Our Master's Programmes
The department offers a master's programme in cultural anthropology and a master's programme in ethnology and folkloristics. Both programmes comprise 120 credits. The programmes are structured with compulsory courses and periods when you can choose whether you want to take courses, do an internship, or do a study exchange abroad. Simultaneously, you write your master's thesis.
Individual study plan
The courses your first semester are predetermined. After that, each student follows their individual study plan. This plan must be drawn up before each semester and approved by the director of studies. Even if you have been admitted to a master's programme, you must apply for courses yourself before each semester at antagning.se
Deadline for courses in the spring: October 15
Deadline for courses in the fall: April 15
Master's programme basic plan 2025
Semester 1 - fall semester
The first semester of the programme (30 credits) is joint for students in anthropology and ethnology. It includes four compulsory courses:
- Advanced Anthropological Theory
- Contemporary Culture Theory
- Introductory Course to Thesis Work
- Methodology Course in Ethnography
This means that you will begin work on your master's thesis already in November during the first semester. In total, you will spend 45 credits on your thesis, spread our over course of the program.
- Course plan for thesis in cultural anthropology (2 years master's degree) or 1 year master degree
- Course plan for thesis in ethnology and folklore (2 years master's degree) or 1 year master's degree
Semester 2 - spring semester
During the second semester of the program, ethnology students take a compulsory course 7.5 credits (Methods and Texts in Current Ethnological Research) and elective thematic courses for the rest of the semester. Anthropology students take elective courses throughout the semester.
It is recommended that you collect data for your thesis (fieldwork/archival studies) at the end of semester 2.
For example:
- Two thematic courses (one compulsory for ethnology)
- Data collection
- Individual thesis work
Master’s level courses
- Advanced Study of Anthropological Theory, 7.5 credits (5KA401)
This course approaches anthropological theory from three different perspectives: historically, thematically, and through contemporary anthropological research. The first perspective explores some …
Course, Autumn 2025, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Autumn 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Anthropology and Ethnology in Practice, 7.5 credits (5KA419)
The course focuses on how anthropological and ethnological knowledge can be applied to working life outside academia and in the activities of private and public organisations. The course draws …
Course, Spring 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Contemporary Culture Theory, 7.5 credits (5EE414)
This course provides in-depth knowledge of contemporary ethnological and folkloristic research. This area includes discussions on ethnography, representation and gender, gender identity, culture …
Course, Autumn 2025, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Autumn 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Contemporary Debates and Developments in Cultural Anthropology, 7.5 credits (5KA417)Course, Spring 2027, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English
- Contemporary Issues in Medical Anthropology, 7.5 credits (5KA425)
Health, illness and medicine are ubiquitous in contemporary public debates but are rarely investigated critically. Today, medical anthropology faces novel and fruitful challenges in its relation to …
Course, Spring 2027, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Ethnography, 7.5 credits (5KA426)
Ethnography is a qualitative method with its origins in cultural and social anthropology, although in recent years it has become increasingly popular among scholars in many other disciplines in the …
Course, Autumn 2025, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Autumn 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Ethnography of Difference, 7.5 credits (5KA427)
Human differences are constructed and represented in different ways in social and cultural contexts. The aim of the course is to understand and analyze social differences related to ethnicity, race, …
Course, Spring 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - From Medievalism to Climate Change Apocalypse: Folkloristic Perspectives on Cultural Heritage, Disaster and Climate, 7.5 credits (5EE413)
Narratives are powerful cultural tools. They create the conditions for how we experience and cope with events and phenomena in our everyday lives, while these experiences engender narratives in their …
Course, Spring 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Spring 2027, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Methods and Texts in Current Ethnological and Folkloristic Research, 7.5 credits (5EE415)
The course conveys advanced knowledge within current ethnographic qualitative research. The emphasis is on how theoretical perspectives and qualitative methods are applied to empirical data and other …
Course, Spring 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Spring 2027, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English - Political Ecology, 7.5 credits (5KA404)
Ecology is inherently political. In this course, the 'eco-cosmologies' of indigenous peoples are compared to the ecological paradigms of Western science. Contemporary case studies illustrate ongoing …
Course, Autumn 2025, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, EnglishCourse, Autumn 2026, Uppsala, On-campus, 50%, English
Semester 3 - fall semester
The third semester of the programme consists of elective courses. There is also the opportunity to do an internship or participate in international student exchanges through the university's and department's exchange agreements.
Options:
Internship (7.5 or 15 credits)
Exchange studies
Elective courses at the faculty
Individual thesis work
Semester 4 - spring semester
Semester four consists of the remaining elective courses and completion of the degree project.
Other
Throughout the programme, you will also attend the monthly master's seminar, in which all master's students and the director of studies participate.
You apply for the programme via antagning.se and register yourself in Ladok for students during the registration period for the first course.