BSc (Hons) in Animal Management (Top-Up)

The Foundation Degree in Animal Management can be followed by the one year BSc (Hons) Animal Management top-up to gain a full honours degree.

The course includes specialist modules and practical experience with a range of domestic and companion species, enabling students to understand the behaviour and welfare of many different animals, both in captivity and in the wild. Work in the field will expand your knowledge of animal behaviour, and there is an opportunity for dissertation work in the BSc top-up year, which will allow you to work with lecturing staff on relevant unique research projects.

University Centre Reaseheath is an academic partner of the University of Chester. Foundation degrees, Honours degrees, and Cert Ed are awarded by the University of Chester.

Typical Entry Requirements

Foundation Degree in Animal Management (Behaviour and Welfare)

Start Date

September 2021

September 2022

Course Length

Full-time: 1 year

The course features:

Member of British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)
Purpose-built animal management training centre with £3 million upgrade
Students will have the opportunity to engage in overseas field courses to a range of localities including southern Africa, South America and Europe
Centre houses over 1,000 animals and 125 species including:
Mammals: serval , tapirs, ring-tailed lemurs, porcupines, tamarins, otters, capybara, meerkats, and wallabies, among others
Birds: birds of prey, chickens, ducks, finches, cockatiels, cockatoos, and budgerigars, among others.
Reptiles: snakes, bearded dragons, tortoises and chameleons, among others
Fish: a range of freshwater and marine fish.
Invertebrates: tarantula, scorpions and insects Amphibians: frogs, toads and newts, among others.
Foundation Degree in Animal Management (Behaviour and Welfare)

What will I study?

This course is designed for students who wish to enhance their academic/vocational study beyond the scope of a foundation degree (or equivalent), to include highly specialized learning specific to Animal Management with a behaviour and welfare focus, developing subject specialisms and skills applicable to industry.

As a student studying the animal management top-up, you will have access to the zoo-licensed animal centre facilities on campus, in which to undertake ad-hoc practical and research activities.

Additionally, students can expect an interactive and personable learning experience that draws upon the expertise of our team of dedicated staff, with whom students can engage in study through the use of our first class facilities on campus.

Students are expected to study and complete 120 credits, comprising five modules of study at this level. This will include a 40 credit Dissertation module, designed for students to showcase their skills through independent research, but also a diverse range of mandatory and optional modules to enable highly specialist, industry specific skills and knowledge to be developed.

At this level, students will both engage with and apply research-informed study concerning a range of disciplines associated with the successful captive management of exotic species. This will include themes in specialist realms of animal behaviour and intelligence, behavioural & physical rehabilitation zoo research and education, and advanced animal husbandry practices.

BSc (Hons) Top-Up, modules include:

Level 6

Year 1 (Level 6)

Dissertation^†
Animal Cognition
Animal Social Behaviour
Applications of Animal Behaviour for Conservation*¹
Animal Parasitology*¹
Scientific Communication & Zoo Education*¹
Animal Rehabilitation Therapies*²
Behavioural Enrichment & Training*²

* Denotes optional modules. The number corresponds to the combination for selection.

† Dissertation is a double-weighted module, worth 40 credits. Therefore, only five modules are selected for study on this programme.

Click here for the module descriptors.

Click here to see some examples of work completed as part of the Scientific Communication & Zoo Education module.

Optional Modules

Please note that availability of optional modules is subject to availability of subject-specialist staff and the recruitment of the minimum viable student number (7 individuals). Should a module not be deemed viable for operation then all students whom selected for that module will be communicated to in writing in advance of the academic year, and will be informed of the alternative options available to select from.

Students will be expected to make their module choices for the following academic year during March/April, via a module selection service. Confirmation of module selections will be provided via email following approval.

Teaching and Learning

Overall workload

Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity, plus field trips. Your actual contact hours may depend on which optional modules you select, but the following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each year of the course:

Year 1: 15% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 174 hours

Independent Study: 1026 hours

Class sizes average between 8-35 for modules exclusively delivered on the programme. For those modules offered across several programmes, class size could be as high as 90 individual learners.

Assessment and Feedback

Percentage of course assessed by coursework

The balance of assessment by examination and assessment by coursework depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessed by coursework is as follows:

Year 1

60% coursework

40% written exams

Feedback is supplied via Turnitin or directly from the module tutor. The majority of submissions are made via Turnitin and feedback for coursework is provided within twenty working days after the submission date.

