Land your dream job and learn how to work with animals

Have you always envisioned yourself working with animals, but you’re not exactly sure how to turn your dream into a profession? The Animal Behavior degree at UNE is truly interdisciplinary, giving you the flexibility to explore many different career paths. At the crossroads of environmental science, biology, marine sciences, neuroscience, and psychology, Animal Behavior encompasses a wide variety of fascinating subjects. Through faculty-mentored research and hands-on internships, Animal Behavior at UNE provides big-school opportunities in a small school setting. Visit our blog to read more about the class experiences, internships, activities, and accomplishments of our Animal Behavior students and faculty.

An animal behavior student preps a net while standing in a field of tall grass
A student cleans the inside of an aquarium

Why UNE for Animal Behavior

Our program is one of only about a dozen bachelor’s degree-granting programs in Animal Behavior in the country. Take advantage of all its unique offerings:

Headshot of U N E student Will Szumita

Will Szumita ’23

Animal Behavior, Marine Sciences (Marine Biology Track)

Why UNE

One of the best things about marine science at UNE is how hands-on and interactive it is. All of the things that I am doing or have already done are things that people normally don’t do until much later, like in grad school or once they are in their careers. I was doing stuff in lab, dissecting things under microscopes, and getting out on the water in the boats.

We have really knowledgeable and helpful faculty and [professional] staff. They are just awesome to work with and super fun to engage with all around. I think that’s the best part about UNE’s marine science program — you get so much out of your education, and a lot of it is far beyond just reading from a textbook.

Experiential Education

Everything that I am doing is helping me grow as a student. I am an Aquarist and Education Intern at Save the Bay Naragansett in Providence, RI this summer. It’s a nonprofit exploration center and aquarium that focuses on protecting and serving the Narragansett Bay and surrounding areas. 

I am a part of the educational branch in the aquarium and exploration center. All the stuff in the aquarium is from the Narragansett Bay, so a lot of the specimens we've caught ourselves. We educate people about what's in the bay because if they know about what's in the bay, they're more inclined to help protect it. There are a bunch of touch tanks, and I teach people about all of the different animals, and I do science experiments with kids. It’s a combination of doing hands-on work like maintaining tanks and public-facing work like interacting with people and educating. I like it a lot. My education at UNE has taught me about the animals, how to take care of them properly, and how to teach other people about them, which is so cool.

Because I've gotten that education at UNE, I know a lot of stuff about the animals that people might overlook. I think it also goes both ways, so my UNE education is helping my internship, but my internship is also helping further my education. A lot of the stuff that I am learning this summer, I'm very excited to take back to school with me and talk to my professors about. 

Because I've gotten that education at UNE, I know a lot of stuff about the animals that people might overlook.

Animal Behavior, Marine Sciences (Marine Biology Track)

What Will You Study? Animal Behavior Degree Curriculum Overview

B.S. in Animal Behavior Courses

The following are just some examples of the exciting courses that the Animal Behavior degree offers:

  • Animal Cognition
  • Captive Animal Management
  • Animal Communication
  • Comparative Animal Behavior
  • Animal Personality
  • Conservation Behavior

For more information, contact Zach Olson, Ph.D. at (207) 602-2766 or zolson@hpbvtv.com

Meet our faculty and professional staff

Career Paths for Animal Behavior Majors

Through your coursework, research, and internship experiences, you will be on track to enjoy a successful career in animal behavior.

There are many fascinating professional fields open to Animal Behavior majors, including:

  • Veterinary Medicine
  • Animal Behavior Research
  • Animal Training
  • Animal Caregiving in Zoos and Aquariums
  • Animal Assisted Therapy
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Animal Rehabilitation

Our graduates have landed jobs at prestigious sites, such as:

  • Georgia Aquarium
  • Mystic Aquarium
  • San Diego Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo
  • NEADS World Class Service Dogs

Career Advising for B.S. in Animal Behavior Students

Whether you have a specific career goal in mind or a vague idea of the field that interests you, Career Advising is here to help you plan your next step.

Explore our Animal Behavior Facilities

As a student in our Animal Behavior program, you benefit from UNE’s extraordinary resources.

Teaching Classrooms

We have dedicated teaching classrooms that allow you the opportunity to work closely with faculty and peers in hands-on activities. 

Psychology Labs

In these spaces, you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects involving Psychology faculty members. Projects have included memory processes underlying reading comprehension, how explicit and implicit self and relationship processes influence how people navigate the ups and downs of daily life.

A student sits at a microscope in a lab setting
A student takes notes at a table
Two students discuss a book in a class with a blackboard behind them

Neuroscience Labs

Our faculty members with expertise in the neurosciences have labs dedicated to their research into topics concerning learning and memory, cognition and development, psychopharmacology, and drug addiction and pain.

Animal Behavior Labs

In these labs, you have chances to work with faculty on a variety of research projects, such as ones investigating conservation genetics, wildlife conservation, and how pharmaceuticals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and other pollutants affect the behavior of the fish.

Centers for Excellence

These university-wide centers are designed to promote interdisciplinary research and provide opportunities for collaborative research and scholarship programs that are competitive for interdisciplinary, multi-investigator, and multi-institutional awards. The centers also expand student research opportunities, bringing together students, faculty, and partner institutions in pursuit of cooperative goals.

