Anthropology Applied



Overview

As pandemics sweep across the globe, as climate change threatens our vision of the future, and as population growth accelerates amidst diminishing natural resources and rapidly emerging technologies, it seems clear that most of the global challenges and opportunities we face are fundamentally human in nature. While the pervasive influence and consequences of culture, identity and power are woven vividly into the fabric of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, our world is becoming increasingly complex, contested and unpredictable.

In this course we will explore the unique and vital contribution of applied anthropology in helping to examine and address some of the major global challenges of our time. Drawing from real-world case studies we will investigate a range of critical issues, from sustainable development and population displacement to public health and natural disasters. We will learn how an integrated understanding of underlying social and cultural dynamics can dramatically influence the success or failure of interventions and outcomes, tipping a delicate balance between preservation or loss, prosperity or poverty, peace or conflict, life or death.

This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

This course begins on the 17 Sep 2025 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 24 Sep 2025, 7:00-8:00pm (UK time).

Week 1: Applied anthropology: methods, ethics and collaborating for change

Week 2: Organisational cultures: truth, power and leadership

Week 3: Aid and Agencies: development politics and crisis culture

Week 4: Sustainable development and environmental justice

Week 5: Refugees and dilemmas of displacement

Week 6: Public health and the social dynamics of disease

Week 7: COVID-19: risk and rebellion in a global pandemic

Week 8: Disaster! Cultural responses to catastrophe

Week 9: Hurricane Katrina: truth, tragedy and the Wrath of God

Week 10: International security: peace, conflict and contested worlds

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Mark Anderson

Mark specialises in African archaeology, the anthropology of ritual, and applied educational anthropology. He is a Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London, a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Course aims

  • To explore the role and practice of applied anthropology as an approach to understanding and addressing the social and cultural dynamics that underpin complex global challenges.
  • To deepen our understanding of anthropological principles, perspectives and methods, and how they are being applied to address a wide range of contemporary social issues.
  • To nurture anthropologically-informed approaches to exploring human values, behaviours, lived experiences, and perceptions of danger and need.
  • To encourage ethical, reflexive, evidence-based and culturally-sensitive engagement with current and future wicked problems and global challenges. 

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Any standard web browser can be used to access these materials, but we recommend Google Chrome. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be better able to:

  • define and explain key principles and practices of applied anthropology, and discuss them in relation to real-world issues and challenges;
  • critically evaluate a range of examples and case studies of anthropology in practice;
  • apply ethnographic methods to explore human values, behaviours, lived experiences and perceptions of danger and need;
  • develop a set of ethnographically-informed recommendations for addressing a contemporary issue or challenge, and justify your rationale.

Assessment methods

You will be set independent formative and summative work for this course. Formative work will be submitted for informal assessment and feedback from your tutor, but has no impact on your final grade. The summative work will be formally assessed as pass or fail.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form

Level and demands

This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in live webinars.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

 

 

 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support