the Anthropocene.
The course contextualises these themes historically and in relation to wider societal questions of political economy and ethics. Cross-cultural comparisons and non-western concepts and practices are highlighted, both to decolonise perspectives and to enable students to consider new ways in which human-environment relations can be conceived.
Assessments are flexible, allowing students to follow their interests in environmental anthropology.
AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice (30 credit points)
This interdisciplinary course combines the focuses of political science and anthropology as it relates to policymaking on climate change. Relying on expertise from both subject areas, the course examines international and national climate policies and brings forth case studies of how climate change is experienced at the community-level.
Through this approach, the course will highlight current priorities, gaps, as well as successes, and failures, of climate policies worldwide.
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Stage 2
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of optional courses.
Students must select at least one of the following Anthropology courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (30)
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (30)
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North (30)
- AT5565 Research Skills in Anthropology (30)
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
Students may select no more than one of the following School of Social Science courses (30 credit points each):
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to one other course, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (30 credit points each):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
-
30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
-
15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
-
30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
-
15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
-
15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
-
15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Stage 3
Compulsory Courses
Students will choose one of the following (60 credit points each):
- AT5914 Dissertation in Environmental Anthropology
- AT5915 Work Placement in Environmental Anthropology
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- MSc
- Duration
- 12 months or 24 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
| Fee category | Cost |
|---|---|
| UK | |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | £11,100 |
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year | £11,100 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year (University of Aberdeen Graduates *) | £7,000 |
|
University of Aberdeen graduates are eligible for the Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship, reducing tuition fees to £7,000 - matching the current SAAS tuition loan - See full terms and conditions |
|
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (University of Aberdeen Graduates *) | £7,000 |
|
University of Aberdeen graduates are eligible for the Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship, reducing tuition fees to £7,000 - matching the current SAAS tuition loan - See full terms and conditions |
|
| EU / International students | |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | £23,000 |
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year | £23,000 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *) | £15,000 |
|
The above fee includes the £8,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply. |
|
| Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *) | £15,000 |
|
The above fee includes the £8,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply. |
|
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of optional courses.
Students must select at least one of the following Anthropology courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (30)
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (30)
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North (30)
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
- AT5565 Research Skills in Anthropology
Students may select no more than one of the following School of Social Science courses (30 credit points each):
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to one other course, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (30 credit points each):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
-
30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
-
15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
-
30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
-
15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
-
15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
-
15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Stage 2
Compulsory Courses
AT5915 Work Placement in Environmental Anthropology
Note: where a January start is chosen, the Work Placement course (AT5915) will be a compulsory course, and the Dissertation course (AT5914) will not be available. January start students wishing to take the Dissertation may re-register in the following year after they have completed both Stage 1 and 2.
Stage 3
Compulsory Courses
AT5065 Environmental Anthropology (30 credit points)
This is a team-taught course in environmental anthropology, which serves to introduce students to the key themes, approaches and issues in environmental anthropology. A range of issues and approaches in environmental anthropology are covered, including perception, political ecology, infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, multispecies relations and the Anthropocene.
The course contextualises these themes historically and in relation to wider societal questions of political economy and ethics. Cross-cultural comparisons and non-western concepts and practices are highlighted, both to decolonise perspectives and to enable students to consider new ways in which human-environment relations can be conceived.
Assessments are flexible, allowing students to follow their interests in environmental anthropology.
AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice (30 credit points)
This interdisciplinary course combines the focuses of political science and anthropology as it relates to policymaking on climate change. Relying on expertise from both subject areas, the course examines international and national climate policies and brings forth case studies of how climate change is experienced at the community-level.
Through this approach, the course will highlight current priorities, gaps, as well as successes, and failures, of climate policies worldwide.
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- PgDip
- Duration
- 9 months or 21 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- September
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
Please refer to our Tuition Fees page for fee information for this programme, or contact us via the Enquire Now form.
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5006)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5033 Research Skills in Anthropology
- AT5059 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5060 More than Human
- AT5061 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5062 Anthropology of the North
- AT5065 Environmental Anthropology
- AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice
- Research Skills in Anthropology (AT5033)
-
15 Credit Points
This course enables students to learn about research skills in social anthropology. It will encourage reflexive awareness of the role of methods in the discipline that centres students’ own experiences. Topics will include the history of methods in anthropology, participant observation, writing fieldnotes, interviews and analysis amongst other themes. Case studies of how these skills are combined in practical fieldwork will be explored. Students will be supported in developing a small-scale research project for this course in which they will practice their anthropological research skills.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5059)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- More Than Human (AT5060)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores new directions in how we think about humans and other species. Recent years have seen an upsurge in interest in how the social sciences and humanities deal with animals, plants and other organisms and we scrutinise these cutting edge ideas in depth. A lot of emphasis is placed on trying to think through real life encounters and issues, from a walk in the park to new revelations about life from the bottom of the ocean. Although the focus is on anthropological work, the course should appeal to students from a wide range of backgrounds.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5061)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5062)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
Stage 2
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of courses.
