Master’s programme in Cultural and Social Anthropology

The Master's programme in Anthropology at the UvA is a broadly focused one-year Master's programme in which you design and conduct high quality anthropological research. After completing a period of fieldwork, you are expected to write a well-argued thesis. From 2011, the programme will be available in both Dutch and English. There are no thematic limitations and the research can be conducted in the Netherlands or abroad.

The standards of this Master's programme are rigorous and students are expected to demonstrate a high level of commitment, independence and resilience. You complete your Master's degree by taking part in an MA anthropology conference, in which students present the main points of their theses to the public.

While conducting fieldwork and writing your thesis, you are supervised by a member of the academic staff ,actively involved in anthropological research of an international scale. At UvA's Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, research is conducted on themes that include the mobility of people, goods and ideas, and the search for identity in a modern globalised world.

Anthropology at the UvA

The University of Amsterdam's anthropology programmes have grown out of two research traditions: cultural anthropology and social anthropology.

Recurrent research themes in cultural anthropology include: 

• globalisation, transnational relations, belonging, identity, authenticity
• sexuality, gender, intimacy
• linguistic anthropology, linguistic ideology
• modern religion, ritualisation, fundamentalism

Social anthropology research covers such themes as:

• ideology and practice of development, local responses to development, myths of progress
• migration, mobility and citizenship 
• corruption, illegality

Students in the Master's programme in Anthropology can opt to pursue one of these themes for their own ethnographic research, although other anthropological themes are also encouraged. It is also possible to join one of the established research projects of one our staff members, see below.

Research subjects 

The topic of your research is your own choice, made in consultation with members of the academic teaching staff and the supervisor. Examples of recent student research include:

• The initiation ritual undergone by 16-year-old Mexican-American girls in California
• Do sustainable development projects have an impact on local power relationships in Indonesia and how are claims to money and power legitimised?
• Processes of group formation and group dynamics and the role of charisma in Japanese fashion icons
• Representations of the other in the television series "Groeten uit de Rimboe": in search of the Himba tribe (in Namibia)
• Representations of the nation state in an Argentinean gated community

Student profile

Can anthropological knowledge provide us with a better understanding of the world around us? The Master's programme in Anthropology at the UvA is designed to help students search for answers to this question. It is especially well-suited for students interested in the interplay between anthropological theory and ethnographic practice.

The Master's programme in Anthropology is a year of intense and serious study, but also a great challenge. The independent nature of the activities you engage in during the year helps you develop your independence and expertise as an anthropologist.

What else do you need in order to complete this Master's programme successfully?

• A strong interest in anthropological theory.
• The desire to learn how to write rigorous analytic texts.
• An anthropological orientation, namely the ability to empathise with the perspective, emotions and ideas of other people.
• Independence and flexibility, essential to the successful completion of fieldwork.
• Knowledge of a specific anthropological research theme, combined with knowledge of the region.
• When embarking on the Master's programme, you will also need to have some idea of the kind of research you will conduct.

Part-time study in anthropology

From September 2011, the part-time programme will be discontinued.

If you would still like to follow the programme part-time, you must make an appointment with the Master's programme study adviser to ask for an exception to be made.