Through the study of different issues such as socialization, identity, culture, power, organization, regulation, class, inequality, cultural and/or social conflict, change and social movements) the key role of sociology is to understand the social players (individuals or groups), their relationships and connections in contemporary society. Anthropology is the science which takes an interest in everything connected to human beings, from the development of man to the most astonishing achievements and phenomena involving human communities. Social and cultural anthropology is the branch of anthropology which is most closely concerned with the many different cultural and social creations of human beings.  

The 60 credit Master in Sociology and Anthropology should be viewed in the context of sociology and anthropology being brought more closely together, a course first charted ten years ago at this university. It is designed to provide understanding of the key issues in sociology and anthropology and the ways in which they are interlinked or differ. There is greater emphasis on training in the theoretical issues of both disciplines rather than the methodological and practical aspects of empirical research.  

The Master in Sociology and Anthropology is designed to equip students with the following knowledge and key skills:

• intellectual grasp of the conceptual tools and main issues in social and anthropological analysis; 
• understanding of these different procedures, what they bring and the premises they are built on, from the epistemological, theoretical and methodological point of view.

The 60 credit Master 60 may form the first stage in a 120 credit Master, either in Sociology or Anthropology.

• 21 credits in sociology/anthropology or both subjects together (with at least 15 credits in sociology)
• 24 credits in methodology (with at least 8 in quantitative methodology and 8 in qualitative methodology)
• 9 credits in languages (English unless there is special permission for another language)

The 30 credits for the subsidiary subject in sociology/anthropology may therefore be used to satisfy these requirements. If the total of prerequisite subjects is more than 15 credits, entry to the Master programme is conditional on the successful completion of a preparatory year and gaining a maximum of 60 credits

The programme is centred on the essential elements of analytical procedures in sociology and anthropology and how they can be used more precisely in an area or a more specific social sector. Methodological procedures are introduced through qualitative and quantitative methods. The dissertation is designed to produce a piece of work which summarizes a sociological and/or anthropological question, mainly based on a critical examination of international literature on sociology and anthropology. A key dimension is critical understanding of the ways in which anthropological and sociological procedures can differ or be closely related. This examination may form the basis of an original research topic which can go on to be dealt with in the dissertation of the 120 credit Master, either in Anthropology or in Sociology.