BSc (Hons) Applied Animal Behaviour & Welfare (Top-Up)

If you are looking to top-up your degree to help you on your career journey, this is the ideal course for you - especially if you are looking to work within an animal rescue centre, animal welfare organisation or zoological institution.

This Top-up degree focuses on developing a critical understanding of key issues within animal behaviour and welfare science, providing the knowledge and skills required to progress into a range of management, consultancy and husbandry roles within the animal industry. The programme will enable you to critically examine the global challenges facing key stakeholders and organisations working in the sector, with an opportunity to meet industry professionals and evaluate real-world case studies. This degree emphasises the development of critical thinking skills, and will enable you to effectively assess and manage the behaviour and welfare of animals within a variety of different contexts.

Why choose us?

1. Develop a critical understanding of current and significant issues in animal behaviour and welfare science.
2. Learn how to effectively assess the behaviour and welfare of a range of different taxa and generate innovative solutions to problems.
3. Gain confidence in applying theory to practical scenarios, giving you the qualities and skills needed to progress into employment or academia.
4. Build your professional network through engaging with industry experts and guest speakers from a range of animal organisations, working at a regional, national and international level.

The programme is delivered by a team of highly experienced and dedicated staff, with expertise in a range of disciplines within the animal sciences and related fields. Staff teaching on the programme benefit from maintaining strong professional links to organisations in the animal industry, operating at both a local and national level.

Class sizes 

The class sizes for this Top-up programme are typically between 15-20 students for the 30 credit core modules. For the 15 credit optional modules, class sizes are usually are usually smaller, at between 10-15 students. During some practical sessions working with animals, class sizes may be reduced to maintain high standards of animal welfare and to ensure appropriate supervision of students.

Independent learning

At university, you must develop the ability to work more independently than you have done before. In the early stages of the degree, you will receive a higher level of support from module leaders and personal tutors. In years 2 and 3, you will need to demonstrate an increasing ability to build upon material delivered in lectures and laboratories through independent reading. Greenwich graduates should be able to think and work independently, analytically and creativelyto solve problems.

Overall workload

If you are studying full-time, you should expect the workload to be similar to a full-time job. For part-time students, this will reduce in proportion with the number of courses you are studying.

Each module you study towards this degree is worth 15 or 30 credits. These represent around 150 or 300 study hours respectively. If you receive 100 contact hours for a 30-credit module, you should expect to commit 200 hours to independent study to complete it successfully.

Feedback summary

We aim to provide feedback on assignments taken at the college and to release examination results within 15 working days.
Student support

Higher Education students who have a learning difficulty, disability and/or ongoing health condition may be able to access reasonable adjustments to support their studies. Support is available to help students apply and access Disabled Student Allowance through either the Inclusive Learning and Development Department or the HE Office. One to one tutorial support is available through academic tutors.

The Library boasts a collection of over 8,000 books, covering a range of key subject areas within land-based curriculum. The Library also provides students with access to a variety of magazines, periodicals and academic journals through online databases. 

Learning technology is central to the learning experience of students at Plumpton College and therefore is supported by dedicated staff within the College Teaching and Learning Team. The responsibilities of this team are to help support students with learning technology to enhance the overall learning experience. 

Year 1

Students are required to study the following compulsory modules.

• Research Project (30 credits)
• Animal Cognition and Neuroscience (30 credits)
• Animal Welfare and the Law (30 credits)

Students are required to choose 30 credits from this list of options.

• Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling (15 credits)
• Human-Animal Interactions (15 credits)
• Contemporary Advances in Animal Behaviour (15 credits)

Students are assessed through a combination of assessment methods depending on the modules chosen. All students will have the opportunity to complete a dissertation project, undertaking guided research on a project which aligns with their interests. Other assessment approaches include essays, case study reports, scientific posters and presentations. All modules are designed to contain formative (practice) assessment activities, which are ungraded, enabling students to build their confidence and understanding in advance of formal assessment submission.

Successful completion of a Foundation Degree in Animal Science or Animal Management (or equivalent science-based such as HND) degree allows consideration for advanced entry on to this degree.

Successful completion of the FdSc Veterinary Nursing degree (Pass or above) allows transfer to the Final Year of this BSc degree.

Students with English as a second language will be required to have gained IELTS at 6.5 overall with 6.0 in Writing.