how do you get into conservation?

11

i have a huge interest in animal conservation but i don't know how id end up working in it - i know i'm going to do a science degree of some sort and i love biology in general but i don't know what degrees would allow me to get there.. i have a large interest in neuroscience as well but i fear that's too specific to end up working with animals eventually... would i have to do something like zoology or biology?

Reply 1

UEA Rep Fatma

Official Rep

11

Original post

by njkwde

i have a huge interest in animal conservation but i don't know how id end up working in it - i know i'm going to do a science degree of some sort and i love biology in general but i don't know what degrees would allow me to get there.. i have a large interest in neuroscience as well but i fear that's too specific to end up working with animals eventually... would i have to do something like zoology or biology?

Hello! 🙂
There are a couple of ways you could go about doing this.

Firstly, you could opt for a degree that allows you to chose whatever modules you like within biology and doesn't limit you to only one field. For example, doing a degree such as biological sciences, would allow you to do conservation with other parts of biology as opposed to doing a straight up conservation degree. If you decide to carry out this route, I'd suggest having a look at the modules offered by different universities and seeing which ones you like. Here's an example of UEA's modules in the biological sciences degree; BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences 2024/25 | UEA

As you mentioned, zoology would also be a good option but it is more specialised than biological sciences and wouldn't contain all the fields of biology. This would be a good option if you are focusing more on animal studies rather than a broad sense of biology.

Another route would be to do a natural sciences degree and then choose modules within biology and environmental sciences.

Finally, you could do an Ecology and Conservation degree, but this would focus more on the conservation aspect and less so on the biology.

You have mentioned you like neuroscience, this is quite a specific field of biology so not many universities will offer this as a module in biological sciences/biology. This would make it hard to study neuroscience alongside conservation. If neuroscience is really an interest and you don't want to give it up, you could use the degree to work with animals but you'd have to be willing to undergo more years of study.

I hope this gives you an idea of the options available to you, please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any!
Fatma
Natural Sciences student.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

18

Hi there!

It's great to here that you're interested in animal conservation! There are many options for you, including Zoology as a most popular route that most Universities offer.

LJMU offers a BSc in Wildlife Conservation, which may also be of interest to you. I'll add the course link below for you to look at but I'll also give a brief overview of what is offered:

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BSc Wildlife Conservation is an accredited degree by The Institute of Environmental Sciences (accredited degrees are much better than non-accredited ones reputation-wise)

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Entry requirements - BCC-BBC with Geography or a related science

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4-6 week placements and also year-long placements available (UK and abroad opportunities)

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Modules across the 3 years include: Animal Behaviour, Ecology, Field skills, Conservation Practice, Animal disease and health, Skills for wildlife conservation and also Environmental sustainability

BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation | Undergraduate course | Liverpool John Moores University

Hopefully, this is helpful for you! Good luck in whatever you decide :smile:

Jorja (LJMU Rep)

Reply 3

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

16

Original post

by njkwde

i have a huge interest in animal conservation but i don't know how id end up working in it - i know i'm going to do a science degree of some sort and i love biology in general but i don't know what degrees would allow me to get there.. i have a large interest in neuroscience as well but i fear that's too specific to end up working with animals eventually... would i have to do something like zoology or biology?

Hi, it's great to hear about someone else interested in animal conservation, I hope this can be useful to you. I am a 2nd Zoology student at the University of Southampton, where many courses within biological sciences are offered.

I would recommend looking at the Bsc Biology degree offered at University of Southampton, as this leaves room for lots of module choice. In second and third year, you will be able to pick the majority of your modules, with zoology and neuroscience modules on offer. Many of my current modules also overlap with the environmental science course offered by the Life Sciences faculty, providing greater insight into conservation.

Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions
Rachel - 2nd year Zoology Msci (University of Southampton student rep)

how do you get into conservation?

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