Human-Animal Interaction with Psychology

The relationship between humans and animals is ancient, complex, and increasingly understood as a subject with serious scientific, psychological, and ethical dimensions. Human-Animal Interaction with Psychology examines this bond from multiple angles, drawing on animal behaviour science, psychology, and welfare research to understand how animals affect human wellbeing and how human behaviour affects animals. It is a field that has grown substantially as evidence has accumulated for the therapeutic, social, and developmental benefits of human-animal relationships, and as concerns about animal welfare have moved to the centre of public debate.

At Hartpury University, this three-year full-time programme benefits from an on-site Animal Collection of around 70 species, giving you direct observational and practical experience that most universities cannot match. You will study animal behaviour and cognition, the psychology of human attachment to animals, welfare assessment, and the evidence base for animal-assisted interventions. The sandwich year and work placement component mean you will spend structured time in a professional setting, which might be in a therapeutic or educational context, an animal welfare organisation, or a research environment, building practical experience alongside your academic studies.

You will develop skills in behavioural observation, psychological research methods, data analysis, and evidence-based practice. The programme is genuinely interdisciplinary, asking you to think across the boundary between animal science and human psychology, which produces graduates who can work effectively in settings that bring the two together.

Career pathways include animal-assisted therapy and education, animal welfare roles in charities and government bodies, research in animal cognition or human psychology, and work in zoological collections and conservation organisations. Some graduates move into veterinary-related support roles, counselling and therapeutic services where animal-assisted approaches are used, or into postgraduate study in psychology, animal behaviour, or human-animal interaction research.