SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Master of Arts: Practical Anthropology

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
10607	Master of Arts: Practical Anthropology
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 07 - Human and Social Studies		General Social Science
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	192	Level 8 and above	Level N/A:Pre-2009 was L8+	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 06120/18	2018-07-01	2018-12-31
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2019-12-31		2022-12-31

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

The Masters programme in Practical Anthropology is designed to provide opportunity for development of skills and knowledge for the application of Social-Cultural Anthropological approaches and methods to a range of practical concerns in a wide range of diverse public sphere arenas.

The degree programme offers advanced study of the empirical and theoretical materials that constitute Social Anthropology, highly intensive training in the discipline's concepts and research methods and training and practice in the processes of undertaking social-cultural research consultancies. The purpose is to equip candidates with the kinds of expertise necessary for senior-level employment and consultancy activities in a wide range of public sphere arenas and - for very successful students - the opportunity for further study at Doctoral level in Social Anthropology or a related subject area. The programme equips graduates to become experts in integrating and applying the theories and methods of Social Anthropology for their application in various applied research and policy-related contexts.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Students admitted to the programme should have demonstrated competence in the generic skills achieved with completion of the BA Honours or BSocSc. Honours degrees in our faculty. They should also have an advanced understanding of the approaches, theories and methods used in Social Anthropology and of the discipline's empirical scope. Alternatively they must be able to demonstrate expertise in a range of critical social-cultural analytical skills and sensitivities to the nuances of social-cultural life, and in their textual representations. Such skills and sensitivities might derive either from graduate level exposure to cognate disciplines or from extended experience in the world of work in areas such as journalism, development, environment, health profession etc. Those skills should be such as to be sufficient as a foundation for advanced in depth study in Social Anthropology leading to development of consultancy expertise in the field.

Senior certificate with Matriculation Exemption or Equivalent university admission qualification.

First degree:
BA/BSocSc

Honours degree:
BA (Hons) / BSocSc (Hons) in Anthropology

Recognition of prior learning:

Prior learning recognised for admission to the programme includes expertise developed through extended periods of work in a wide range of applied social and cultural fields that require strong critical social-cultural analytical skills and in-depth sensitivities to social-cultural nuance. They include (among others) journalism, activities in the fields of development, health service delivery, formal and non-formal education, environmental work etc.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

(a) Critical Cross-field outcomes (generic to all teaching and learning)

i) The Masters graduate is able to demonstrate mastery to depth of a theoretically sophisticated subject matter.
ii) The Masters graduate is equipped with proficiency in research methodology sufficient to proceed to a Ph.D Graduates have mastered the skills of critical thinking, problem solving, collection and analysis of data, and effective professional written communication.

b) General outcomes (contextually demonstrated general knowledge, skills and values of the programme)

The Masters graduate is able to:

i) Conduct independent research in the discipline of Social Anthropology (or a cognate inter-disciplinary field);
ii) Communicate verbally and orally with professional audiences;
iii) Apply in-depth and specialised disciplinary knowledge and research skills to discipline based problems;
iv) Analyse and critique communications of an academic and popular nature;
v) Understand and be able to work in teams comprising specialists from other disciplines - particularly in applied fields of work;
vi) Devise and develop a research project;
vii) Appreciate and be able to engage with the ethical issues associated with research and knowledge production in the discipline;
viii) Understand the processes whereby knowledge in the Humanities - particularly ethnographic knowledge - is constructed.

(c) Specific outcomes, including professional outcomes, contextually demonstrated:

The MA in Practical Anthropology graduate will be:

i) familiar with contemporary philosophical and theoretical Issues in Social and Cultural Anthropology;
ii) Able to devise and apply a wide range of research methods and techniques to ethnographic and social-cultural anthropological research problems, particularly in applied fields;
iii) Able to conducted advanced literature searches to inform reviews of specialised literature;
iv) Able to prepare professional reports of the kind required for applied social research, academic papers, and extended ethnographic and anthropological work for peer review;
v) Able to evaluate and ethnographic research proposal and an ethnographic research text (including audio-visuals) or analysis;
vi) Able to evaluate and work with consultancy briefs that demand social-cultural research to address societal concerns;
vii) Write research proposals, and prepare detailed research designs, that are based on consultancy briefs.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

(a) The achievement of these outcomes is assessed in the integrated assessment of the programme.

