MPhil in Medical Anthropology

University of Oxford

The two-year MPhil course offers a coordinated training in both biological and social anthropological approaches to health and illness, with special emphasis on methods. It provides the necessary basis for future anthropological research and an excellent cross-cultural grounding for those aiming to pursue a career in clinical medicine, international health or other health-related fields. The MPhil is similar in topical scope and breadth to the MSc, but it allows for a deeper engagement with the theory and practice of anthropological research. It is intended both as a standalone degree and as a broader and deeper preparation for doctoral research than is possible with the MSc.During the first year of the MPhil you would follow the same course of instruction as MSc students through to the June examinations.In the first year there is one option paper and three core papers, as follows:Critical Medical AnthropologyBiocultural Approaches to MedicineAnthropologies of the BodyAt the end of the first year, you then use the summer vacation to acquire a firm grounding in medical anthropological literature and develop your dissertation outline based on this background reading. You may also consider doing fieldwork over the summer in preparation for your MPhil thesis if appropriate (and the School approves).Study towards the MPhil degree in the second year consists of class-based course work, participation in seminars and individual research, written up in a thesis.Coursework in the second year has three components: critical reading classes in Michaelmas term and participation in two different methods classes in Michaelmas term and/or Hilary term.The range of methods classes varies yearly may include (but is not limited to):Ethnographic Fieldwork MethodsEthnographic PortraiturePractical Quantitative MethodsCritical Methods of Numerical AnalysisLanguage-Focused MethodsEthnobiology Fieldwork Methods.

University of Oxford