Social Anthropology and Social Policy

This popular joint degree programme provides a grounding in both social anthropology and social policy, two subjects which complement and enrich each other.

Social anthropology

Social anthropology is the study of human conduct and thought. Societies around the world vary enormously socially, culturally and politically.

The study of these variations, and the common humanity that underlies them, is at the heart of social anthropology.

Social policy

Social policy at the University of Edinburgh will enable you to engage with confidence in many of the political debates of our time.

We cover a range of topics, such as:

• health

• welfare

• labour markets

• education

• family and childhood

We discuss how policies affect our civic culture through studying political engagement and citizen participation.

Our programme will equip you with the knowledge to understand how policies affect society and the economy. It will also enable you to critically assess how policies are made and what actors and processes influence the policy-making process.

Programme benefits

• Bring theory to life by carrying out your own research and fieldwork, in the UK or abroad.

• You will spend up to four months on an individual research project that will form the basis of your dissertation in Year 4.

• You will be able to choose from a wide range of courses covering regional specialisations from Africa to Latin America, and thematic specialisations such as happiness, medical anthropology, the invention of history, and anthropology of food.

• We work closely with governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), third sector and interest representation groups, international organisations and other external actors.

• International comparative analyses are one of our main strengths. We place a strong emphasis on providing you with empirical research skills, so that you can become a critical researcher yourself.