Introduction to Digital Anthropology MSc

The Digital Anthropology MSc is a one-year (or two-year part-time) program that encourages practical explorations of the digital world to develop the next generation of understanding about the impact, consequences, aesthetics, and politics of digital technologies and infrastructures. This program is the first of its kind and will teach students the ethnographic research and analytical skills essential to understanding digital cultures and their impact on different human cultures and societies.

About the Program

Students will study core anthropological theories, including the study of society and social relations, technology, materiality, and immateriality, and their relevance to understanding digital technologies, platforms, and practices. The program will cover topics such as social media, data, algorithms, digital infrastructures, smartphones, and online politics. Students will join a world-leading research community and benefit from research-embedded teaching in social media and everyday life.

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.
• English language requirements: Level 4.

Course Overview

The program comprises three key elements:

• Compulsory core module and methods module
• Three optional modules (with at least two modules to be taken from the material, visual, and digital cultures optional modules)
• Dissertation

Optional Modules

• Informatic Cultures: The Anthropology of Data, Algorithms and Computation
• The Anthropology of Social Media
• Multimodal Anthropology
• Anthropology of Technics and Technology
• Design Anthropology
• Art in the Public Sphere
• The Anthropology of Fashion
• Visualizing Others: Colonial and Postcolonial Visual Culture

Careers and Employability

Graduates of this program will be equipped to pursue a range of careers, including:

• Design and user experience
• Consultancy
• Policy and advocacy in governmental, non-governmental (NGOs), and intergovernmental (IGOs) organizations
• Academic publishing
• Marketing and communications
• Media and journalism
• Project management and research facilitation in universities, research centers, and funding bodies

Teaching and Learning

Students will learn through lectures, interactive seminars, collaborative exercises, practical work, and independent directed and self-directed reading. While researching and writing their dissertation, students will benefit from one-to-one academic supervision.

Fees and Funding

• UK students: ｣19,300 (full-time), ｣9,650 (part-time)
• International students: ｣35,400 (full-time), ｣17,700 (part-time)

Additional Costs

Students can choose to conduct ethnographic, archival, and/or library-based research for their final dissertation projects, with many students taking the opportunity to do fieldwork-based projects in the UK or abroad. This can entail additional costs, including travel, accommodation, and living costs, which students must cover themselves.

Accessibility

The department will endeavor to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences, and mental health conditions. Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

UCL is a top-ranked university with life-changing research and a_x000D_ progressive approach to academia, making it different from the rest. At UCL,_x000D_ postgraduate students learn by doing—shaping the world around them with a_x000D_ hands-on approach.

Services

Student services