Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Ethnology

Ethnology is the comparative study of human cultures and of everyday life. Ethnologists ask how people organise themselves socially, politically and culturally, and they look for answers in the field: they observe, interview, collect stories and objects, and write up what they find. The Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology at Uppsala University describes the work as creating knowledge about social forms and cultural expressions through long-term fieldwork and ethnographic writing.

The name of the subject changes from country to country. The International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF) speaks of the twin fields of ethnology and folklore, inside the larger family of anthropological and cultural-historical disciplines. In practice a student may find the same content under European ethnology, folklore studies, or social and cultural anthropology. In Spain, for example, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid offers it as a bachelor's degree (grado) in Antropología Social y Cultural.

What students learn

Courses combine theory with practical research training. The folklore and ethnology programme at University College Cork (UCC) is a good illustration: it starts with narratives, festivals, rituals, tools, technologies and material culture, and then moves on to theory and method, including fieldwork, the ethnographic interview, archives and community identity. Typical topics in an ethnology degree are:

  • ethnographic methods: observation, interviews and field notes
  • popular belief, ritual, festivals and oral tradition
  • material culture, museums and cultural heritage
  • migration, identity and everyday life in cities
  • archives, memory studies and digital methods

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. In the European Higher Education Area a bachelor's degree consists of 180 or 240 ECTS credits, and 60 ECTS credits correspond to a full year of study, according to the European Commission. Ethnology is often one subject inside a broader arts degree. At UCC, Folklore is a subject within the BA (Hons), and the first-year module is called Introduction to Irish Folklore and Ethnology.
  • Master's degree. A European master's degree usually has 90 or 120 ECTS credits. In the United States, master's programmes in anthropology usually take two years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and often include field or laboratory research.
  • Doctorate. A PhD takes additional years after the master's degree and typically ends with a dissertation. Research posts and university teaching normally require it.
  • Exchange and single courses. Several departments open courses to visiting students. The Department of History and Ethnology at the University of Jyväskylä runs an international programme for exchange students and has Erasmus agreements with other European universities.

Where to study ethnology

SpainExchange lists 6 active schools for ethnology: two in the United States and one each in Finland, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Examples from the list:

  • The University of Jyväskylä in Finland, whose Department of History and Ethnology awards bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in history, ethnology and anthropology.
  • University College Cork in Ireland, with a Department of Folklore and Ethnology and exchange links with folklore departments in Lithuania, France, Iceland, Scotland, Finland and Sweden.
  • Democritus University of Thrace in Greece, whose Department of History and Ethnology is in Komotini and has a Laboratory of Folklore and Social Anthropology.
  • Oregon State University in the United States, where anthropology is taught in the School of Language, Culture, and Society and the MA and PhD focus on applied research.
  • East Carolina University, a public university in Greenville, North Carolina.

The language of instruction is usually the national language at bachelor's level, so it is worth asking the department before applying. UCC, for instance, asks applicants who are not native speakers of English to prove their level of English.

Careers

Ethnology graduates work wherever knowledge of culture and good research skills are needed. UCC lists academia, media and broadcasting, school teaching, archives, cultural heritage consulting, museums and the heritage sector, translation, writing and community arts among the careers of its folklore graduates.

For work as a professional anthropologist, a bachelor's degree is rarely enough. In the United States, anthropologists and archeologists typically need at least a master's degree, and some positions require a PhD, according to the BLS. It is a small occupation: about 10,200 jobs in 2025, with employment projected to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035. The largest employers were consulting services, research and development in the social sciences and humanities, and the federal government.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ethnology and anthropology?

The two overlap, and the label depends on the country and the university. Ethnology and folklore studies grew up mainly in Europe and often focus on everyday life, tradition and heritage; in the United States the same questions are normally studied in anthropology departments.

How long does it take to study ethnology?

A European bachelor's degree has 180 or 240 ECTS credits, at 60 credits per full year, and a master's degree adds 90 or 120 credits. In the United States, a master's degree in anthropology usually takes two years after the bachelor's degree.

Do I need a master's degree to work as an ethnologist?

For research and specialist posts, usually yes. The BLS states that anthropologists and archeologists typically need at least a master's degree, although some graduates start as field or laboratory technicians or research assistants with a bachelor's degree.

Is fieldwork part of the degree?

Yes. Fieldwork and ethnographic interviewing are core methods, and they are taught and assessed in the programmes described here.