Sally Montgomery - 2021 cohort, (Apr. 9, 2026)The Cambridge Department of Social Anthropology has been a wonderful place to complete my PhD. I joined in 2020, studying the Masters of Research in Social Anthropology* and continued on in the PhD programme.
Throughout my MRes and PhD studies, I found the Department to be an inspiring, supportive, and friendly environment where I received wonderful intellectual and practical guidance from members of staff and students alike.
Working independently, but always with the support of my kind and generous supervisor, made the PhD a rewarding and enjoyable process. My supervisor was incredibly engaged with my work, kept me on track to submit on time, and provided invaluable feedback throughout the PhD. Other staff members of the Department were also always willing to meet and were generous in their engagement with my work.
The Department hosts regular events, seminars, and workshops where you have the chance to expand your thinking, engage with world-class scholars and develop new skills. The Department has a strong culture of lively participation, and there are many opportunities to contribute to the Department through reading groups, outreach programmes and the anthropology student society CUSAS.
Outside the Department of Social Anthropology, being at Cambridge offers the chance to be involved in so many other interesting networks of research available through other departments, CRASSH and the colleges. The camaraderie of my cohort was the highlight of my time as a PhD student. The Department encourages PhD cohorts to come together through seminars in both the pre-field year and the main writing-up seminar upon return from fieldwork. These programmes build community, opportunities to engage with each other’s work, and help create routine.
I thoroughly enjoyed completing my PhD in Social Anthropology at Cambridge and highly recommend the Department as a place to study.
*The Master of Research in Social Anthropology course is no longer being run; Master's level options within the department of Social Anthropology are MPhil in Social Anthropology or MPhil in Social Anthropological Research.
Sally Raudon - 2018 cohort, (Apr. 20, 2025)I was a mature student coming from Aotearoa New Zealand intent on pursuing a career in anthropology. I chose to apply to Cambridge because I figured that I were to embark on a PhD – leaving a career – I should do so in an ambitious and intellectually challenging department where I’d receive a rigorous education that would test me and prepare me as well as possible.
The application was ultimately simple, and the scholarship process was folded into it. It takes a little time for the three-legged stool of university-college-funding to come together, but when it does, the bureaucratic machine works really well.
My cohort conducted our fieldwork and writing up during Covid-19. We share an unusually strong bond, because few of us could complete the research projects exactly as we had planned. I’ll always be grateful for the practical and moral support offered by the department, and my college, through this period of rolling disasters.
I received all the training you’d expect from an advanced research degree, and more: planning and conducting research, writing for publication, preparing grant proposals, teaching in small groups (supervisions) and leading seminars, and all the critical thinking, communication, and other transferable skills you’d imagine. My teachers were all anthropologists at the top of their game.
The department’s benefits go beyond itself and its range of seminars. The lively intellectual community includes emeritus and affiliated anthropologists, who are rich sources of wisdom and guidance. The Haddon Library, devoted to anthropology and archaeology, is staffed by indefatigable librarians who love nothing better than a quest to find an obscure reference. Across the road is the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and research and expertise flow freely between the MAA and the department. We also have close relationships and exchange with colleagues in sister disciplines: History of Philosophy and Science, Sociology, Divinity, Politics, Scott Polar Research Institute, the Medical School—to name a few I’ve dealt with—as well as the jewel in the crown that is the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, which fosters interdisciplinary exchange beyond Cambridge.
Doing a PhD in social anthropology at Cambridge has helped me develop the fullest version of my intellect. I’m just beginning. I still find anthropology the queen of disciplines–every part of social life is up for investigation.
Theo Hughes-Morgan - 2019 cohort, (Apr. 11, 2025)I had a fantastic time doing my PhD here. My research was on water ownership in the Himalayas. I loved the research: the topic was fascinating, fieldwork was life-changing and the process of writing it up was really great, too. My supervisor was incredibly helpful throughout, and even came to visit me in the field. Beyond that, the Department provided a wonderful community within which to do my work: doing a PhD can be pretty lonely, but the PhD students in anthropology meet at least once a week for seminars and pub trips. I was also affiliated with MIASU - the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit - which provided another lovely centre of gravity for my life and research.
The transition to “post-PhD life” has been pretty great too. Since my PhD, I've been working as a Post-Doctoral Research and Teaching Associate in the department, doing lots of teaching of undergraduates and MPhils and working on a monograph based on the PhD. My PhD supervisor is still really engaged with my progress, and gives me huge amounts of advice - it's been fantastic that that relationship hasn't gone away. The other faculty have been really welcoming as I've made the transition from student to staff, too. I’ve made plenty of clumsy mistakes along the way – but everyone’s very nice about them. It’s a great Department to be a part of.