Animal Welfare Science

Animal welfare science is a discipline that combines biological understanding with ethical reasoning to ask fundamental questions about how animals experience the world and what obligations humans have toward them. It draws on behavioural biology, physiology, veterinary science, psychology and philosophy to investigate how animals suffer, what conditions support their wellbeing, and how practices in farming, research, companionship and wildlife management can be assessed and improved. It is a field that matters enormously in an era of intensive agriculture, biodiversity loss and growing public concern about how animals are treated.

At the University of Chester, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation element that provides preparation in the underpinning sciences before the main degree begins, making it accessible to students who wish to build their knowledge progressively. The programme also includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study at a partner institution overseas and broaden your understanding of how animal welfare is understood and regulated in different countries and cultural contexts. You will study animal behaviour and cognition, welfare assessment methods, the science of pain and stress in animals, housing and husbandry systems, and the ethical frameworks used to evaluate human relationships with other species.

The programme develops both your scientific analytical skills and your capacity to engage with complex moral questions.

Graduates from animal welfare science programmes work in a wide range of settings. Animal welfare organisations, government agencies responsible for animal health and welfare, farming and food industry roles, research institutions, zoos, wildlife charities and veterinary support roles all provide career pathways. Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in animal behaviour, veterinary medicine, conservation biology, environmental ethics or related fields, while others move directly into inspection, advocacy or research careers.