University Centre Sparsholt
UCAS Code: D328 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
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About this course
**Why choose this degree?**
- Benefit from a diverse and exciting collection of animals in our **BIAZA-member centre**.
- Develop strong scientific knowledge on a range of vertebrate species with focus on physiology, behaviour, welfare and husbandry.
- Build vital experience through practical handling skills, extensive work placements and strong links with industry.
**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?**
The course is designed to combine knowledge and research techniques in aspects of animal welfare and behaviour, the animal industry and wildlife management.
Work placements are a key feature and benefit from the University centre’s strong links with a variety of relevant organisations. We offer optional overseas study tours (Covid restrictions depending) as well as UK trips allowing students to experience a range of different animal related industries.
Students have also undertaken work placement or dissertation data collection with the **RSPCA, HART Wildlife Rescue, Dogs Trust**, bird of prey centres including the **Hawk Conservancy Trust, Orangutan Appeal** and also placements at several local farms.
**How will I be assessed?**
Assessment is via a range of coursework including practical portfolios, laboratory reports, seminars and essays, some modules also include an end of year assessment.
In the final year of the course utilising techniques developed throughout the course you will design and conduct your own dissertation study. Previous students have had their research from this published in academic journals, industry magazines or presented at conferences.
**Where can I go from here?**
You can progress to the **MSc in Applied Zoo Biology at University Centre Sparsholt**; alternatively, there are many MSc and PhD programmes available at other universities.
Sparsholt graduates now work in zoological collections, animal and conservation charities both in the UK and overseas.
Modules
LEVEL SIX
Dissertation,
Further Statistics,
Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare (optional)*,
Applied Animal Health,
Species Manipulation and Monitoring,
Professional Industrial Development,
Animal Industry and Trade,
Reproductive Technologies and Genetics (optional)*,
Sustainable Resource ,
Management (optional)*.
*subject to demand
Assessment methods
Work placements offer opportunities to gather data for the dissertation project which is submitted at level six. There are research opportunities throughout the programme, and University Centre Sparsholt actively submits student work to outside symposia, giving you the opportunity to present your work to the wider world.
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 £750 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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This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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 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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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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