A student in a white coat and latex gloves prepares slides for a microscope

Experiential Learning in the Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Behavior Program

Internships for Animal Behavior Majors

Our graduates have benefitted from a wide array of enriching internships at sites, including

  • Center for Wildlife
  • Saco River Wildlife Center
  • NEADS World Class Service Dogs
  • LaDawn Therapeutic Riding Center
  • New England Aquarium
  • Mystic Aquarium
  • Veterinary Clinics and Hospitals
  • Smithsonian Institute
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

For more information, contact Zach Olson, Ph.D. at (207) 602-2766 or zolson@hpbvtv.com.

watch UNE Students work hands-on with Animals 

Research Opportunities for Animal Behavior Majors

As an Animal Behavior major at UNE, you complete at least one research project as part of our Research Methods course, though many choose to become more deeply involved in research in one of our faculty-lead laboratories.

You get the opportunity to fully participate in research including developing new ideas and materials, running participants, and analyzing and disseminating the results of research at conferences, and through publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Several of our faculty members have research laboratories that offer undergraduate research experiences throughout the academic year. Additionally, UNE provides an opportunity for you to apply for research funding through the SURE program to work with a faculty member on research during the summer.

If you are interested in doing research, please contact the faculty to discuss your interests.

To learn more about the research experiences that our students have completed in recent semesters, check out our blog

Researching Northern Bog Lemmings

Animal Behavior Clubs and Organizations

As a student in our Animal Behavior program, you have the opportunity to participate in different student organizations specifically geared toward people with a passion similar to your own.

The Animal Behavior Club is open to all members who want to get involved with animals, learn about animals, and get the community pumped about animals.

If you are a UNE student and would like to become a member of the Animal Behavior Club, please emailzolson@hpbvtv.com.

Faculty Advisor

Headshot of Zach Olson
Associate Professor of Animal Behavior

The Animal Welfare Judging Team participates in the bi-annual Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition (AWJAC). Through team participation, students learn to apply animal welfare theories and develop skills in public speaking and argumentative logic.

Faculty Advisor

This student organization works with the neuroscience department to promote neuroscience as a major and promotes opportunities for you to know more about the neuroscience field. It also helps connect you with undergrad research opportunities.

If you are a UNE student and would like to become a member of the Psychology Club, contact mrice4@hpbvtv.com.

Faculty Advisor

Michael Burman
Professor of Psychology
Director, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Pre-vet Club is for anyone who has an interest in animals, including those with hopes of applying to vet school in the future. The club serves those who would like guidance in the vet school application process, as well as those who just want to learn more about animals. We volunteer, get guest speakers, hold workshops, and more. 

Faculty Advisor

Default Avatar
Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior

The mission of the Psychology Club is to create a community of students who share a common interest in the discipline of psychology and its broad application while also providing students with connections to Psychology faculty and opportunities for social engagement.

We welcome Psychology majors and minors as well as anyone else who has an interest in Psychology. We hold regular club meetings and put on campus-wide events that engage members of the larger academic community at UNE in activities that involve psychology. 

Past events have included:

  • NAMI: Five Stories of Hope and Resiliency 
  • Relay For Life: We make a team and fundraise annually 
  • Annual faculty student socials 
  • Brain Fair 
  • Out of the Darkness Walk
  • Save the Waves

More events are added every year.

How to Join

If you are a UNE student and would like to become a member of the Psychology Club, please contact Kana Colarossi at kcolarossi@hpbvtv.com. You are welcome to come to a meeting prior to joining, — you do not have to be a member to attend.

Faculty Advisor

Founded in 1929, PSI CHI is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and an affiliate of both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS).

With the stated mission of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship in the science of psychology, PSI CHI has grown to become one of the largest and most successful honor societies in the world with more than 1,100 chapters and 537,000 members. UNE's chapter was formed in 2010.

For more information, visit the official PSI CHI website or contact the UNE chapter's faculty advisor, Dr. Jennifer Stiegler-Balfour at jstiegler@hpbvtv.com.

Become a Member

To be eligible for membership in PSI CHI, you must:

  • Be a major or minor in UNE's Department of Psychology
  • Be at least a second-semester sophomore
  • Have completed 9 semester hours of psychology and/or neuroscience courses
  • Rank in the top 35 percent of your class in general scholarship
  • Possess a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in both psychology and neuroscience classes and cumulatively
  • Maintain a high standard of personal behavior

Resources

Announcements

APAGS/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship

The intent of the Junior Scientist Fellowship is two-fold: to provide funding for a first-year or second-year graduate-level project and to provide constructive feedback to select applicants to increase their chances of achieving success on future National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship applications.

The primary intent is to recognize outstanding research-oriented students who are entering their first year (or the first semester of their second year) of graduate study and to help them get their research off the ground. Graduate students from research-based psychology and neuroscience programs are eligible to apply.

The second intent of this fellowship is to provide written feedback to select applicants. Many students apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship without ever having applied for a research fellowship. By providing feedback to select applicants, this program encourages them to strengthen their NSF graduate fellowship applications.

Funds for this $1,000 fellowship must be used to support direct research costs. These funds can be used to pay participants, purchase essential equipment or software, acquire books or instructional manuals critical to one's line of research, pay fees to publish in open-access journals, or for any other direct research cost. The funds cannot be used for indirect costs such as travel, personal computers, or class textbooks. The funds can be used for any direct research costs in a student's first year (or in the second year, if submitting in the summer prior to one's second year) of graduate school and do not need to be limited to the research discussed in the Research Essay.

Special APS Membership Offer for PSI CHI Student Members

The Association for Psychological Science is offering a reduced APS Students Membership rate for PSI CHI student members. Membership includes subscriptions to four APS journals, discount rates for the APS annual convention, and other benefits. This offer is good for new memberships only. To take advantage of this offer, use the PSI CHI promotional code PSCH at www.psychologicalscience.org/join.

Bachelor of Science in Animal Behavior FAQ