Overview
If studies of the mind and mental health interest you, this socially and culturally focused course may provide a rich alternative to more scientific studies in psychology and psychiatry.
Study this course and you will investigate psychological and psychiatric issues from an anthropological perspective, addressing issues at the forefront of debates in social policy, morality, personal identity, and mental health.
By considering cases from around the world you’ll explore how person, consciousness, and experience are shaped through cultural practices and political realities.
Examining world ethnography (including the UK), you’ll learn about selfhood, emotion, personality, and understandings of ‘madness’ and mental illness in cultural context.
Brunel students come from varied professional and academic backgrounds, many taking time out for professional development. If you haven’t studied anthropology before, you’ll be offered introductory modules in anthropological theory to help prepare you for the rest of the course.
Anthropology at Brunel is well-known for its focus on ethnographic fieldwork and you will be expected to get out of the library and undertake your own, original research – whether in the UK or overseas – and to present your findings in a dissertation.
Your fieldwork can be taken anywhere in the world, locally, previous students have explored psychic training, Pentecostal churches, and mental health charities, and internationally, students have explored subjects like funerals in Iran, Amazon neoshamanism, and autism programmes in Belgium.
A 30 month part-time option of the course is also available. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
The main objectives of this course are to provide you with a rigorous grounding in key topics and perspectives in psychological and psychiatric anthropology, and to equip you with a range of research skills to enable you to complete your research successfully.
Compulsory
- SA5516 - Dissertation in Psychological and Psychiatric AnthropologyThe opportunity to carry out a major research project in psychological or psychiatric anthropology based around your own fieldwork experience.
- SA5603 - Ethnographic Research MethodsThis module will introduce you to the methods employed by anthropologists when undertaking ethnographic research in preparation for your own fieldwork research on which your dissertation will be based.
- SA5620 - Themes in Psychological and Psychiatric AnthropologyProvides a theoretical introduction to psychological and psychiatric anthropology, to provide you with detailed insight into the ways in which person, emotion, and subjectivity are shaped through cultural practices.
Optional
- SA5523 - Anthropology of the BodyExplore key theories of ‘the body’ in anthropology and other cognate discipline through the work of scholars such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault and Thomas Csordas. You will also be exposed to contemporary approaches to the study of subjectivity, personhood and experience across societies and cultures.
- SA5527 - Anthropology of the PersonAnthropological approaches to understanding ‘the person’ are discussed through the work of theorists such as Mauss and Hacking including contemporary approaches to the study of subjectivity, personhood and experience in formal and informal environments.
- SA5622 - Anthropology and Global HealthA theoretical introduction to the anthropological study of global health which includes a comparative understanding of the methods employed by biomedical scientists, epidemiologists, biosocial anthropologists, clinically applied and critical medical anthropologists in the study of global health.
- Cross-Cultural perspectives on Education and LearningGain an appreciation of the key issues in the anthropology of education and learning and an understanding, ethnographically, of how culture shapes and informs the educational and learning process an and in turn impacts social and cultural practices.
- SA5601 - Ethnicity, Identity and CultureLearn about the range of key concepts, theories and controversies in the anthropology of ethnicity, culture, nationhood and identity. Drawing on case studies from within and beyond Britain, it will encourage you to consider how identities are created, deployed and contested.
- SA5540 - Kinship, Sex and GenderAn introduction to some of the key social anthropological literature on kinship, gender and sexuality including universalities and particularities in the construction of gender roles and different theoretical paradigms on gender and sexuality.
- SA5602 - Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community SettingsDelve into the contemporary texts that have contributed to the development of medical anthropology as you consider its innovations and how the application of anthropological research in the subject can contribute to improving medical practices.
- SA5604 - Thinking AnthropologicallyTo introduce you to the discipline of anthropology, and to offer you a grounding in its key theories and methods. By the end of the module, you will be able to draw connections between the materials studied your own degree specialism.
- Understanding Childhood and YouthThis module will introduce you to the study of childhood and youth as they are constructed and practiced in different social, cultural and economic settings. The first section focuses on children, looking first at how ideas of childhood are constructed by adults, the second section is devoted to young people.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Through this course you will acquire analytical and research skills that can be used in a wide range of careers. In particular the course is ideal for enhances professional development in psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, education, social policy, charities and development.
There is also the opportunity for you to do further research for a PhD in psychiatric focussed anthropology.
This course will lead you to opportunities in range of career opportunities in the health sectors, including charities, development, NGOs, and anything requiring cultural expertise.
UK entry requirements
- A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree in a humanities or social science subject with a personal statement demonstrating knowledge of/interest in subject area or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification.
- Applicants with other professional qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2025/26 entry
UK
£12,125 full-time
£6,060 part-time
International
£22,320 full-time
£11,160 part-time
N.B. UK and EU applicants: the 30 month part-time course will not be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
You'll be taught by world leading experts in your field of study, and have the opportunity to interact with fellow students at London’s leading campus University.
Your programme will consist of various learning and studying activities, including lectures, seminars and discussions. On each taught module, students will have in person lectures, seminars or workshops for two-to-three hours per week on average during the teaching terms. There will also be supervision sessions for the dissertation, as well as regular opportunities to seek guidance during module lecturers’ feedback and consultation hours. Additionally, students can seek support in individual meetings with their personal tutors, both on campus and online. There will also be regular cohort meetings and student society events, at both programme and departmental levels. Field trips and excursions to support students’ learning will be organised throughout the year.
All lectures, seminars, cohort meetings and other social activities will occur in person on the Brunel campus. Students are expected to regularly attend these events, as sustained engagement with a learning community is a central dimension of the Brunel experience. Online provision of some activities will be made available when it is appropriate to the learning outcomes of your programme.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
Brunel’s Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology MSc addresses learning in a lively and challenging way, through a programme of lectures, class discussions, and your own personally directed final dissertation research project.
The course is taught by a team of Brunel experts who have worked in many countries across the globe, including South, West and East Africa, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka, as well as Britain.
Find out more about their particular research interests by following the links:
- Dr Nicolas Argenti
- Dr Andrew Beatty
- Dr Liana Chua
- Dr Peggy Froerer
- Dr Eric Hirsch
- Dr Maria Kastrinou
- Dr Isak Niehaus
- Dr Will Rollason
- Dr James Staples
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
Assessment is typically by essay or practical assignments (for example, analysis of a short field exercise), and a dissertation of approximately 15,000 words based upon your own fieldwork experience. There are no examinations.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.