PhD Anthropological Studies at Queen's University Belfast

The PhD in Anthropological Studies involves substantial original research, normally including 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, leading to a thesis of up to 80,000 words. Students are supervised by a team appointed by the School and join a postgraduate research community.

Faculty: School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics  |  Department: Anthropology  |  Duration: 3 years full-time (part-time also available)  |  Intake: 2027/28  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

What you will study

Students are examined on differentiation after about 10 months (20 part-time), then undertake a year of fieldwork anywhere in the world, followed by thesis writing. Supervision covers social and economic change, borders and migration, conflict transformation, emotions and the senses, ethnomusicology, gender and kinship, human-animal relations, religion, material culture and public policy.

Career pathways

Recent doctoral graduates have taken postdoctoral positions at institutions including Stirling, Oxford, Minzu University, Waterloo, Masaryk, Sydney and University College Cork, and worked in organisations such as the Council for International Educational Exchange, the Institute for Conflict Research and the Bangladesh Civil Service.

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