Written feedback will be supported verbally should the student require clarification. Formative assessment feedback will be provided at the time of completion where possible, with more detailed summative feedback for reports.

Timetable Information

Entry requirements

Foundation Degree in Animal Management (Behaviour and Welfare).

Further study

Postgraduate study or professional qualifications.

Career Options

Animal management
Animal behaviour
Rescue centre animal care
Scientific research
Animal welfare
Zoo keeping

Useful Information

How much will this course cost?

Tuition Fees

As a Higher Education student you will have two main costs to meet; your tuition fees and living costs.

Our full-time tuition fees for UK and EU students, entering University, can be found on the student finance page. These fees are charged for each academic year of a course and are set by the college annually.

If you are an international student or for the latest information on tuition fees visit the student finance page on our website.

Additional Costs

Practical’s utilising the animal-based facilities on campus are largely restricted to ad-hoc activities associated with modules and the collection of data for the dissertation. As such, additional costs may include the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in order to undertake practical activities on the zoo, farm and other facilities. These should include at least one pair of overalls (preferably blue/green) and a pair of steel toe-capped work boots/wellington boots. Additionally, students may wish to purchase other suitable outdoor wear in preparation for bad weather (i.e. waterproof/windproof coat). The above items can be purchased either independently or through the College online shop. Please note that the purchasing of PPE should be undertaken in advance of enrolment onto the programme, as practical sessions may be facilitated from the start of the programme.

You may also have the opportunity to attend day trips or study tours within the UK and overseas. These trips vary each year and costs would be confirmed prior to booking. Examples of tours include 3 day visit to Edinburgh Zoo and Scottish National Museum costing £200 (not including personal expenses) in 2019.

Students may also wish to purchase their own personal copies of recommended set-texts to assist them with their studies. A full list of recommended text’s is made available prior to enrolment, however, our campus library boasts sufficient stocks of all major texts to support student learning, and the purchasing of texts is therefore not enforced.

Equipment Costs

Boiler suit: £20-£30 OR UCR Polo shirt (£12)/UCR Sweatshirt (£16) + work trousers (£15-£20)
Steel toe capped boots: from £30
Lab coat: £13-£20
USB drive: from £5

Prices of equipment are subject to change dependent on retailer.

Additional financial support

Accommodation

All Higher Education students are given the opportunity to apply for residential accommodation. First year students are guaranteed accommodation and this offer is made to all applicants who live more than a reasonable daily travelling distance from Reaseheath and who apply before 31st July of the year they intend to start their course. For full details on our halls of residence visit the accommodation pages.

Student support

How do I apply?

Before you apply you can come and visit us at one of our HE Open Events to see what we have to offer. Once we have received your application we will invite you to attend an Offer Holder Day.

Applications for full-time Degrees and Foundation Degrees are made through UCAS. Applications for all other full-time courses such as Access to HE and Level 4 Diplomas should be made directly to Reaseheath via the online application form. You can find out more here.

Student contract

For students to get the best out of their time at University Centre Reaseheath, we must both recognise that we owe obligations to each other. These obligations are set out in our Higher Education Student Contract. Before you accept an offer of a place at University Centre Reaseheath, it is important that you read these contract conditions. If you are going to be living in Halls of Residence, you will also need to read the Student Accommodation Licence Conditions. Both of these contracts can be found here.

Click here to view the University Centre Reaseheath Student Protection Plan.

BSc (Hons) in Animal Management (Top-Up)

The Foundation Degree in Animal Management can be followed by the one year BSc (Hons) Animal Management top-up to gain a full honours degree.

Typical Entry Requirements

Start Date

Course Length

The course features:

What will I study?

Entry requirements

Further study

Career Options

Useful Information

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BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare

BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare (including Foundation Year)

BSc (Hons) in Wildlife Conservation and Ecology (including Foundation Year)

Foundation Degree in Animal Management (Behaviour and Welfare)

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Contact Us

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BSc (Hons) in Animal Management (Top-Up)

The Foundation Degree in Animal Management can be followed by the one year BSc (Hons) Animal Management top-up to gain a full honours degree.

The course features:

What will I study?

Entry requirements

Further study

Career Options

Useful Information

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Foundation Degree in Animal Management (Behaviour and Welfare)