Scholarships at SOAS University of London

The Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research in Action (CAMHRA) is excited to announce its 2025/2026 Master’s Scholarship Programme (MA and MRes). CAMHRA invites applications from those seeking to pursue postgraduate study to develop anthropological approaches to mental health and mental healthcare.

Newly established within the SOAS Department of Anthropology and Sociology, CAMHRA is a globally oriented and locally connected hub for cutting-edge anthropological research, education, and public engagement on mental health. Working with partners across academia, statutory healthcare, and policy, and alongside services users, CAMHRA contributes distinctly anthropological perspectives to a growing global understanding of how societies can understand and respond to mental distress and build effective systems of care.

Postgraduate study at CAMHRA is open to people from a wide range of professional and academic backgrounds. Our cutting-edge MA in Medical Anthropology and Mental Health incorporates diverse perspectives from social, cultural, medical, and psychological anthropology and enables students to conduct their own original research. The CAMHRA Master’s scholarship is also open to applicants to the MRes Social Anthropology. This programme is for those who already hold a degree in BA and/or master's in social/cultural anthropology and wish to pursue postgraduate research on a topic in the field of anthropology and mental health. The MRes is often undertaken in preparation for PhD research.

• Further information about the MA in Medical Anthropology and Mental Health, including how to apply

• Further information about the MRes in Social Anthropology

CAMHRA Scholarships are designed to offer opportunities for people who would not otherwise study anthropology or ethnographic methods due to existing time, financial, and social constraints. Specifically, we seek applications from candidates who are currently working in or have lived experience of mental health services; and those from underrepresented groups. 

We hope to support such candidates in building distinctive anthropological research skills, and in applying them to their lives or professional contexts. In your scholarship application, please specify the experiences that you bring to the programme, and the research project that you hope to conduct.

Each full-time scholarship covers 2025/26 tuition fees in full. For part-time students studying over two years, the award will provide funding for 2025/26 and 2026/27 tuition fees. The scholarship does not include a stipend for accommodation and living costs.

Webinar: Introduction to the MA Medical Anthropology and Mental Health

Members of the CAMHRA team will share information about the MA Medical Anthropology and Mental Health and how to build a strong application to the CAMHRA Master’s Scholarships. Join us on Thursday, 3 April 2025 at 1:00pm GMT (London time).

Eligible programmes 

• Full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) MA Medical Anthropology and Mental Health beginning in 2025/26.

• Full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) MRes Social Anthropology starting in 2025/26.

Candidate criteria 

• The scholarship is open to UK and Overseas applicants.

• Applicants for the scholarship for MA Medical Anthropology and Mental Health must hold a minimum 2:1 bachelor’s degree in a social science or humanities subject; OR in health sciences including medicine, psychology, nursing, social work.

• Applicants for MRes Social Anthropology must hold a minimum 2:1 bachelor’s or master’s degree in Anthropology.

• All candidates must have a strong idea for a research project that uses ethnographic methods to understand an issue related to mental health.

• Scholarship applicants must have submitted their application to the MA or MRes programme to SOAS but are not required to have received an offer of admission by the scholarship deadline. 

• Please note that this scholarship does not cover funding for pre-sessional courses.

Apply for the scholarship by 11:59pm UK local time on 30 April 2025.