Testimonials

Browse our graduate profiles by career path and find out how an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare has benefited our graduates

Our MSc is a respected qualification that will enhance your career prospects, providing a route to an international network of animal welfare and behaviour professionals.

Our graduates have gone on to work in a number of different sectors.

Student testimonial

The year I spent in Edinburgh completing this MSc program was such a fantastic, resourceful and memorable experience, made even better by being able to share it with a wonderful and diverse group of classmates and a supportive programme team. The taught aspect of the course was well structured to prepare us for our research projects and I have graduated with confidence in my abilities to progress a career in animal welfare at a global level.

It had always been my desire to be able to try and understand animals from an informed point of view and be able to make this understanding known to people around me and the world. I remember one day wishing that the only MSc I would really love to do was on animal welfare, but I did not know where and how because we do not have this back home in Kenya. My dream came true the day I stumbled upon the OPP scholarship link, applied it, and won. I have learnt so much about animal welfare and behaviour and I now am confident that I will be able to create change in my society from an informed point of view. The scholarship was my dream come true.

The MSc covers a wide range of aspects within the taught programme and the dissertation is a fantastic opportunity to explore individual interests and delve deeper into the field. I was able to use different aspects of my MSc dissertation as a base for multiple conferences and am now working towards getting published and pursuing a career in animal welfare research. I did not have a prior academic background in a related field and would never have been able to transition careers without this MSc. I also met the best people at the course, both staff and peers, and formed meaningful connections for life.

I only discovered this MSc a few weeks before I applied and to be honest, I almost did not apply as I thought that I had no hope of being accepted. However, applying was one of the best decisions I have ever made; this MSc offers a unique mix of theoretical and practical knowledge which is provided by a top quality teaching team. On top of that, it allowed me to spend a year living in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, meet wonderful friends and make lifelong memories.

Applying for this MSc was the best decision I’ve made. It provided a huge breadth of research and knowledge that I have used every day since in a multitude of professional settings. I graduated being able to put all that knowledge and new skill into practice, and it has set me up for a career that I could have only dreamed about years ago.

This course covers an amazing breadth of animal welfare related topics and includes visits, lectures from prominent animal welfare scientists and a chance to stretch your debating muscles in a room full of people with similar interests. There is a huge amount of support available from the staff and cooperation amongst your fellow students is actively encouraged. I am now able to approach welfare issues with the confidence that comes with a better knowledge and critical understanding of the topic, as well as having a fun year with people that understood my enthusiasm for animals!

The MSc secured me the position I have today. After graduating I joined a canine research team within the Ministry of Defence, as a behavioural scientist. The team’s primary aim is to optimise working dog welfare and performance, to meet current and future detection requirements. The MSc course taught me there is far more to the animal welfare concept than I first thought; psychology, behaviour, biology, ethics, law and human attitudes all play key roles. Over the year I was able to study these themes through complex debates, speaking with leading animal behaviourists and field visits to a range of establishments. My dissertation project involved researching wild Eurasian beavers, Castor fiber, in Norway – a unique experience where I designed and carried out my own research project in challenging field conditions. It really is a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to pursue a career working with animals – I would love to do it all again.

The MSc provides an excellent all round and up-to-date education in animal behaviour and animal welfare science. The taught part of the course not only provided me with the opportunity to think critically about animal welfare issues in the classroom, but also to visit various establishments at the center of these issues. The latter part of the course allowed me to pursue my research interests in captive primate welfare at the Living Links to Human Evolution Research Centre at Edinburgh Zoo. Here my dissertation project investigated eye preferences in response to emotional stimuli as a potential welfare measure in capuchin monkeys. This led to a PhD position at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute in Japan, where I am researching the relationship between attention bias and emotion in captive chimpanzees. I strongly recommend this course to anyone looking to pursue a career in animal behaviour and welfare.