Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

Anthropology at SOAS

Hi all,
I'm looking to study anthropology as at university, I was wondering if anyone knew about the anthropology departments at UCL / SOAS/ King's/ Goldsmith's.
I'm curious about:
Student life, and what the people are like
Teaching/ lectures
and any unique characteristics about these universities :biggrin:

Reply 1

niamh.idk

Hiya, I'm a third year Anthropology student at Goldsmiths so I can tell you a a little about it :smile:

The Anthropology department is pretty small, which means it's very friendly and there's a good level of personal attention. The course is very contemporary and really focuses on ongoing issues and debates, from what I know, it’s very different from other universities take on the subject. The module options are really expansive and there's a lot of focus on multimedia anthropology and ethnographies beyond just written texts. In third year you choose all your own modules and can really shape it to what you're interested in.
The lectures are well under 100 people and the seminars are around 10-15. Typically most modules have an hour of each class type once a week.

Goldsmiths is also quite small and has a very creative and political student body. It's based in South East London so is very urban but it's a single site campus so there is still an active student community. I've really enjoyed my time here but it's definitely worth coming to an open day to see if it's right for you :smile:

Reply 2

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by curlyhairmaryam

Hi! SOAS's Department of Anthropology is among the UK's highly ranked departments for the subject, so it's a privilege to be able to pick the brains of some of the leading practitioners and thinkers in our field. What's more, our professors and lecturers are very friendly and approachable and always willing to help you out. I love that we are probably the only department at SOAS that has our very own library — the Helen Kanitkar Library, a wonderfully resourced space of anthropological knowledge, as well as a great space for socialising within the department. I also love the weekly department seminar series, in which a guest speaker gives a seminar on their latest research every Wednesday and staff and students alike get to engage with the cutting edge of the discipline. It's also convenient that SOAS is located in Bloomsbury, just a stone's throw away from the British Museum, where the Royal Anthropological Institute's Anthropology Library and Research Centre are housed.

I hope this helps.

Jin Wei
MA Social Anthropology student