Entering animal conservation/zoology with no relevant subjects

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has any advice for entering animal conservation/zoology or similar at master's level without previously studying a 'relevant' subject?

I'm currently studying International Relations BA with a view of going into animal conservation, but I'm finding it hard to find postgraduate courses that I'd be eligible for since my current subject isn't relevant or biology-based. I've also looked into conversion courses, but none seem to be available for this field.

Any advice or past experiences would be much appreciated, thanks :smile:

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

tinyperson

Perhaps a zoo.

Reply 2

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Hi @menglish67!

I am currently finishing my BSc Zoology degree at the University of Southampton and I may be able to share some of my experience.

I think that entering such a master’s course straight after International Relations might be quite challenging. Both animal conservation and zoology are heavily biology-based and they often require also some knowledge from the field of maths and chemistry.

If you had a chance to study these subjects outside of your primary degree and have some work or volunteering experience, you may try contacting your universities of interest directly. I am not sure how such an application process would look, but I imagine that, in special cases, some universities can assess a candidate through, e.g. an interview or additional tests.

Wish you luck with your future studies!

Agnes – Student Ambassador