Social and Cultural Anthropology (M.A.)

We see anthropology as a social and cultural science based on empirical fieldwork and intensive research and teaching partnerships with countries of the Global South. These features contribute to the discipline’s great potential for understanding and overcoming the global challenges of our time. Correspondingly, our thematic priorities include climate change and human-environment relations, the transformation of urban and rural living spaces, non-capitalist and non-state economic and social orders, concepts of sustainability and resource management for the 21st century, indigenous knowledge, practices of cultural demarcation and identity formation, displacement and migration, social movements, violent conflicts and peace-building processes in post-colonial states, cultural heritage and anthropological exhibition practice in the context of decolonisation. Starting from the concept of cultural diversity and difference, cultural anthropology is based on a holistic and thematically broad investigation of social and cultural dynamics. It seeks a research position that is both socially close and culturally alien in the context of field research and scientific cooperation in the Global South, in order to inspire the scientific knowledge process.

In addition to a compulsory core area of study, a specialisation area offers you the opportunity to choose from three subject areas, thus giving your studies a distinct profile:

Regionally, we mainly work on (and in) three major regions: Africa (especially North, West and East Africa), Southeast Asia and Oceania. Islamic countries are another focus at the institute. In addition, you can work on South Asia through the Centre for Modern Indian Studies and on South America and the Caribbean through a teaching cooperation with the University of Hannover.

Furthermore, our internationally renowned Ethnographic Collection enables students to engage with issues and debates related to museum studies and to conduct thesis research projects in the field of object and provenance research, the reappraisal of collection histories or contemporary curatorial practices. In the interdisciplinary module package ‘Museum Management’, important key competencies relevant to the professional field can be acquired.

The central element of the Master’s programme is the closely supervised planning, preparation and implementation of an anthropological research or practical project in one of the three profile-building subject areas. A methods workshop, which also accomodates special requests and project ideas, helps you with the preparation and planning. It is recommended that the project be based in one of the institute's priority regions, thus enabling you to gain experience of research work across linguistic and cultural boundaries. It is possible to integrate the project into existing research structures at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology or the Ethnographic Collection; you are also welcome to make use of the many collaborations between the institute and universities and research institutions in the priority regions.

In our showroom, you will find descriptions of various research projects that our students are currently conducting or have conducted as part of their bachelor's or master's degree. The diversity of the projects reflects the broad range of topics and regional foci of anthropology at our institute.

• The three profiling modules in the MA (PDF in German)
• Showroom

The Master’s in Cultural and Social Anthropology promotes not only your subject-specific skills but also your civic engagement and personal development: primarily by strengthening your communication and social skills, your civic awareness, your ability to reflect on culture and your intercultural skills.

The Master's programme will enable you to:

• conduct independent anthropological research and develop solutions to problems based on social and cultural science theories and methods
• apply and reflect on methods of empirical data collection
• make scientifically sound decisions, considering ethical issues and social implications that may arise from the application of one's own knowledge and decisions
• present and discuss anthropological knowledge in different formats and contexts of knowledge transfer
• understand the dynamics of intercultural and transcultural exchange and interaction processes and their significance for local life-worlds
• pursue research or practical activities in culturally foreign or intercultural contexts
• critically question universalistic models of thought and approaches to solving socio-political problems

We are convinced that learning to conduct anthropological research equips you for a whole range of professional fields! By acquiring in-depth subject-specific knowledge and learning how to apply methodical-analytical research methods, you will not only be able to pursue further studies in a doctoral programme, but also a wide range of other occupational fields in public and private institutions:

• a scientific career through the ability to study for a doctorate and work in anthropological or interdisciplinary research projects
• work in the field of museums and exhibitions and other institutions for cultural exchange
• development cooperation, humanitarian aid, peace work and peace research
• consultancy and mediation in intercultural contexts (e.g. migration and refugee work, health care, educational institutions, tourism, international companies)
• Media and public relations work, as well as adult education, especially in relation to intercultural and global contexts
• International science management

• German Association of Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Bundesverband für Ethnolog*innen e.V. (Federal Union of Anthropologists)