BSc (Hons) Applied Animal Science Top-Up Degree

Understanding how animals’ function and adapt to changes in their environment both internal and external requires a good knowledge of anatomy and physiology at a cellular, organ and whole animal level.

In year three, you will build on this fundamental biological knowledge and learn how we can apply it to animal breeding and production. In Early Life Physiology you will explore the physiology of pregnancy, parturition and neonatal life and develop an understanding of the importance these processes play in how we breed animals. Advanced Physiology of Growth and Development will consider the role of the animal in meat and milk production and the key physiology underpinning efficient growth.

Finally in year 4 in Disease Surveillance and Control you will consider how animal diseases are diagnosed and controlled at both an individual level and herd level and the systems in place to rapidly identify infectious disease in animal populations

Your understanding of animal behaviour will be put to good use in years three and four where the Animal Welfare Concepts and elective Assessing Animal Welfare modules will give you a thorough grounding in what animal welfare means and how to assess welfare in animals.

In year 2 the societal and ethical implications of how humans use, and benefit from, animals will be explored in Animals and Society and the implications of human activity for biodiversity will be explored in Animal Conservation. An in year 3 Wildlife & Agriculture Interactions will explore some of the potential conflicts between the natural and human managed world.

Good nutritional management is key for any living being, including farms animal and pets, not only because of its direct link to animal production, but also animal health, welfare and environmental footprint to name but a few.

In Year 3 we cover Strategic Animal Nutrition which hovers around interactions between nutrition and a wide range of other disciplines, facilitated by several academic guest lecturers. This will allow you to appreciate nutrition is not a stand-alone subject but interacts with host microbiome, behaviour and welfare, environmental impact and health.

In year 4 you have the option to study Applied Animal Nutrition as an elective module which takes a focused look at the animal feed industry and will deepen your knowledge and understanding of the principal issues encountered within animal nutrition. A key component of this exciting module is the involvement of guest speakers from the feed industry, who do not only discuss their career paths but also show the ins-and-outs of the challenges and opportunities they face as applied animal nutritionists.

We will build upon your knowledge of genetics with Animal Breeding and Genetics and gain up-to-date knowledge of current practices, issues and opportunities in animal breeding and genetics.

Quantitative skills form the foundation of scientific understanding and are highly desirable to potential employers!

Year 3’s Advanced Research Methods extends your research and analysis skills and introduces advanced statistical methods such as machine learning, while Epidemiology builds on previous animal health and quantitative modules to examine the dynamic interactions between population structure, environment and animal health using the latest quantitative tools to analyse patterns of disease.

In Year 4 you will apply a range of research and data skills to your honours dissertation. You will conduct an independent piece of research of your choosing which you write up into an honours dissertation and present the findings of to your class and staff at the end of year dissertation conference. You are encouraged to pursue a topic of interest to you. There are a wide range of projects topics, some examples of projects undertaken by previous students include:

• Projects on animal behaviour and enclosure use in captive wild animals such as penguins, pelicans, and chimpanzees.
• Projects investigating the benefits of enrichment for cattle, pig, and rat welfare.
• Projects looking into animal health - for example looking at animal diet, antibiotic use, parasite burden and disease.
• Other students have chosen to explore the social science aspects of animal science, for example how our perceptions of and interactions with other animals can affect our health and wellbeing as well as theirs.
• And other projects have utilised big data and machine learning or have developed or investigated the use new laboratory techniques, whilst others have researched the potential benefits of new technologies for animal health and welfare, such as facial recognition software.

The purpose of the honours project is to enable you to further hone and demonstrate those important research and critical thinking skills that you will have been developing throughout the course and give you the opportunity to identify a topic that is of particular interest to you.