Master in Anthropology - Visual Anthropology

Master in Anthropology - Visual Anthropology is one of 3 English-taught Anthropology programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 3 institutions. 3 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 4,000 to EUR 6,700; this programme lists EUR 4,000 a year. 2 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

The Master's in Anthropology at Aarhus University is a two-year full-time degree. The programme is taught in English on the Visual Anthropology track, which is the English-language route through the degree. The other track, General Anthropology, is taught in Danish. You study at Moesgaard, an old manor house just south of Aarhus, where the department, library and Moesgaard Museum are based.

What you study

The Visual Anthropology track is for students who want to work with images, sound and online media as part of anthropological research and communication. The programme states that public institutions, private organisations, companies and academia increasingly need audiovisual methods for cross-cultural analysis, dialogue and imagination.

You take hands-on workshops in the production of ethnographic film. There you learn to design audiovisual projects and to use audiovisual media as a participatory research method and as a way of investigating and expressing analysis. The teaching aims to develop practical and conceptual sensibilities so you can explore human perception, emotion and imagination beyond what words can hold.

The degree ends with a thesis. On this track you can combine a written part with a visual anthropological product, such as a film, photography, a museum installation or multimedia.

How the programme is organised

The programme is full-time over two years and starts in August or September. There is no winter intake. You gain practical experience through independent anthropological fieldwork or a fieldwork practicum in a Danish or foreign company or organisation. Many students use material and data from that fieldwork or practical training in their thesis.

You shape your own profile through your choice of track and your choice of topic for fieldwork and thesis. The programme describes the Visual Anthropology track as taught in English and the General Anthropology track as taught in Danish.

Who it suits

This track suits anthropology students who want to work with audiovisual methods and who are ready to experiment with film, photography and multimedia. It also suits people who want to do research, consultancy or communication where cross-cultural analysis matters.

Student life is based at Moesgaard. There is a library, a common room, the Moesgaard Museum and countryside nearby. Students can join the Student Committee, the Danish Ethnographic Association, the Friday bar BarBaren, the party committee Kaiko and Socialiteten, which arranges social events. MoCa Mates connects new international students with senior Master's students.

Admission, language and next steps

To be admitted you need a bachelor's degree comparable to a Danish bachelor's degree, 180 ECTS. The university also assesses specific requirements: 20 ECTS in central anthropological concepts and analysis, 10 ECTS in an anthropological theme or region, and 10 ECTS in qualitative method, 40 ECTS in total.

Applicants with a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Aarhus University have a legal right of admission if they apply within three years of completing the degree. Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology from Aarhus University and from the University of Copenhagen give direct admission. Other applicants are ranked on grade level, relevant subject areas, other relevant experience and a relevance description of one to two pages in English. The description should explain how your bachelor's degree relates to the Visual Anthropology track, which courses meet the academic requirements and any relevant work experience.

You must meet the university's English language requirements. Students with a legal right of admission from Aarhus University are exempt. The university cannot assess your qualifications in advance; you must apply. Applications from international applicants go through the institution's application process. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge. Other students pay a fee set by the institution.

Master’s applications go straight to Aarhus University, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.