University Centre Sparsholt
UCAS Code: Not applicable | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
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About this course
**Why choose this degree?**
- Gain the knowledge needed to become a Clinical Animal Behaviourist as the course can be used towards accreditation following graduation.
- Develop expertise through an extended animal behaviour dissertation project.
- Combine study and work with this flexible, part-time course.
**What makes UCS special?**
As a UCS student you will benefit from lecturers with a wealth of industry experience that comes from working with **BIAZA and EAZA** research committees/ working groups and a wide range of zoos. UCS is also supporting member of the **ABTC** and staff are members of the **Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians**. Our teaching staff have experience and expertise in all areas of animal work including veterinary nursing, health and welfare, research, zoo industry and husbandry and animal behaviour and training.
UCS has an unrivalled collection of animals and species in its purpose-built **Animal Health and Welfare Research Centre** and was one of the first colleges in the country to be awarded a zoo licence and is part of **The National Zoo Academy.** The centre offers a wide variety of habitat styles and management systems to maximise the student learning potential and experience.
**What will I learn?**
This course covers a wide range of topics related to animal behaviour, you will study human and animal psychology, consider how physiology impacts on behaviour and develop links between legislation and ethics.
Using an evidence-based approach the evolving relationship between humans and animals is explored in detail including application to developing training techniques.
Utilising techniques developed throughout the course you will design and conduct your own behavioural dissertation study. Previous students have conducted research on:
- Impact of scent enrichment on behaviour of reptiles.
- Effect of noise levels in grooming facilities on dog behaviour and stress levels.
- Cooperative care doesn’t scare - impact of choice and control on stress levels in dogs during routine nail clipping (presented at the** ISAE Benelux 2022**).
- Investigation into veterinary professionals’ knowledge of cognitive dysfunction syndrome in cats.
**How will I be assessed?**
You will showcase your knowledge through a combination of written assignments, case studies, seminar presentations and time constrained assessments. At Level 6 the dissertation module will prove your skills within the field of research and we encourage students to present this work to other organisations.
**Where can I go from here?"**
The course works towards the knowledge elements that are required for certification as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist as identified by the **Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour** and the **Animal Behaviour and Training Council**. You can also continue your studies to MSc and PhD level.
Sparsholt students have developed their own businesses focused on behavioural consultations for a range of species including dogs, cats and horses. Others work in the veterinary industry. Several students have progressed on to postgraduate study, one continuing and developing her dissertation project in to a PhD.
Modules
LEVEL SIX – YEAR ONE
Animal Communication Learning and Training,
Ethology Domestication and Anthrozoology,
Mechanisms of Behaviour,
Ethics Welfare and Law.
LEVEL SIX – YEAR TWO
Human Psychology and Clinical Practice,
Dissertation and Data Analysis.
Assessment methods
You will showcase your knowledge through a combination of written assignments, case studies, seminar presentations and constrained assessments. At Level 6 the Dissertation module will prove your skills within the field of research and we encourage students to present this work to other organisations.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
If your household income is under £32,960 you could receive a bursary of up to £375 per annum. This can be used to help towards travel costs, books and equipment or anything else that will help you during your course.
Depending on the financial information disclosed in your Student Loan application, UCS may make an automatic bursary award based on specific criteria as set out in our Access and Participation Plan. If this is not the case you may still be able to apply for financial support to the UCS HE Hardship fund by completing a Bursary Application Form (available from end of |Term 1).
For more information please [email protected].
The Uni
University Centre Sparsholt
Animal Management and Zoo Biology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Animal science
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Animal management
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After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Animal behaviour
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
These stats refer to the prospects for graduates from both general animal studies courses and those for particular animals (such as equine science). Graduates don't generally get jobs as vets when they graduate; much the most common jobs tend to be roles caring for animals, such as veterinary nurses. Some of these jobs are not currently classified as professional level occupations, but in reality, you need a degree to get these jobs (and probably always have done), and graduates in them report that they got the jobs that they wanted. So the stats you see might not completely represent just how useful these degrees are for getting into animal care careers.
Animal science
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
These stats refer to the prospects for graduates from both general animal studies courses and those for particular animals (such as equine science). Graduates don't generally get jobs as vets when they graduate; much the most common jobs tend to be roles caring for animals, such as veterinary nurses. Some of these jobs are not currently classified as professional level occupations, but in reality, you need a degree to get these jobs (and probably always have done), and graduates in them report that they got the jobs that they wanted. So the stats you see might not completely represent just how useful these degrees are for getting into animal care careers.
Animal management
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
About 70% of the UK's land area is given over to agriculture, so this is a subject representing an important part of the country's economy. Typical starting jobs for graduates in agriculture include agricultural science, farming and farm management, but graduates also go into other areas, such as the horticulture trade, auctioneering and conservation. Agriculture graduates are also in increasing demand for one of the hardest-to-fill jobs in the country - surveying. Jobs for agriculture graduates are often in rural areas - in 2016, areas like Essex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Kent were all important for agriculture graduates.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Animal science
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£20k
£21k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Agriculture
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£20k
£21k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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