Background

Anthropology is the study of humankind in a broad and comparative perspective.  It provides a unified conception of human nature and human experience. One of the strengths of anthropology as a discipline is its holistic or integrative approach; it links the life sciences and the humanities and has strong links with disciplines ranging from biology and psychology to linguistics, political science, and the fine arts. 

There are four major fields of study in Anthropology that includes Biological/Physical Anthropology, Cultural/Social Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology and Archeology. The discipline is at the intersection of the Sciences and the Humanities and  is appropriate for people with a wide variety of interests including human cultures and civilizations both present and past, human variation, and human and animal behaviour. The disciplines allows a student to dissect interesting topics such as cultures, evolution, social relations and the different norms and variations found in the world. The PhD programme in Anthropology provides the opportunity for scholars to expand their knowledge in human diversity past and present and allows them to interrogate further our distinctiveness as a species and the great diversity in our forms of social existence across the world and through time. 

This programme falls within the broad field of Social Sciences and within the narrow field of Sociology and Cultural Studies. Specifically, this programme is anthropological.

 Philosophy of the Programme

This programme takes a broad view of anthropology, maintaining both a balance and integration among the four fields (biological, cultural, linguistic and archeological), which have traditionally characterized the discipline. It prepares students for dealing with the challenges of an increasingly international economy, transnationally connected communities, and multicultural citizenries. The programme is designed to provide students with advanced skills in critical thinking and analysis, writing, and cross-cultural understanding of phenomena in a global perspective.  It caters for graduates of anthropology and any other discipline interested in the application of anthropology in their work. Students enrolled in the programme are provided with an opportunity for furthering their academic and professional expertise in the field of anthropology and to inspire in them a spirit of service, leadership and stewardship to the Kenyan community and the global community at large. It instills a high level of responsibility and a stronger sense of cultural appreciation and patriotism

 Rationale of the programme

This PhD programme is in response to the emerging problems and challenges in Kenya, regionally and internationally, which require anthropological knowledge and skills to address. The rationale of the programme is drawn from the need for anthropological, analytical and conceptual skills to address emergent problems and challenges in the new world order including climate change, technology, food security, governance, and terrorism, among others. The recommendation of various stakeholders (current and former students, lecturers, practitioners and experts in the field) including those that were present during the stakeholder workshop have been taken into consideration during this review.

Goal of the Programme 

The goal of the programme is to train and prepare students for senior positions in the field of anthropology and related disciplines as academics, researchers, development oriented practitioners, policy interventionists and analysts, among others. It offers students an opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in anthropology in particular and social sciences in general taking into account local and global perspectives and to further their academic and professional expertise in the field of anthropology.

Schedule of Intakes: September of every year.

 Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of the programme, the learner should be able to:  

1. Use the acquired theoretical and practical knowledge in anthropology to solve contemporary problems;
2. Apply critical scholarship skills in anthropology
3. Evaluate anthropological techniques/methods to conduct research on socio-cultural phenomena;
4. Demonstrate a theoretical and practical experience with/in teaching and written/oral research dissemination in academic as well as non-academic contexts; 
5. Critique current thinking in anthropological knowledge and research.