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Animal Behaviour (with Placement Year) at Anglia Ruskin University - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Anglia Ruskin University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Jun
Anglia Ruskin University - Undergraduate Open Day - Cambridge
Undergraduate
7Jun
Anglia Ruskin University - Undergraduate Open Day - Chelmsford
Undergraduate
7Jun
ARU Peterborough - Undergraduate Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Learn why animals behave in the ways that they do and how it influences the management of companion, domestic, captive and wild creatures.

  • Be part of the longest established animal behaviour course in the UK, accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.
  • Get hands-on by using cutting-edge technologies and techniques to study animal behaviour, and how it’s used in solving conservation and welfare problems.
  • Bring the world of work to life through Live Briefs; designed, developed, and run with zoos, farms, and wildlife charities, giving you exposure to ‘real world’ challenges, including the option to study animal behaviour locally and abroad.
  • Study in Cambridge – a hub of wildlife and conservation research, and home to our £45m Science Centre.
  • Complete projects and internships with our research-active expert staff from the School of Life Sciences, and access work placements with a range of employers.
We know more than ever before about the behaviour of animals. But with so much still left to learn, you could even have the chance to discover a scientific breakthrough as you develop the skills to investigate animals that will allow you to contribute to important discoveries in the future. Animal Behaviour is a practical subject with plenty of opportunities to hone your skills, both in the lab and out in the field. As a student at ARU, you’ll learn from staff who are involved in field and captive studies internationally and in the UK, and have research links with a range of organisations including some of Britain's most respected zoos. Study with us in Cambridge and you’ll learn why animals behave in the ways that they do, and how this can impact on the management of animals both in the wild and in captivity. As part of your Animal Behaviour degree, you'll visit a number of locations and organisations to observe and undertake animal handling and training and to learn about and practise advanced behavioural data collection in the field and within captive environments. Our students have undertaken final year projects, placements and summer internships with a range of organisations including (but certainly not limited to) Natural England, Shepreth Wildlife Park, Woburn Safari Park, Wildwood Trust and the Cambridge Museum of Zoology. We also engage in Live Briefs with BCN Wildlife Trust. There are opportunities to attend residential field trips to North Devon, where you can learn a range of practical skills. There are also day trips to carry out animal behaviour observations at locations including the Norfolk coast, Wimpole Home Farm and Banham Zoo. Field trips that are a compulsory part of your course are covered by your fees. Some are optional field trips (either extra-curricular or an integral part of an optional module you select to take) that you would have to pay for. Similar courses you might study at our Cambridge campus are BSc (Hons) Ecology and Conservation and BSc (Hons) Zoology. Going to university can offer you a series of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. As part of your course, you could study abroad with one of our short-term Global Experience programmes. Opportunities include summer schools and placements, lasting from one to four weeks and funded by ARU’s UK Turing Scheme grants.

Modules

Year 1: Animal Physiology and Behaviour (30 credits) Introduction to Ecology and Conservation (30 credits) Principles of Biology (30 credits) Quantitative Techniques and Tools for Biologists (30 credits) Professional and Personal Development - Level 4 Year 2 Core Modules: Animal Learning and Training (15 credits) Biological Bases of Behaviour (15 credits) Vertebrate Biology (15 credits) Ruskin Module (15 credits) Field Skills in Biology (15 credits) Evolutionary Bases of Behaviour (15 credits) Biological Research Skills (15 credits) Professional and Personal Development - Level 5 Year 2 Optional Modules: GIS and Spatial Ecology (15 credits) Animal Health and Disease (15 credits) Year 3: Work Placement (120 credits) Year 4 Core Modules: Behavioural Ecology (15 credits) Cognition, Evolution and Behaviour (15 credits) Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare (15 credits) Human-Animal Interactions (15 credits) Wildlife Conservation (15 credits) Undergraduate Major Project (30 credits) Year 4 Optional Modules: Population Ecology and Wildlife Management (15 credits) Tropical Ecology and Management (15 credits) Zoos and Zoo Animal Management (15 credits)

Assessment method

We’ll assess you in a number of ways, with most modules including a combination of written assignments and exams. For some modules, you may be asked to present or produce a poster, portfolio or workbook.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Royal Society of Biology

How to apply

29Jan

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.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

International applicants

We welcome applications from international and EU students, and accept a range of international qualifications.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

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

https://aru.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/animal-behaviour#entry_requirements

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
85%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
95%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

In the 2025/26 academic year, the placement year fee will be £1,500. https://www.aru.ac.uk/student-life/support-and-facilities/careers-and-employability/placements https://www.aru.ac.uk/study/tuition-fees https://www.aru.ac.uk/student-life/preparing-for-study/help-with-finances
Animal Behaviour (with Placement Year) at Anglia Ruskin University - UCAS