(b) The achievement of these outcomes is assessed in the integrated assessment of the programme.

(c) Assessments are based on criteria that include ability to prepare theoretically informed term papers, regular commentaries on research papers, practical reports, and research proposals developed from consultancy briefs, and fieldwork reports. The last may include audio-visual products.

Formative assessment occurs through grading of papers and seminar presentations throughout the course of the programme, and drafts of extended papers, a consultancy report, and dissertation chapters written under supervision. In all instances assessment is based on success in demonstrating careful and concise argumentation skills, comparative knowledge and understanding of apposite literature and its application to the particular ethnographic/empirical/ethical issues addressed, and ability to use the publication conventions of the discipline. In instances where primary research is conducted, formative assessment criteria include ability to report and analyse findings and to understand and apply clearly the principles of integrating such findings with apposite literature. Ideally such analyses should contribute both empirical data and theoretical insight. In the case of consultancy reports, the analyses are assessed also for the presence, nature and usefulness of policy recommendations.
Summative assessment mainly takes the form of the capstone literature review, research proposal and ethnographic dissertation outlined in Integrated Assessment.

Integrated assessment:

The integrated assessment for the Practical Anthropology Masters graduate comprises a consultancy report and an internship-based research dissertation of a word length stipulated by the faculty. (It may be supplemented by an audio-visual product.) Except in instances where the dissertation is referred back to reworking, it comprises a summative assessment. Prior to submission of the dissertation, therefore, learners are required to complete a series of exercises that have a formative function. They serve both to integrate skills learned during the coursework component of the Masters programme, and to prepare for the dissertation component.

The summative Masters dissertation is assessed by examining the extent to which it demonstrates the candidate's competence in the following areas:

ability to transform a consultancy brief into a precise anthropological and/or ethnographic research problem and question that resonates with disciplinary concerns and draws on disciplinary insight;

the skills required to find and then integrate the specialised literature that is apposite to the development of, and research used to address, that research question;

ability to design and, particularly, to execute an ethnographic research project that addresses the research question developed from the brief;

use of appropriate methods and techniques of data collection and data analysis for an applied research exercise;

ability to integrate findings - empirically, ethnographically, with theory and with policy concerns - and to prepare them first in a short consultancy report and thereafter in a consistent and properly argued extended dissertation that offers policy recommendations and/or indication of implications for further research. The dissertation may be supplemented by audio-visual product/s;

ability to address the ethical problems that might attend the consultancy research that has been conducted;

recognising the methodological limitations of the study, both empirically and in terms of its analytical and policy conclusions;

use of the publication and style conventions of the discipline.

The dissertation is subject to external examination (two examiners) against the above criteria.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

This qualification serves as an entry point to the related qualification(s):
PhD

Entry to this qualification in mid-stream:
Not possible.

Exit from this qualification in mid-stream:
The coursework components completed may be recognised by another institution.

Other higher education programmes which articulate with this qualification without "going back to square one:"

The Masters degree articulates with the PhD in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. When dissertation progress is reviewed at the end of each academic year, the Faculty Board, on the recommendation of the supervisor and the Head of the Department, may recommend that the candidate's registration be upgraded to a PhD and that the period of Masters registration beyond the minimum period of one year be recognised towards the two year minimum period of study for the PhD.

MODERATION OPTIONS

The University of Cape Town has a system of external peer review and evaluation of each course. One of the aspects of the system is an evaluation of the standards and assessment practices of the department.

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

The academic staff of the University of Cape Town will be used in a manner which is consistent with the quality assurance system of the University.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015.

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

1.	University of Cape Town