PG and UG courses in Anthropology: Institutes, specialisations and job prospects

Anthropology is all about exploring how, when and where human life came into existence by delving deep into human behaviour, history, social organisation and different cultures. If you’re intrigued about what it actually takes to be human from ethnological and biological points of view, it’s the perfect discipline to carve out a career.

Some specialisations in Anthropology

• Social Anthropology: It’s the study of human society and cultures. It explores how people form societies and live in them, trying to find out the association between social values and behaviour.
• Cultural Anthropology: A major division of Anthropology, this specialisation studies culture and all its aspects, using the methods and techniques of Archaeology, Ethnology, Ethnography, Linguistics.
• Socio-cultural Anthropology: A combination of Social and Cultural Anthropology, it studies the diversities and commonalities between human societies in time and geographic locations.
• Linguistic Anthropology: It is the study of language as a cultural resource as well as a cultural practice. This specific topic explores the nature of language and how it’s being used in everyday life.
• Archaeological Anthropology: It is used to chart out the historical timeline of humans on the basis of physical evidence. It looks into different perspectives on human societies from prehistory to the present.

• Medical Anthropology: It explores the social and cultural context of health and well-being, tracing the experience of illnesses, medicine and healing treatments across cultures.

Studying Anthropology

• You need to pass your Class XII board exams with at least 55% aggregate in Humanities or Science stream to get admission to a BA/BSc course in Anthropology or any other discipline.
• On completion of your graduation, you can go for a MA, MSc or PG Diploma in Anthropology. Admission will depend on your graduation score and university entrance exams, depending on the mode of admission.
• You can pursue either MPhil or PhD in Anthropology after your master’s course.

Some institutes to study Anthropology:

University of Calcutta, Kolkata

Course offered: MSc in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science or Humanities stream to appear for an entrance exam.
• Admission: Depends on your performance in the entrance exam.
• Check here for more information.

Miranda House — University of Delhi, Delhi

Course offered: MSc in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science or Humanities stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.
• Check here for more information.

University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

Course offered: MA in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science or Humanities stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.
• Check here for more information.

University of Lucknow, Lucknow

Course offered: BA in Anthropology.

• Duration: Three years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your Class XII board exams in Science or Humanities stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.

Course offered: BSc in Anthropology.

• Duration: Three years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your Class XII board exams in Science stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.

Course offered: MA in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science or Humanities stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.

Course offered: MSc in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.
• Check here for more information.

University of Mysore, Mysore

Course offered: MA in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Humanities stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.

Course offered: MSc in Anthropology.

• Duration: Two years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 55% aggregate in your graduation exam in any discipline from Science stream.
• Admission: Merit-based.

Check here for more information.

Job roles with a degree in Anthropology

• Academician: They teach Anthropology at different institutes and carry out their own research at different organisations, museums and research institutes.
• Museum curator: They ideate, manage galleries, collaborate with experts at other facilities to plan marketing and planning outreach activities. These professionals also look after the technical aspects of a museum.
• Development worker: They work for different government-funded and non-government organisations in CSR projects and other such projects in the rural sector.
• Conservationist: They look after the conservation and archival aspects of social and cultural artifacts at research institutes, art galleries, archaeology centres and museums.
• Forensic anthropologist: They analyse crime scenes before collecting and preserving them as evidence for future use. They are frequently called to gather evidence in situations where there are remains.
• Archaeologist: Their main responsibility is to research past human activities. They collect data based on their understanding in order to use it in the future