Students must select at least one of the following Anthropology courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
- AT55xx Research Skills in Anthropology
Students may select no more than one of the following School of Social Science courses (30 credit points each):
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to 30 credit points from the following courses, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (15 credit points each unless noted otherwise):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues (30 credit points)
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
-
30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
-
15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
-
30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
-
15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
-
15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
-
15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- PgDip
- Duration
- 9 months or 21 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
Please refer to our Tuition Fees page for fee information for this programme, or contact us via the Enquire Now form.
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of courses.
Students must select at least one of the following Anthropology courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
- AT55xx Research Skills in Anthropology
Students may select no more than one of the following School of Social Science courses (30 credit points each):
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to 30 credit points from the following courses, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (15 credit points each unless noted otherwise):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues (30 credit points)
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
-
30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
-
15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
-
30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
-
15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
-
15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
-
15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Stage 2
Optional Courses
Students will take 60 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5033 Research Skills in Anthropology
- AT5059 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5060 More than Human
- AT5061 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5062 Anthropology of the North
- AT5065 Environmental Anthropology
- AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice
- Research Skills in Anthropology (AT5033)
-
15 Credit Points
This course enables students to learn about research skills in social anthropology. It will encourage reflexive awareness of the role of methods in the discipline that centres students’ own experiences. Topics will include the history of methods in anthropology, participant observation, writing fieldnotes, interviews and analysis amongst other themes. Case studies of how these skills are combined in practical fieldwork will be explored. Students will be supported in developing a small-scale research project for this course in which they will practice their anthropological research skills.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5059)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- More Than Human (AT5060)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores new directions in how we think about humans and other species. Recent years have seen an upsurge in interest in how the social sciences and humanities deal with animals, plants and other organisms and we scrutinise these cutting edge ideas in depth. A lot of emphasis is placed on trying to think through real life encounters and issues, from a walk in the park to new revelations about life from the bottom of the ocean. Although the focus is on anthropological work, the course should appeal to students from a wide range of backgrounds.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5061)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5062)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- PgCert
- Duration
- 4 months or 9 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- September
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
Please refer to our Tuition Fees page for fee information for this programme, or contact us via the Enquire Now form.
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5006)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Students will take 30 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5033 Research Skills in Anthropology
- AT5059 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5060 More than Human
- AT5061 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5062 Anthropology of the North
- AT5065 Environmental Anthropology
- AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice
- Research Skills in Anthropology (AT5033)
-
15 Credit Points
This course enables students to learn about research skills in social anthropology. It will encourage reflexive awareness of the role of methods in the discipline that centres students’ own experiences. Topics will include the history of methods in anthropology, participant observation, writing fieldnotes, interviews and analysis amongst other themes. Case studies of how these skills are combined in practical fieldwork will be explored. Students will be supported in developing a small-scale research project for this course in which they will practice their anthropological research skills.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5059)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5061)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5062)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
Stage 2
Optional Courses
Students will take 30 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
- AT55xx Research Skills in Anthropology
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to 30 credit points from the following courses, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (15 credit points each unless noted otherwise):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues (30 credit points)
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
-
30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
-
15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
-
15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
-
30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
-
15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
-
15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
-
15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Environmental Anthropology
- Qualification
- PgCert
- Duration
- 4 months or 9 months
- Learning Mode
- On Campus
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January
- Location
- Aberdeen
Programme Fees
Please refer to our Tuition Fees page for fee information for this programme, or contact us via the Enquire Now form.
Stage 1
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
-
This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
Optional Courses
Students will take 30 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5559 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5561 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5562 Anthropology of the North
- AT55xx More than Human
- AT55xx Anthropology and Art: On Place, Landscape and Materials
- AT55xx Research Skills in Anthropology
- PI5522 International Energy Politics and Security
- SO5512 Dimensions of Globalisation
- SO5529 Peace and Conflict Studies
Alternatively, students may select up to 30 credit points from the following courses, as agreed with programme co-ordinators (15 credit points each unless noted otherwise):
- EK5804 Environmental Impact Assessment
- BU555H Economics of Energy Transition
- EL55D3 Places and Environments: Critical dialogues (30 credit points)
- GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
- GG5557 Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability
- GG5571 Partnerships for Sustainability
- SS5508 Land Remediation
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5559)
-
30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5561)
-
30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5562)
-
30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
- International Energy Politics and Security (PI5522)
-
30 Credit Points
Topics:
Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.
Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .
Climate Security
- Dimensions of Globalization (SO5512)
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30 Credit Points
This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analysed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EK5804)
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15 Credit Points
The course provides background information about the origins and development of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and its implementation in the UK and elsewhere. It also highlights the impacts of planned activities on the environment, including impacts on biodiversity, vegetation and ecology, water, and air. Throughout the course you will learn about the different stages of the EIA process, but you will also learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate the likely environmental impacts of a variety of development projects. A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will be used, providing an opportunity to develop transferrable skills valued by employers, such as time-management, communication of science, and critical appraisal.
- Economics of Energy Transition (BU555H)
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15 Credit Points
Focusing on sustainability and innovation, this course offers a comprehensive understanding of economic aspects shaping the transition to cleaner energy sources. Uncover the essence of market failure within the energy sector, dissect the economic implications of environmental policies and scrutinise strategies for an inclusive transformation of the energy sector. Delve into the economic dynamics of electricity markets, evaluating the impact of energy transition on pricing and market structures.
- Places and Environments: Critical Dialogues (EL55D3)
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30 Credit Points
This course introduces students to a range of critical, theoretical, and philosophical approaches to environment and place, as well as aligned research methods. Students will read key works of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, environmental philosophy, cultural geography, and related areas. Close reading and discussion of central texts will provide a foundation for further research, including the dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these ideas in relation to both literary and social contexts. This course is restricted to students on the MLitt Literatures, Environments, and Places, or by permission of the School.
- Rural Policy in Practice (GG5537)
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15 Credit Points
The course examines rural policy, land use and socio-economic issues associated with the countryside at local and national scales. Issues include land management, tourism, diversification, planning, conservation etc.
The substantive element is a field trip to the Highlands or Lake District where projects will be studied with visits to various estates and key stakeholder agencies. Students identify research topics and undertake research on policy topics in groups and individually. Formal teaching includes lecture and seminars.
- Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (GG5557)
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15 Credit Points
This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
- Partnerships for Sustainability (GG5571)
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15 Credit Points
Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Land Remediation (SS5508)
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15 Credit Points
This highly interactive course explores the principles and practice of contaminated land assessment and remediation. It provides broad knowledge of underlying science, as well as practical skills related to the assessment of contamination sources, pathways and risks to human health. While the lectures introduce theoretical background and gradually build the expertise, the practical have been based on various assessment tools and develop practical knowledge and quantitative skills. The learning activities replicate tasks that one would encounter in environmental consultancy and provide valuable transferrable skills.
Stage 2
Optional Courses
Students will take 30 credit points from a selection of courses (30 credit points each):
- AT5033 Research Skills in Anthropology
- AT5059 The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights
- AT5060 More than Human
- AT5061 Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration
- AT5062 Anthropology of the North
- AT5065 Environmental Anthropology
- AT5068 Climate Policies, Realities and Justice
- Research Skills in Anthropology (AT5033)
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15 Credit Points
This course enables students to learn about research skills in social anthropology. It will encourage reflexive awareness of the role of methods in the discipline that centres students’ own experiences. Topics will include the history of methods in anthropology, participant observation, writing fieldnotes, interviews and analysis amongst other themes. Case studies of how these skills are combined in practical fieldwork will be explored. Students will be supported in developing a small-scale research project for this course in which they will practice their anthropological research skills.
- The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT5059)
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30 Credit Points
Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” of indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.
- Roads, Mobility, Movement, Migration (AT5061)
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30 Credit Points
In this course students will be introduced to the topical themes in contemporary anthropology: roads, automobility, car cultures, migration, road narratives, and roads in film and literature. The course is based on the notions of movement and mobility and will incorporate the ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland and Siberia. During the course students will conduct their own research on the road of their choice. The course includes: a fieldwork element, screenings of documentary films about roads, and weekly student-led discussions.
- Anthropology of the North (AT5062)
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30 Credit Points
Through a series of lectures and a mix of tutor and student led tutorials, this course focuses on the sometimes difficult history of anthropology and the circumpolar north. Misconceptions (sometimes intentionally created) about the people who live there and their relationships to the environment have informed both state policy and anthropological theory and now is the time for a new anthropology of the north to set the record straight. Students will be encouraged and expected to do their own research on topics of their own choosing and bring these insights back to the course through lively tutorial discussions.
Available Programmes of Study
- MSc
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Environmental Anthropology
Qualification Duration Learning Mode Study Mode Start Month LocationMSc 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time September Aberdeen MoreMSc 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time January Aberdeen MoreFees for individual programmes can be viewed in the Programme(s) above.
