Are you passionate about understanding animal behaviour and applying it to improve welfare? Do you want to understand the evolution of behaviour across a range of organisms? Applying an understanding of animal health and metabolism, you will understand a broad range of aspects of behaviour and welfare. Designing and carrying out behavioural studies in a range of settings - working within legal frameworks to protect welfare - and analysing your data, you will gain skills sought by employers. * You will build a strong foundation in the fundamental science that underpins the study and understanding of behaviour and welfare - including ecology, evolution, microbiology, physiology, nutrition, health and disease. You will then build onto this with in-depth study of behaviour, welfare and their links in your second and final years of study. * You will take part in residential field courses in South Devon and the Netherlands, allowing you to develop and apply the understanding you gain through lectures and to study animal behaviour in both wild and captive settings - the latter including zoos and agricultural settings. * You will benefit from our collaborations with Dartmoor Zoo, Paignton Zoo, Newquay Zoo, the Donkey Sanctuary and National Marine Aquarium, which enable a number of field-trips throughout your course to look at captive animal behaviour, welfare, conservation and rehabilitation. * You will have opportunity to boost your employability by taking a Placement Year between your second and final years of study, working in the industry, anywhere in the world - you can read more about this in the 'course details' section of this page. * You can broaden your horizons by taking your second year at one of a range of universities overseas offered in our Year Abroad scheme. * You will be supported pastorally and academically by a Personal Tutor throughout your studies, and will have regular 1:1 meetings to discuss your progress formally. * You will interact with and be lectured by academic staff who are research-active and well regarded in their fields. * You will undertake self-study throughout your course, using our well-equipped Library and range of online scientific journals, as well as LABPlus, our unique laboratory and resource centre designed for science and engineering students, which will provide you with flexible workspace, computing facilities, specialist software and bioinformatic applications, access to microscopes, cameras and bespoke resources designed by academic staff to support specific modules as well as more general self-study.

In your first year, you will learn the core skills and fundamental science required to be able to study animal behaviour and welfare, since it is critical when working in these fields to have a strong understanding of the underlying science. You will study evolution, behaviour, physiology, microbiology and ecology, whilst developing your skills in experimental design and interpretation. You will understand the importance of statistical analyses in behavioural studies and will be able to perform fundamental data analyses. You will gain these skills and through a mix of lectures, tutorials and laboratory practicals. You will also undertake a field trip to Slapton Ley in South Devon, where you will study the ecology and behaviour of organisms in the wild and in an agricultural setting. In your second year, you will understand the factors that influence how and when animals interact with one another and with their environment. You will develop a deeper understanding of animal physiology and metabolism, and how it can be applied to promote health, reproduction and growth in a range of animal species. You will develop your understanding of experimental design and data analysis, building on material covered in your first year. You will be able to interpret studies published in the scientific literature and will be able to compare and contrast your data with those of other studies. You will undertake a second field trip, this time to the Netherlands, where you will study welfare and behaviour of animals in a wide range of zoos, allowing you to study a range of exotics in a captive settings, as well as being able to compare different philosophies and practices in animal husbandry, and their impacts on welfare and behaviour. Many of our students carry out an optional placement year between their second and final years. You can undertake either two 3 month work placements or one 6 month placement, though many of our students opt to spent up to 12 months at their placement provider. In your final year of study, you will study a core module in animal welfare and ethics, as well as a selection from a range of optional modules, allowing you to specialise in behavioural ecology, applied conservation biology, animals and society, and animal nutrition. You will also study our Advanced Skills and Concepts module, within which you will select three 'podules', allowing you to specialise in key practical-focused areas that have been developed to give you industry-relevant skills not typically found within undergraduate programmes. In common with all honours degrees in the UK, a major part of your final year is your research project, in which you will apply the skills and understanding you have developed through your studies to a piece of research, supervised by a member of academic staff. The modules shown for this course are those currently being studied by our students, or are proposed new modules. Please note that programme structures and individual modules are subject to amendment from time to time as part of the University’s curriculum enrichment programme and in line with changes in the University’s policies and requirements.

32% of assessment is by exam, 64% by coursework and 4% practical assessment

Royal Society of Biology

26 January This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Course code: D328

Institution code: P60

Campus Name: Main Site

Campus code:

The following entry points are available for this course:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Entry Requirements for Advanced Entry are not listed for this Course.

Must have GCSE Maths and English at grade C /4 or above.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

Minimum Further Information are not listed for this Course.

Test	Grade	AdditionalDetails

English Language Entry Requirement Information are not listed for this Course.

Student satisfaction : 55%

Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs): 74%

Go onto work and study: 89%

For all information about tuition fees, please visit our fees and funding pages at www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/fees * Fees are correct at the time of publication and may be subject to change.

Drake Circus
Address2 are not listed for this Course.
Address3 are not listed for this Course.
Plymouth
PL4 8AA