Master in Anthropology

Master in 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 6,700 a year. 2 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

The MSc in Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen is a two-year, full-time master's taught in English. It is about the social life of people, cultures and societies all over the world. You are trained to find new perspectives on what is often taken for granted and to understand why people act the way they do. The programme compares cultures across time and space and includes cultural, social and biological dimensions.

What you study

The first year is built around two core courses and electives. In semester one you take Analytical Approaches (15 ECTS) and two elective courses. The course gives an overview of anthropological themes and analytical methods, and you reflect on your ideas for fieldwork. Semester two is Anthropological Project Design (15 ECTS) plus two more electives. Here you prepare for fieldwork, learn about regional context and thematic topics, and train in ethnographic methods and in combining methodology and theory in a project design.

You have 30 ECTS of electives. At least 15 ECTS must be anthropology courses. The rest can be an academic internship, courses at other departments or universities, a research internship (max 7.5 ECTS) or anthropological self-study (7.5 ECTS, which may only be taken twice).

You can follow the general anthropological profile or a specialisation. One named specialisation is Anthropology of Health, which looks at how efforts to secure health and treat illness are shaped by local, national and international institutions and political processes, and how health inequalities are created, maintained or challenged.

How the programme is organised

Semester three is fieldwork: Ethnography and Analysis (30 ECTS). Fieldwork can take place in all types of communities and lasts a maximum of 14 weeks, either as an independent project or in collaboration with an organisation or company. You can do it alone or with a fellow student. Your data must be collected using anthropological methods such as interviews and participant observation. At the end of the semester you join analysis workshops to get an overview of your material and link it to the thesis.

Semester four is the master's thesis (30 ECTS). You choose between four thesis models: a traditional thesis; a scientific article and communication product; a visual communication product such as a documentary, multimedia product or exhibition with a catalogue; or a consultancy report for an external partner, based on fieldwork or an internship.

Who it suits

This suits you if you want to do your own fieldwork and build a project around it. The programme expects you to work independently and to combine theory with ethnographic data. It is interdisciplinary, so you should be comfortable with cultural, social and biological dimensions of human life.

Admission, language and next steps

You need a qualifying bachelor's degree or another relevant Danish or foreign degree that the admission board assesses as meeting the academic requirements. Legal right of admission applies to holders of a bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen, Anthropology from Aarhus University, and European Ethnology from the University of Copenhagen if you have passed at least 7.5 ECTS of anthropological courses. With legal right, you are guaranteed a place if you apply by the deadline, and you can wait up to three years to use it.

Other applicants must show a bachelor's at the same level as the Copenhagen anthropology bachelor, with at least 30 ECTS in courses relevant to anthropology, and English at B-level. Places are capped. If qualified applicants exceed places, priority goes to marks in the qualifying degree, knowledge of social science methodology, and relevant academic and work experience (described in max one page).

Apply through the application portal. The deadline for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland is 15 January; for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland it is 1 March. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee set by the institution. The University of Copenhagen does not offer pre-assessment of your educational background.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). 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.