Medical Anthropology MSc

Overview

If you work in medicine or allied fields and want to learn more about how illness and wellness are considered in difference cultures, anthropology is an ideal route to greater understanding.

Medical anthropology is the study of cultural beliefs and practices associated with the origin, recognition and management of health and illness in different social and cultural groups.

Brunel was the first university in Europe to establish a master's degree in medical anthropology and since then has continued to develop the course to reflect the changing world in which we live.

The Medical Anthropology MSc will equip you with a broad, general understanding of anthropology and how it might be applied to medical and health-related problems.

You will develop a deeper understanding of how people’s ideas about the world, as well as the structural constraints within which they find themselves, have an impact on their understanding and experience of health, sickness and disease.

Careers and your future

Hundreds of students – doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and other medical professionals among them - can testify to the quality of our programme, having used it either to enhance their professional practice, to change career or to develop their research interests for future studies.

Students will acquire analytical and research skills that can be used in a wide range of careers. In particular the course is ideal for enhancing professional development in fields such as midwifery, general practice, sexual health, psychiatry, nutrition, psychotherapy, public health, non-governmental agencies and international development.

A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree, or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification in a Humanities, Social Science or Health-related Science with a personal statement demonstrating knowledge of interest in the subject area. Applicants with other degrees will be considered on an individual basis.