Objectives and competences

The master's degree in Anthropology and Ethnography covers social and cultural anthropology, a social science whose aim is to study the processes of human sociability from a comparative perspective, more specifically, the issue of cultural diversity.

In addition to this transcultural perspective, social and cultural anthropology makes use of its own specific research method: ethnography. The success of the qualitative methodology employed in ethnography has clearly crossed the boundaries between disciplines, and it has already had a decisive influence in areas such as education, sociology and social work.

The master's degree in Anthropology and Ethnography is designed to make a contribution to the generation of complex knowledge regarding the social, political, economic and educational challenges facing Catalan society in a European and international context. The global scale of many contemporary phenomena leads to the emergence of social and cultural changes that underline the importance of the issue of cultural diversity.

Migration flows and the precarious situations associated with the economic crisis, for example, are creating new social needs in fields such as education, labour relations, healthcare and housing; in these fields, diversity often leads to a lack of understanding or acceptance that anthropology, more than any other discipline, can help to resolve. By studying realities that differ widely from our own, anthropology has helped to develop a specific perspective that encourages better understanding of sociocultural phenomena.

Basic information

TypeMaster's degree
Faculty or schoolFaculty of Geography and History
Branch of knowledge
  • Social sciences, social work, industrial relations and human resources, sociology, political science and international relations
  • History, archaeology, geography, philosophy and humanities
Mode of delivery
  • Face-to-face
Credits60
Number of places available30
Length of course1 academic year
Language(s) of instruction25 % Catalan - 75 % Spanish
Approximate price per credit27.67 euros per credit (82 euros for students who are not EU nationals and do not currently reside in Spain). Fees for the academic year 2023-2024
CoordinationGEMMA CELIGUETA COMERMA
E-mailmaster.antropologia@ub.edu
Course detailsIndicators
Open pre-enrolmentYes
Open enrolmentNo
Lead to doctoral studiesYes
Admission for applicants not holding a degree qualificationNo
Bridging coursesNo

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The Master's Degree in Anthropology and Ethnography is designed to achieve two basic objectives:

  • To produce researchers specializing in anthropological research who are able to work in specialized and interdisciplinary teams. This makes the course a natural progression route for students who wish to undertake doctoral studies in Social Anthropology.


  • To provide students with tools to analyse and interpret ' primarily by applying the ethnographic method ' the most significant phenomena and problems affecting contemporary society, such as unemployment, migration, consumption, ethnic conflicts, social exclusion, religion, and changes in family relationships.

Competences

General competences
  • Ability to use theoretical and conceptual tools to analyse and interpret complex socio-cultural phenomena.

  • Ability to collect, organize, process and analyse information from various sources within the framework of anthropological research projects.

  • Ability to design projects and action plans aimed at identifying or solving specific problems.

  • Ability to provide an analytical framework for understanding inequality and social exclusion.

  • Ability to understand ethnographic methodology and apply it in different research contexts to make original contributions.


Specific competences
  • Ability to identify, based on an ethnographic approach, the patterns that underlie social discourses and practices related to cultural diversity and citizenship.

  • Ability to identify and provide methodological tools for the design and conduct of ethnographic research.

  • Ability to provide theoretical tools to understand current transformations affecting family and kinship relations.

  • Ability to analyse and understand logical alternative economic practices in the context of contemporary society.

  • Ability to provide a theoretical framework for the analysis and understanding of processes for expressing ethno-political and social demands that allow for the interplay of local and global variables.

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

This master's degree is primarily intended for graduates in social and cultural anthropology and similar disciplines (sociology, history, geography and political and administrative sciences), but applicants with degrees in other areas are also welcome to apply.

Access requirements and conditions

General requirements
In accordance with Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, students wishing to be admitted to a university master's degree must hold one of the following qualifications:

  • Official Spanish university degree.

  • A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.

  • A qualification issued by an institution outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, applicants must request homologation of the degree to its equivalent official Spanish university qualification or obtain express approval from the University of Barcelona, which will conduct a study of equivalence to ensure that the degree is of a comparable level to an official Spanish university qualification and that it grants access to university master's degree study in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.

Specific requirements
Official qualifications required for admission:
  • Bachelor's degree in social and cultural anthropology.
  • Bachelor's degree in sociology, history, geography, humanities, political and administrative sciences.

Depending on the number of remaining places, the Academic Committee may also consider applications from candidates with degrees in other disciplines.

Pre-enrolment

Calendar

- First period: 16 February - 16 April 2024.

- Second period: 18 April - 20 June 2024.

Notes:

  • Pre-enrolment fee: A pre-enrolment fee of 30,21 euros is charged. Students who apply to more than one master's degree must pay the fee for each pre-enrolment request. Pre-enrolment requests cannot be processed until this fee has been paid.Fees will only be refunded if the master's degree in question is suspended.
  • Reserved places: A maximum of 5% of the new places of the master's degree are reserved for students who meet the general and specific access requirements and accredit the recognition of a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.

Required documentation

Selection criteria

The Academic Committee for the master's course will consider each candidate's qualifications and experience. Selection is based on the documents provided by the applicant. The following points will be assessed:
  • Suitability of the candidate's undergraduate degree (Anthropology, 4 points; Sociology, 3 points; History, Geography, Humanities and Political Science, 2 points; other EHEA and pre-EHEA degrees, 1 point).

  • Academic record (maximum 3 points).

  • Cover letter (maximum 2 points).

  • A curriculum vitae detailing the candidate's work experience (cultural mediation, ethnographic museums, etc.) and academic background (partial or non-homologated training) related to the subject area of anthropology (maximum 1 point).


Acceptance of new students it depens on the approval of the candidature by the Master Committee, who, after evaluating the different pre-registrations, will determine who are admitted, excluded and on the waiting list

Notification

The Academic Committee will announce the results of the selection process and the Secretary's Office will contact successful candidates to notify them of their admission. Appeals or complaints about the admission decisions can be submitted to the Secretary's Office.

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned

Course curriculum

Placements

Placements in a company or another type of organization contribute to the comprehensive training of university students and facilitate knowledge of a work methodology appropriate to the professional reality of the master's degree. This favours the development of practical work experience that promotes the insertion of future holders into the labour market. The Master's Curriculum does not include curricular practice assignments. The Faculty is open to the creation of new agreements based on the research and specific needs of enrolled students.

As a student, you will be able to carry out up to 750 hours of extracurricular internships, extendable to 900. It is necessary to previously formalize an educational cooperation agreement with the collaborating entity in which the internship will be carried out. The coordination of the internship program is carried out by the master's coordinator.

Institutional information


Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

This master's degree is oriented mainly towards research. However, the training students receive can be applied in various professional fields:

  • Intercultural relations and cultural diversity: intercultural mediators, support for health professionals.
  • Ethnological heritage: curators, specialists, editors of publications, knowledge managers, cultural facilitators.
  • Territorial development and international cooperation: social development agents and specialists, programme managers and evaluators, aid agency staff, intercultural mediators, experts on indigenous societies or local knowledge.
  • Cultural promotion and management: advisers on programmes related to cultural policy, trainers of socio-cultural agents, cultural promoters. Teaching and research: secondary school teachers, cultural diversity trainers, media contributors.
  • Applied research, consultancies and social intervention.

Access to the labour market

Data from the university system in Catalonia

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