Study information

Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year

BA (Hons) Anthropology

1. Programme Details

Programme nameBA (Hons) Anthropology Programme codeUFA3HPSHPS30
Study mode(s)Full Time
 Academic year2024/5
Campus(es)Streatham (Exeter)
 NQF Level of the Final Award6 (Honours)

2. Description of the Programme

Studying Anthropology allows you to explore our globalised world. Anthropology offers a distinctive comparative outlook on human social and cultural life. The discipline has traditionally focused on the study of small-scale and pre-industrial societies and at Exeter you will have opportunities to learn about anthropological discoveries in this area. However, Anthropologists have increasingly applied their distinctive insights to modern living, and today are as interested in the practices of multinational companies and the impact of natural resource exploitation on local communities as in the rituals and ceremonies of indigenous peoples.

At Exeter, you will be introduced to a range of core topics in current anthropological discussion and debate and will also have the opportunity to take a variety of modules exploring topics such as human-animal interactions, global health, postcolonial politics, development, cultures of race and ethnicity, consumerism and the anthropology of music and sound.

Studying Anthropology will equip you with a full range of critical analytical perspectives as well as research methods to start your own exploration of the nature and complexity of human social life.

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

The aims of the Anthropology programme are to:

  • develop an awareness and understanding of the range of human cultural diversity;
  • encourage you to appreciate human cultural diversity from a variety of socio-cultural perspectives;
  • develop an appreciation of the dynamic character of anthropology and its constituent disciplines;
  • develop practical research skills alongside a critical awareness of various theoretical perspectives;
  • develop your ability to apply knowledge and understanding to the principles and methods of anthropology and to demonstrate comprehension of the problematic and varied nature of research involving human subjects;
  • introduce you to the core areas of socio-cultural anthropological theory and practice and provide an opportunity for reflection on current practice and developments in the field;
  • promote the practice of life-long learning and equip you with the ability to work autonomously;
  • allow you to acquire a range of transferable skills, appropriate for the workplace or postgraduate study, which might include project design, writing and presentation skills, basic IT skills, and the ability to analyse data and to evaluate and present reasoned arguments.

4. Programme Structure

 

5. Programme Modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced. Details of the modules currently offered may be obtained from the Faculty web site:

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=anthropology

You may take Option Modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module. Descriptions of the individual modules are given in full on the Faculty web site.

You may take Elective Modules up to 30 credits outside of the programme in each stage of the programme as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.  

Stage 1

90 credits of compulsory modules, 30 credits of optional modules.

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
ANT1000 Introduction to Social Anthropology 30No
ANT1013 Traditions of Anthropological Inquiry 30No
SPA1000 Imagining Social Worlds 30No

Optional Modules

View option modules here (ANT)

View option modules here (PHL)

View option modules here (SOC)

Please note that modules are subject to change and not all modules are available across all programmes, this is due to timetable, module size constraints and availability

Stage 2

60 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules.

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
SPA2000 Knowing the Social World 30No
ANT2000 Current Debates in Anthropology 30No

Optional Modules

View option modules here (ANT)

View option modules here (PHL)

View option modules here (SOC)

 

Please note that modules are subject to change and not all modules are available across all programmes, this is due to timetable, module size constraints and availability

Stage 3

30 credits of compulsory modules, 90 credits of optional modules.

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
ANT3040 Anthropology Dissertation 30No

Optional Modules

View option modules here (ANT)

View option modules here (PHL)

View option modules here (SOC)

Please note that modules are subject to change and not all modules are available across all programmes, this is due to timetable, module size constraints and availability

