Our work helps shape understanding across critical areas such as human rights, cultural heritage, environmental sustainability, migration, and social justice. With its diverse range of research initiatives, the department plays a vital role in addressing some of the most pressing issues faced by societies worldwide.

Postgraduate students are at the heart of this effort, providing new perspectives and contributing to the department's transformative work in rethinking the human condition. Our students go on to become leaders and change-makers, driving progress across various sectors of society. Many aspiring scholars have the potential to make lasting contributions to the world, and Cambridge must always be a place where they can nurture and realise that potential.

Investing in our postgraduate students brings fresh insights, innovative methods, and ambitious ideas to the table. Through rigorous research, they challenge established norms, develop creative solutions, and cultivate resilience and critical thinking. Ensuring a diverse cohort of scholars enhances the depth and breadth of debate, research, and learning, enriching the department's intellectual environment. The knowledge and skills they acquire during their time at Cambridge have far-reaching benefits for both academia and society.

The impact of student support

Supporting postgraduate students in Anthropology has a profound impact, both on the students themselves and their capacity to make a difference in the wider world. Recent graduates from the Department of Anthropology have gone on to achieve remarkable success. For example:

Helena Spector completed her BA in 2015, followed by an MRes in 2017. She is now a barrister practising in commercial, public and inquisitorial law. She has been instructed in a wide range of sensitive and high-profile cases, including representing postmasters whose convictions were overturned following the Bates and Ors v Post Office Limited litigation.

Adam James Smith completed an MPhil in 2016. After graduating, he was appointed an Assistant Professor in documentary filmmaking and multimedia production at Florida Atlantic University for 5 years and has since moved to New York to pursue film production full-time. His filmmaking practice spans rural and urban environments across China, Japan and the US, and his feature films have screened at festivals, on television, and at academic institutions worldwide.

By investing further in our postgraduate students, we are shaping the future of anthropology and creating leaders who will continue to address the world’s most complex challenges.