Anthropology & International Relations
The Joint Honours Programme in Anthropology and International Relations provides students with an in-depth, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary cultures and politics, international affairs, societies, and conflict situations in their political, historical, social, cultural, economic and legal dimensions.
International Relations at Queen’s is about more than just armed conflict and insurgency. It also examines such trends as globalisation and considers the challenge from the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the process of European integration, humanitarian issues (such as poverty, development and refugees), and the role of the media in conflict.
Anthropology is the study of human diversity around the world. In studying anthropology, you will learn how different societies live together and think about such topics as family, sex, religion, art, and economics and gain skills increasingly in demand in a globalized and automated world.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Queens University Belfast |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Queens University Belfast |
Duration
3 years (Full Time)
6 years (Part Time)
Entry Requirements
Irish leaving certificate requirements
H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3
Careers / Further progression
Employment after the Course
Career pathways typically lead to employment in:
• User Experience
• Consultancy
• Civil Service
• Development, NGO work, International Policy, Public Sector
• Journalism, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, Community Work
• Arts Administration, Creative Industries, Media, Performance, Heritage, Museums, Tourism
• Market Research
• Public and Private Sector related to: Religious Negotiation, Multiculturalism/Diversity
• Teaching in schools
• Academic Teaching and Research
• Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, Community Work, Journalism
Employment Links
A growing number of Internship opportunities will match dissertation students with organisations and institutions relevant to their career paths by building on local and international staff networks and professional connections. Current placement partners include
• Operation Wallacea, which works with teams of ecologists, scientists and academics on a variety of bio-geographical projects around the globe
• Belfast Migration Centre offers students of the module ‘Migration, Displacement and Diasporas’ internship opportunities in their ‘Belonging Project’
• Department of the Northern Ireland Executive
• The Equality Commission of Northern Ireland
• Public affairs consultancies
• Charities such as Women’s Aid
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers, including NI government departments and the North/South Ministerial Council, who provide sponsorship for our internships.
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Studying anthropology at Queen’s will allow you to examine some of the deepest and most pressing questions about human beings. Issues addressed in our modules include:
Does globalisation mean the end of cultural difference?
Can a post-conflict society heal?
How do ritual traditions, musical performances, and art shape cultural identities?
How do some people become willing to die for a group?
Through classroom modules, optional placements, and your own anthropological fieldwork, you will also gain valuable skills in critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, researching, interviewing, writing, and presenting.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2023/24). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Year 1
Core Modules
Contemporary Europe (20 credits)
Perspectives on Politics (20 credits)
Being Human: Culture and Society (20 credits)
Comparative Politics (20 credits)
Optional Modules
'Understanding Northern Ireland: History, Politics and Anthropology' (20 credits)
Being Creative: Music Media and the Arts (20 credits)
Us And them: Why do we have ingroups and outgroups? (20 credits)
A World on the Move:Historical and Anthropological Approaches to Globalization (20 credits)
Year 2
Core Modules
International Relations (20 credits)
Key Debates in Anthropology (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Modern Political Thought (20 credits)
British Politics in crisis? (20 credits)
Skills in the Field: Ethnographic methods (20 credits)
International Organisations (20 credits)
Anthropology of Media (20 credits)
Apocalypse: Cultures, communities, and the end of the world (20 credits)
Irish Politics (20 credits)
Human Morality (20 credits)
Studying Politics (20 credits)
The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace (20 credits)
Hanging out on Street Corners: Public and applied Anthropology (20 credits)
Politics and Policy of the European Union (20 credits)
Peace and Conflict Studies (20 credits)
Security and Terrorism (20 credits)
The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies (20 credits)
Year 3
Core Modules
International Relations (20 credits)
Key Debates in Anthropology (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Modern Political Thought (20 credits)
British Politics in crisis? (20 credits)
Skills in the Field: Ethnographic methods (20 credits)
International Organisations (20 credits)
Anthropology of Media (20 credits)
Apocalypse: Cultures, communities, and the end of the world (20 credits)
Irish Politics (20 credits)
Human Morality (20 credits)
Studying Politics (20 credits)
The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace (20 credits)
Hanging out on Street Corners: Public and applied Anthropology (20 credits)
Politics and Policy of the European Union (20 credits)
Peace and Conflict Studies (20 credits)
Security and Terrorism (20 credits)
The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Contemporary Political Philosophy (20 credits)
Remembering the Future: Violent Pasts, Loss and the Politics of Hope (20 credits)
National and Ethnic Minorities in European Politics (20 credits)
The Politics of Performance: From Negotiation to Display (20 credits)
Political Parties and Elections in Northern Ireland (20 credits)
Earth, Energy, Ethics and Economy: The Politics of Unsustainability (20 credits)
Music, Power and Conflict (20 credits)
Security and Technology (20 credits)
Challenges to contemporary party politics (20 credits)
The Far Right in Western Europe and North America (20 credits)
In Gods We Trust: The New Anthropology of Religion (20 credits)
European Cultural Identities (20 credits)
Gender and Politics (20 credits)
Contemporary Critical Theory (20 credits)
The Politics of Irish Literature (20 credits)
Dissertation (Politics and International Studies) (40 credits)
Politics, Public Administration and Policy-Making (20 credits)
Radical Hope:Inspiring Present-day Sustainability Transformations through an Examination of Our Past (20 credits)
Human-Animal Relations: An Anthropological Perspective (20 credits)
US Foreign Policy (20 credits)
Long Placement (40 credits)
Short Placement (20 credits)
Anthropology Dissertation (40 credits)
Admissions
Tel: 028 9097 3838
Fax: 028 9097 5151
Email address: admissions@qub.ac.uk