6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of social anthropology as the comparative study of human societies.
2. Show an appreciation of the importance of empirical fieldwork as the primary method of gathering data and is the basis for the generation of anthropological theory.
3. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of specific themes in social anthropology (including kinship, gender,sexuality, power, ethics , politics,economics, subsistence, environment, religion, globalisation, communication and representation) and the intellectual debates concerning them.
4. Display an understanding of how knowledge is contested, and that anthropology by its nature is dynamic, constantly generating new priorities and theories.
5. Show an informed awareness of and sensitivity to human diversity, an appreciation of its scope and complexity and recognition of the richness of experience and potential it provides.
6. Show an acquaintance with the theory and history of anthropology.
7. Display knowledge of the values, ethics and traditions of different cultures, including a detailed knowledge of particular areas of the world as a result of regionally focussed study.
8. Display a familiarity with a range of methods of representing data.
9. Show a reflexive awareness of ethical issues concerned with the study of social worlds and representation of others, of the nature of knowledge, and the role of the anthropologist or ethnographer in the collection and presentation of data.
10. Show an awareness of social and historical change, and knowledge of some paradigms and modes (including indigenous ones) for explaining it.
11. Show an appreciation of the interconnections between various aspects of social and cultural life, belief systems, global forces, individual behaviour and the physical environment.

These skills are developed throughout the degree programme, but the emphasis becomes more complex as you move from stage to stage. 1-11 are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both presentation and class discussion), among other methods

 

 

The assessment of these skills is through a combination of term-time essays, (ILOs 1-11) oral presentations, (ILOs 1-11) and examinations ILOs 1-11 (and, where applicable, Ethnographic Research Projects, Dissertation work and other forms of authentic assessments like portfolios of blog entries and research proposals: ILOs 1-11). The criteria of assessment pay full recognition to the importance of the various skills outlined. We use diverse methods of assessment to support our emphasis on presentation, teamwork and projects/dissertations, as well as essay writing and exams. The ratio of assessment by coursework to assessment by exam varies according to which modules you take, but on average is about 50:50. Most of our modules emphasize continuous and authentic forms of assessment over traditional timed exams. You must pass your first year assessment in order to progress to the second year, but the results do not count towards your degree classification. For three-year programmes, the assessments in the second and third years contribute to your final degree classification. For four-year programmes the assessments in the second, third and fourth years all contribute to your final degree classification.

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

12. Understand how human beings are shaped by and interact with their social, cultural and physical environments.
13. Provide ethnographic description and analysis.
14. Interpret a range of texts within historical, social and theoretical contexts.
15. Apply anthropological knowledge to a variety of practical situations, personal and professional.
16. Plan, undertake and present scholarly work that demonstrates an understanding of anthropological aims, methods and theoretical considerations.

These skills are developed throughout the degree programme, but the emphasis becomes more complex as you move from stage to stage. 12-16 are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both presentation and class discussion), among other methods

Skills are assessed through formatively and summatively assessed seminar presentations (ILOs 12-16), written work at all levels (ILOs 12-16) and in some modules, ethnographic research projects, other forms of “authentic assessment” and the dissertation (ILOs 12-16).

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

17. Demonstrate independence of thought and analytical, critical and synoptic skills.
18. Demonstrate communication and presentation skills (using oral and written materials and information technology).
19. Display scholarly skills, such as an ability to make a structured argument, reference the works of others, and assess different forms of evidence.
20. Show time planning and management skills.

These skills are developed throughout the degree programme, but the emphasis becomes more complex as you move from stage to stage. 12-16 are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both presentation and class discussion), among other methods.

Skills are assessed through formatively and summatively assessed seminar presentations (ILOs 17-20), written work at all levels (ILOs 17-20) and in some modules, ethnographic researchprojects, other forms of “authentic assessment” and the dissertation (ILOs 17-20).

 

7. Programme Regulations

Classification

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

10. Admissions Criteria

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

12. Indicators of Quality and Standards

The programme is not subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

13. Methods for Evaluating and Improving Quality and Standards

14. Awarding Institution

University of Exeter

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Not applicable to this programme

Partner Institution

Not applicable to this programme.

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

0

18. Final Award

BA (Hons) Anthropology

19. UCAS Code

L600

20. NQF Level of Final Award

6 (Honours)

21. Credit

CATS credits ECTS credits

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

[Honours] Anthropology

23. Dates

Origin Date

01/05/2012

 Date of last revision

26/07/2019