- PgDip
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Environmental Anthropology
Qualification Duration Learning Mode Study Mode Start Month LocationPgDip 9 months or 21 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time September Aberdeen MorePgDip 9 months or 21 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time January Aberdeen MoreFees for individual programmes can be viewed in the Programme(s) above.
- PgCert
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Environmental Anthropology
Qualification Duration Learning Mode Study Mode Start Month LocationPgCert 4 months or 9 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time September Aberdeen MorePgCert 4 months or 9 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time January Aberdeen MoreFees for individual programmes can be viewed in the Programme(s) above.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page. In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips.
Fee Information
Scholarships
All eligible self-funded international Postgraduate Masters students starting in September 2025 will receive an £8,000 scholarship. Learn more about this Aberdeen Global Scholarship here.
To see our full range of scholarships, visit our Funding Database.
Related Programmes
You may also be interested in the following related postgraduate degree programmes.
Related Information
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- E-learning
- Field Trips
- Field Work
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- Professional Placements
- Research
- Seminars
- Tutorials
- Workshops
Assessment Methods
Assessments combine written coursework with project-led work based on students’ own interests. Working with course staff, you’ll have many opportunities to design topics in environmental anthropology that work best for you. You’ll write policy briefs, take part in online discussion boards, and develop creative work, all showing how your learning in environmental anthropology can be applied to the contemporary world.
Why Study Environmental Anthropology?
- Established in 2003 by Professor Tim Ingold, the Anthropology Department at the University of Aberdeen provides world-class research expertise that combines an interdisciplinary, global focus with an established track record of research on environmental anthropology
- Be part of our Department research theme on Environment and Multispecies Life, including dedicated seminars and discussions
- You will have the opportunity to further develop skills that are highly attractive to employers through our Work Placement in Environmental Anthropology
- Alternatively, you can select a research topic based on your areas of interest, and work with experts to develop it into a fully realised research project, with our Dissertation in Environmental Anthropology
- Study at a nationally and internationally renowned university for Anthropology. We are ranked 8th in the UK and 2nd in Scotland for Anthropology and Archaeology (Guardian University Guide 2026) and in the Global Top 100 for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025)
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
Applicants for admission will normally be expected to hold a relevant Honours degree with a 2:2 standard from a recognised university or body. Relevant degrees would include social sciences and environmental / biological sciences. Professional experience in e.g. nature conservation or social science would also be considered.
Please enter your country or territory to view relevant entry requirements.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
Eligible self-funded Postgraduate Taught (PGT) students will receive the Aberdeen Global Scholarship. Eligibility details and further information are available on our dedicated page.
Aberdeen Global ScholarshipEnglish Language Requirements
To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
IELTS Academic:
OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 5.5; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
TOEFL iBT:
OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
PTE Academic:
OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59
Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency:
OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 162; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Read more about specific English Language requirements here.
Document Requirements
You will be required to supply the following documentation with your application as proof you meet the entry requirements of this degree programme. If you have not yet completed your current programme of study, then you can still apply and you can provide your Degree Certificate at a later date.
- Degree Certificate
- a degree certificate showing your qualifications
- Degree Transcript
- a full transcript showing all the subjects you studied and the marks you have achieved in your degree(s) (original & official English translation)
Careers
You’ll be ready to enter a wide range of careers including environmental management, consultancy and policy-related jobs across the public and private sectors. You’ll have an international outlook through the degree which will increase your employment options further.
The MSc offers students the opportunity to engage in a number of transferable skills, such as project management, critical analysis and research which are required across a broad range of roles and sectors.
Students will also be able to move into research careers in or beyond academia. Those wishing to continue in academic research will be able to apply to the PhD in Anthropology.
Career Opportunities
- Community Development Officer
- Environmental Consultant
- Environmental Manager
- Government Official
- Lecturer
- Nature Conservationist
- Policy Officer
- Researcher
- Wildlife Officer
Our Experts
- Programme Coordinators
- Dr Jo Vergunst
- Dr Andrew Whitehouse
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Features
On-campus learning
Study on a campus that has helped shape the modern world. Since 1495 we've continued to add and innovate, growing our campus to an ideal blend of old and new. Explore the historic King's Quad, study in the modern Sir Duncan Rice Library, and more.
International community
We are a Scottish university that was founded with international connections. Our community of 3,600 staff and over 14,000 students includes more than 130 nationalities, which enriches our teaching, research, and students' experiences.
World-class facilities
We invest heavily in our facilities and learning resources, ensuring our students have access to everything they need to help them succeed in their studies - from the stunning Sir Duncan Rice Library, to Aberdeen Sport Village, and beyond.
Find out moreGet in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
University of Aberdeen
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX