Why Study / Key Benefits

• Gain the equivalent of an undergraduate major in Social Anthropology without completing another bachelor's degree.
• Develop a comparative understanding of cultures, societies and ethnic groups around the world.
• Examine cultural variation and cultural change and learn to question assumptions about how people live.
• Study contemporary topics including politics, globalisation, inequality, human-environment relations, human rights, Indigenous peoples, racism, visual culture, healing systems, food, gender, ritual and religion.
• Learn how anthropologists conduct fieldwork and investigate cultural differences across societies ranging from hunter-gatherer communities to industrial nation-states.
• Develop research, critical-thinking, ethnographic and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Massey notes that its anthropology research extends across Asia, the Pacific, Europe, Africa and New Zealand.
• Successful completion can provide a pathway into a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts or Master of Arts, subject to the relevant admission requirements. 

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The programme requires 120 credits. Massey describes the qualification as providing the equivalent of an undergraduate Social Anthropology major.

Compulsory courses

The current programme page lists these compulsory courses:

• 146300 Anthropological Enquiry – 15 credits
  • Critical exploration of the role of theory in anthropology, major theoretical frameworks and the practice of theorising ethnography.
• 146308 Taking Anthropology to the World – 15 credits
  • Development of a professional portfolio applying anthropological knowledge and skills to real-world and topical local and global issues.
  • Prerequisites include 146101 and 15 credits at 200 level from the 146 course-prefix series.
• 146309 The Ethnography of Aotearoa New Zealand – 15 credits
  • Critical study of ethnography in Aotearoa New Zealand and how ethnography is used to understand and represent the country.
• 230302 Practicing Fieldwork: Doing Qualitative Research – 15 credits
  • Practical and experiential study of social-science fieldwork and qualitative research methods.

Subject courses

Students must choose at least 30 credits from the following:

• 146201 Making the Self – 15 credits
  • Examines how ideas of self, person and individual differ between cultures.
• 146203 Religion, Nature and Sustainability – 15 credits
  • Anthropological examination of religion, understandings of nature and sustainability practices.
• 146209 Food and Eating – 15 credits
  • Examines food production, consumption and exchange and their relationship to identity and inequality.
• 146210 Anthropology of Ritual, Religion, and Witchcraft – 15 credits
  • Covers ritual, religion, rites of passage, witchcraft, sorcery, myth, magic, spirits, death, symbols, ancestors, altered states of consciousness and shamanism.
• 146211 Systems of Healing – 15 credits
  • Examines different ways societies understand and respond to illness. 

Disciplines / Specialisations

The programme-specific specialisation is:

• Social Anthropology – 120 credits.

The Graduate Diploma in Arts is available with other subject specialisations, but Social Anthropology is the selected specialisation for this qualification.

Programme Highlights

• 120-credit qualification at NZQF Level 7.
• Designed specifically as a bridging qualification for graduates from another discipline.
• Provides the equivalent of an undergraduate major in Social Anthropology.
• Can normally be completed in one year full-time.
• Distance and online delivery.
• International students can study online from outside New Zealand.
• Covers global cultures, social change and cultural variation.
• Includes anthropological theory and ethnography.
• Includes practical fieldwork and qualitative research.
• Covers contemporary issues including globalisation, inequality, human rights, Indigenous peoples, racism, gender, religion, food and human-environment relationships.
• Can provide a pathway into postgraduate study, including a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts or Master of Arts, subject to the relevant entry requirements.

Career Outcomes

Massey states that the knowledge of human behaviour and interactions gained through Social Anthropology can be useful across a broad range of career paths.

Career areas listed by Massey include:

• 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 work
• tourism.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The current programme is listed as Social Anthropology within the Graduate Diploma in Arts.
• It is currently offered as distance and online study.
• International students can study online from outside New Zealand.
• Applicants need a bachelor's degree or equivalent; a previous Social Anthropology major is not required.
• Official transcripts from universities other than Massey must be provided.
• The qualification is classified as NZQF Level 7 and uses Massey's undergraduate English-language standard.
• No separate portfolio, interview or professional work-experience requirement is specified on the current programme page.
• Students are not required to complete 100-level prerequisite courses for the Social Anthropology specialisation when they are admitted to the qualification.
• Students may need to request special permission to enrol in certain 200-level courses if their previous study was not completed at Massey.
• Electives in subjects such as Languages, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics can have their own 100-level prerequisites.
• Not all courses are available in every yea

International Student Visa Requirements
Online study from outside New Zealand

The programme page specifically permits international students to study Social Anthropology online from outside New Zealand.

If a student remains outside New Zealand and completes the qualification entirely online, a New Zealand student visa is generally not required merely to undertake the online course.

If studying in New Zealand

If the student's study arrangement requires physical study in New Zealand, an appropriate New Zealand student visa will generally be required.

Immigration New Zealand's Fee Paying Student Visa requires, among other things:

• an offer of place from an approved education provider;
• sufficient funds to pay tuition fees or an acceptable scholarship;
• sufficient funds for living expenses or an acceptable sponsor;
• acceptable medical and travel insurance;
• satisfaction of health and character requirements;
• a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand;
• evidence that the student can leave New Zealand at the end of their stay.