Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University is renowned for its international orientation and broad range of theoretical, methodological, and regional expertise.

As students, you can focus on a specific region or theme of your choice while developing your skills as social scientists. Under the guidance of experienced researchers, you can also participate in various innovative research projects conducted by our staff around the world. 

BSc: Global challenges and field experience

Our three-year Bachelor’s programme incorporates the latest approaches and cutting-edge research in Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, and Development Studies. The key concepts underpinning this programme are Diversity, Sustainability and Digitalisation. We train students to critically examine how global processes are received at the local level and how they impact equity. Through gaining domestic and/or international field experience, students also develop their understanding of the full spectrum of socio-scientific research methods—including quantitative, qualitative, visual, and digital methods—and their relevance for specific topics and situations.

MSc: Field research and research internships

Our one-year Master’s programme is research-oriented. We provide students with the unique opportunity to carry out independent ethnographic research by either choosing a topic of their choice or affiliating themselves with on-going Institute projects.

For our three specialisations, Global Ethnography, Policy in Practice and Visual Ethnography, we offer specialised Field Research and Training (FR&T) in The Netherlands, Ghana, and The Philippines. Students can also opt to conduct research for a societal partner. For current research internships see here (list PiP). Those with advanced skills in audiovisual methods can choose for the specialisation in Visual Ethnography, where they will produce a significant work of audiovisual media in addition to their written work.