Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Conservation

Do you want a career protecting the species and habitats you care about? BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Conservation at the University of Wolverhampton gives you the fieldcraft, scientific knowledge and professional experience to do exactly that.

As Course Leader Dr Christopher Young explains: "The ABWC course provides the experience, skills and knowledge to allow you to contribute effectively to the protection and conservation of animals and their habitats."

Accredited by the Royal Society of Biology and contributing to Chartered Biologist (CBiol) status, the course is taught by named, research-active experts. You'll study animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, zoo and wildlife conservation and monitoring, conservation biology and the growing global challenge of invasive species - covering species from the garden birds and butterflies on your doorstep through to large, charismatic mammals such as wolves, tigers and elephants.

Fieldcraft is built into every year of the course. Opportunities for week-long field courses across the UK and Europe - with previous international destinations including South Africa and Poland - take you from local biodiversity surveys to hands-on work with some of the world's most charismatic species, supported by access to zoos, aquaria and wildlife parks, and state-of-the-art labs in the Rosalind Franklin Building. An optional sandwich placement year is also available, extending your course to four years, alongside further optional placements in the EU and US.

In your final year you'll design and deliver an independent Honours Project, often working directly with external partners such as Dudley Zoo, Natural England and Operation Wallacea, giving you genuine research experience before you graduate. You'll also have real choice over your research focus and assessment topics throughout the course, letting you shape your degree around the species, habitats and career direction that interest you most.

Every student is also guaranteed a professional placement, giving you real experience of the professional world and valuable workplace skills to take into your career. Career planning is built into the course from Level 5 onwards, supported by a dedicated employability module, direct input from the Faculty Careers Office, and a bi-annual careers fair connecting you with subject-specific employers, many of them former ABWC students.

By graduation you'll be able to evaluate and apply key ecological and conservation principles, design and carry out original research, and communicate scientific findings to specialist and public audiences alike. Graduates go on to careers across conservation NGOs, zoos and aquaria, ecological consultancy, wildlife charities and government agencies - equipped with the fieldcraft, research skills and professional network to compete for roles from day one.