Social Anthropologist
🗿Lives among the people they study, from a village to a tech company; observes customs, rituals and rules and explains why communities work the way they do.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $97.7k a year on average
Miscellaneous social scientists, including survey researchers & sociologists — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £43.3k median a year · 10,000 jobs
Social and humanities scientists — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI transcribes interviews and finds themes in field notes; earning trust, participant observation and making sense of it are the anthropologist's job.
Who it suits
Interests: 🏛️ History, society, politics, 🧠 Psychology, ✍️ Writing and literature, 🌍 Languages and cultures, 🏕️ Outdoor work, expeditions.
Key strengths: speaking and writing, understanding people, foreign languages.
Where to study
- Bachelor's BA/BSc Anthropology
- Master's MA/MSc Social Anthropology
- PhD PhD (for academia)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): History, Geography, Languages, Psychology.
🧗 Anthropology BA and master's (strong at LSE, Oxford, Cambridge and US universities); a PhD for academia. Jobs in universities, UX research and NGOs.
Universities
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) London · €33.2k–45.9k/yr
£28,900–39,900 (2026/27, fixed for the degree); A-levels/IB; IELTS ≈7.0; TMUA for some programmes - University of Oxford Oxford · €43k–72.2k/yr
IELTS 7.5 (7.0 each); subject test (MAT, PAT, TSA, LNAT, UCAT), interview; apply by 15 Oct; medicine takes ≤14 international students/yr - University of Manchester Manchester · €40.6k/yr
Attestat + foundation (INTO/own) or 2 years at a Russian university; medicine/dentistry A-levels/IB only; nursing IELTS 7.0, £35.3k
🇺🇸 United States
- University of California, Berkeley Berkeley · €47.7k–49.9k/yr
UC Application; TOEFL 80 (new scale 4.5) / IELTS 6.5 / DET 115; SAT/ACT not considered; almost no aid for internationals - Harvard University Cambridge, MA · €54.1k/yr
SAT/ACT required; English test optional; aid for internationals on the same terms (need-blind), full need met - University of Michigan Ann Arbor · €58.4k–62.5k/yr
Common App; SAT/ACT if available; TOEFL/IELTS/DET; no aid for internationals, full cost
🇩🇪 Germany
- University of Mannheim Mannheim · €3k/yr
Non-EU: €1,500 a semester; C1 (TestDaF 4x4, DSH-2) by the deadline; no fully English bachelor's; apply directly - Bielefeld University Bielefeld · free
No tuition; German C1 (DSH-2/TestDaF 4x4); Russian certificate: via Studienkolleg (FSP) * - Free University of Berlin Berlin · free
No tuition; a graded C1 certificate to apply, DSH can be passed before enrolment; apply via uni-assist
🇳🇱 Netherlands
- University of Amsterdam Amsterdam · €17.5k/yr
Certificate + usually 1 university year (Diploma finder); IELTS 6.5 (PPLE 7.0); medicine is Dutch-taught, numerus fixus, €34,700 - Utrecht University Utrecht · €13.4k–17.1k/yr
Certificate + usually 1 university year; IELTS ≈ 6.5; veterinary medicine (225 places) and medicine are numerus fixus, apply by 15 January - University of Groningen Groningen
VWO level by file review; IELTS 6.5 (by programme); €100 fee; numerus fixus by 15 January, others by 1 May, non-EU conditions by 1 July
🇫🇷 France
- Sciences Po Paris · €14.9k/yr
File + interview; Paris taught in French, Le Havre/Reims/Menton in English; aid up to full waiver - EHESS Paris
Master's only (social sciences); first do a bachelor's elsewhere * - Université Paris Cité Paris · €200–2.9k/yr
DAP, B2; 2026/27 moratorium — non-EU pay €178; medicine/pharmacy via PASS/LAS
🇮🇹 Italy
- University of Milano-Bicocca Milan
12 school years; Italian B2; TOLC test by programme * - University of Trento Trento
12 school years; Italian B2 or English B2 for English programmes; programme entrance test * - University of Bologna Bologna · €1.2k/yr
English programmes: B2 (some B1), selection by SAT, TOLC-E or CEnT-S; 12 school years. Non-OECD citizens: €1,157 a year
🇪🇸 Spain
- Complutense University of Madrid Madrid · €6.8k–8.2k/yr
Spanish B2 required (DELE/SIELE/CCEE); homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE; non-EU pay 4th-attempt rate - University of Barcelona Barcelona · €1.8k/yr
Homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE for score; many classes in Catalan; non-EU €30/ECTS * - University of Granada Granada · €800/yr
No Spanish certificate required for admission; UNEDasiss + PCE (up to +4); local fee €12.62/ECTS
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- Charles University Prague · free
Free in Czech (Czech ≈B2 + exams, ÚJOP course); English programmes €40–30,620/yr - Masaryk University Brno · €0–16k/yr
Free in Czech; English €2,700–7,500/yr (Informatics €4,500), Medicine CZK 380,000; Czech ≈B2 + entrance exams - Palacký University Olomouc Olomouc · €0–14k/yr
Free in Czech (Czech ≈B2 + exams); in English: Medicine €12,500, Dentistry €14,000/yr
Things to know
🧳 Frequent work trips🏔️ Long stints far from home
Similar careers
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