Why Study / Key Benefits

• Develop an understanding of people, cultures and different ways of living, both globally and in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Learn to critically examine cultural difference and social change rather than assuming that one way of living is universal.
• Gain theoretical and methodological knowledge in anthropology, including ethnographic research and qualitative fieldwork.
• Explore contemporary topics including religion, witchcraft, gender, sex, colonisation, globalisation, tourism, hyper-consumption, medical systems, food security, digital and material cultures, and human–environment relationships.
• Develop transferable skills in critical thinking, communication, research, evidence evaluation and problem-solving through the wider BA curriculum.
• Massey notes that its anthropology staff and students conduct research in regions including India/South Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Papua New Guinea and Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Students may also have the opportunity to undertake a semester through Massey’s international exchange network, subject to applicable requirements and course availability. 

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The Social Anthropology major is a 120-credit major within the 360-credit BA.

Compulsory Social Anthropology courses

The current programme regulations identify:

• 146101 Understanding Cultural Difference – 15 credits
• 146300 Anthropological Enquiry – 15 credits
• 230302 Practicing Fieldwork: Doing Qualitative Research – 15 credits

These courses introduce contemporary anthropological concepts, anthropological theory, ethnography and qualitative research methods.

Subject course choices

Students select at least 30 credits from subjects including:

• 146201 Making the Self – 15 credits
• 146203 Religion, Nature and Sustainability – 15 credits
• 146209 Food and Eating – 15 credits
• 146210 Anthropology of Ritual, Religion, and Witchcraft – 15 credits
• 146211 Systems of Healing – 15 credits.

These courses cover subjects such as identity and personhood, religion and spirituality, sustainability, food production and consumption, ritual, witchcraft, healing systems and cultural variation.

Advanced Social Anthropology courses

The major includes options such as:

• 146308 Taking Anthropology to the World – 15 credits
• 146309 The Ethnography of Aotearoa New Zealand – 15 credits

These provide opportunities to apply anthropology to real-world issues and critically examine ethnographic approaches to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Wider BA core

In addition to the Social Anthropology major, BA students complete compulsory core study covering:

• Trangawaewae: Identity & Belonging in Aotearoa NZ
• T Kupu: Writing and Inquiry
• T Arohae: Critical Thinking
• T Rangaranga: Global Encounters
• T Tira Mai: Practising Engagement

Disciplines / Specialisations

The selected specialisation is:

• Social Anthropology – 120 credits.

Within the BA, students can combine their major with a minor or another major where the regulations permit. A minor must normally be in a different subject from the major. Students may choose a minor from the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business or Bachelor of Science, subject to the relevant regulations.

Programme Highlights

• Social Anthropology provides a global and comparative perspective on human societies and cultures.
• The major combines theoretical study with practical qualitative research and fieldwork.
• Topics range from identity, religion and healing to food, sustainability, Indigenous peoples, inequality and human–environment relationships.
• Students study the particularities of conducting research in Aotearoa New Zealand and the implications of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for anthropology.
• The wider BA is structured around transferable capabilities including communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving.
• Social Anthropology is available through Massey’s distance and online mode, including for international students studying online from outside New Zealand.
• Students can potentially combine the major with another major or minor, subject to BA regulations.

Career Outcomes

Massey identifies a broad range of potential career areas for Social Anthropology graduates, including:

• human rights and social justice
• social work
• social and commercial research
• education
• business and industry
• government, diplomacy and policy
• foreign affairs
• overseas aid and development agencies
• family court
• health care
• non-profit management
• marketing
• publishing
• environmental issues
• museum curation
• art and heritage
• tourism.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The current programme is listed as Social Anthropology within the Bachelor of Arts and is available through distance and online study.
• International students are specifically permitted to study this programme online from outside New Zealand.
• There are no additional programme-specific academic entry requirements beyond Massey’s university admission requirements.
• Not all Social Anthropology courses are necessarily available in every year or semester, so students should check course availability when planning their degree.
• Students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree may be able to replace certain BA core courses through a special-permission process, subject to Massey approval and evidence of the previous degree.
• No portfolio, interview or professional work experience requirement is specified for the Social Anthropology major.

International Student Visa Requirements

The visa requirements depend on how the student studies.

If studying online from outside New Zealand

The Social Anthropology programme page explicitly allows international students to study online from outside New Zealand. In that situation, a New Zealand Fee Paying Student Visa is generally not required simply for studying the online programme from overseas, because the student is not undertaking study in New Zealand.

If studying in New Zealand

For an international student physically studying in New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand's Fee Paying Student Visa requirements include:

• an offer of place from an approved education provider
• evidence of sufficient funds for tuition
• evidence of sufficient funds for living expenses or an acceptable sponsor
• acceptable medical and travel insurance
• meeting health and character requirements
• demonstrating a genuine intention to study
• evidence of onward travel or sufficient funds to purchase onward travel.