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Postgraduate Study

The MRes gave me valuable time and numerous writing opportunities to develop my knowledge and try out my ideas before continuing on to the PhD. Throughout the year, I wrote essays for my supervisor surveying literature, leading up to the dissertation at the end of the year, this was along with seminars and Research Training Papers (more formal graded essays), which helped me to encounter bodies of scholarship I might not otherwise have come across. In particular, I came out of the MRes much better grounded in the regional scholarship of eastern and central Africa (I have since gone on to do PhD fieldwork in Kenya). 

Another highlight was the seminars convened by a rotating cast of departmental staff. Studying ethnographic texts alongside my peers in the cohort - and unpacking methodological and theoretical innovations from writing culture, to value theory, and even the ontological turn - was always thought-provoking, producing discussions that would spill over into cafes and pubs. Overall, the MRes pushed me to grow and change as an anthropologist, which is exactly the experience I was looking for.

Peter Lockwood – 2015-16 cohort (April 2019)

I applied to the MRes after completing an undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology. MRes students are fully integrated into the new PhD cohort, which allows us to work simultaneously on our master's dissertation and on our prospective PhD research. Beyond the great support and feedback given throughout the MRes year by my academic supervisor, I also truly enjoyed the lively discussions with the student cohort about our respective research during the weekly seminars. Overall, I've found the MRes programme to be a particularly stimulating 'pre-field' year preparing me for the launch of my doctoral work.

Camille Lardy - 2015-16 cohort (April 2019)

For those with a background in Social Anthropology, the MRes program is perhaps the best point of entry into PhD research at Cambridge. You are given excellent support to develop your project through the course’s seminars, and via the many academic events held at the university more broadly. This experience stood me in great stead for my PhD fieldwork, which would have been much less successful had I not had the opportunity to think through the foundations of my project during the MRes year.

Thomas Powell-Davies - 2015-16 cohort (April 2019)

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Key Information


11 months full-time

Study Mode : Research

Master of Research

Department of Social Anthropology

Course - related enquiries

Application - related enquiries

Course on Department Website

Dates and deadlines:

Michaelmas 2024

Applications open
Sept. 4, 2023
Application deadline
May 1, 2024
Course Starts
Oct. 1, 2024

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Course Funding Deadline
Dec. 5, 2023
Gates Cambridge US round only
Oct. 11, 2023

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.


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