GRADUATE STUDIES
Overview || Ph.D. or M.Sc.? || What we look for in applicants || Funding || How to Apply || Courses
Alternatives for students interested in topics outside our program’s scope
OVERVIEW
Our program offers a Ph.D. or M.Sc. in Animal Science specializing in Animal Welfare. Students joining our program usually have a background in a relevant area of science such as animal behaviour, animal science, veterinary medicine, or, very occasionally, a different background but an interest in completing a science-based graduate degree. Students generally do a thesis in our core research area - animal welfare in relation to the housing and management of animals. Currently the majority of research relates to the welfare of cattle, lab animals, and companion animals. Students interested in welfare topics where we do not have sufficient expertise (for example, the welfare of zoo animals, marine mammals and other free-living wildlife, or improved management of captive primates) may be accepted on the condition that they secure appropriate co-supervision from outside the program. Alternatives for students interested in topics outside our program’s scope may be found at the bottom of the page.
Graduate education in our program involves:
Thesis Completion
By researching, writing, and presenting a thesis, students acquire general skills in research design and methods, in critical thinking, and in writing and communicating. They additionally acquire a detailed knowledge of their thesis area.
Collaboration with Colleagues
By working alongside other graduate students, post-docs, faculty members and visitors, students acquire a broad knowledge of animal welfare issues involving farm, laboratory, companion and wild animals. This breadth of knowledge improves students' employment prospects and ideas from one area often provide the key to solving problems in another.
Course work
Graduate students take courses according to their individual interests and needs. In addition to our own courses related specifically to animal welfare, students may take courses in experimental design and statistics, applied ethics, animal behaviour, and fields relevant to their thesis topic. Students, in conjunction with their supervisory committee, select a set of courses tailored to meet their needs.
Further information on M.Sc. and Ph.D. requirements can be found at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems: Degree Requirements - Animal Science.
Information on UBC and living in Vancouver may be found at the following sites:
UBC
Vancouver
- top of page -
M.Sc. OR Ph.D.?
Most of our students are accepted with the intention that they will complete Ph.D. degrees. Those who already have a Master's degree and evidence of strong research productivity may be accepted directly as Ph.D. candidates. Others enroll initially in the M.Sc. program with a view to continuing on to a Ph.D. There is a mechanism whereby very strong Masters candidates can be reclassified as Ph.D. candidates once certain conditions are met.
Because we were established principally as a research unit, we do not usually accept students for the Master's degree alone as Master's students do not normally make as great a contribution to the research work of the Program.
Exceptions may be made for candidates who:
- Are judged capable of a thesis that meets a specific research need of the program or one of its sponsors, or
- Have career aspirations (e.g., in the animal care professions) that would be significantly advanced by masters level study in animal welfare
- top of page -
WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN APPLICANTS
Formal requirements
The UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies has admission requirements (navigate the left hand-side panel) for registering as a graduate student at UBC. These regard the type of degree completed, marks received, and English language proficiency.
Program-specific requirements
Accepting a graduate student represents a large commitment of time and resources. Before accepting a graduate student we need to be convinced that an applicant is a good fit with our program. Generally we look for potential students that have:
- An excellent academic record. This is important for securing competitive scholarship funding to support students during graduate work.
- An exceptional aptitude for research. Graduate students spend most of their time conducting independent research. Publications and letters of reference should support that the applicant is exceptionally good at this core activity.
Additionally we look for:
- A career fit. Students need to demonstrate their vision of how graduate work in animal welfare will equip them for their intended career.
- A fit with the program's research needs and strengths. The program has certain key areas of existing research, and it is easier to accept students whose interests fit into areas that are already active. The program also has a range of sponsoring groups with their own research needs; sometimes students are accepted if their research interests match the needs of one of these groups. Occasionally, very promising applicants are accepted whose interests are different but complementary to those of our existing program.
- A personal fit to the program. The 15-20 faculty members, graduate students, post-docs and visitors who make up the program are an exceptionally harmonious group, based on the matching of research goals and interest. What exactly are we looking for? The UBC Animal Welfare researchers are a pragmatic group, working in the real world -- in animal shelters, on farms, in laboratories -- to improve animal welfare in practical ways. We emphasize research, analysis and problem-solving rather than advocacy and rhetoric; group members are an interactive group who learn from and support each other's work.
- Availability of funding. The easiest students to accept are those who have their own funding although options exist for students who do not (see below).
- top of page -
FUNDING
We want all of our graduate students to have enough income to live on. Hence, the availability of funding is an important concern when accepting students.
The easiest students to accept are those who have their own funding such as a personal scholarship from NSERC (for Canadian students) or similar support from their own countries or from other sources.
The second, relatively easy, students to accept are those who do not yet have such funding in place, but whose academic record is so strong that we know they will be highly competitive for scholarship support in the near future.
The third, and most difficult, students to accept are applicants who do not have existing scholarships and whose records make it unlikely that they would win scholarships. In these cases we have two options:
- We can try to find a fit between such students and specific project-related funding; for example, if a student wants to work on the welfare of beef cattle, we may be able to suggest cattle producers' organizations that they could contact for support.
- We can hire the student as a Research Assistant to fill an existing need; typically we have only 1-2 students supported in this way at any one time.
Information, provided by the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, on funding and scholarships can be found here.
PhD students who are about to complete or have recently completed their dissertation and are interested in a post-doctoral research fellowship should visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies web site and also the Government of Canada websites on Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships.
- top of page -
HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested in the Program, contact the faculty member whose work most closely aligns with your interests. Provide a brief summary of your previous experience and an abbreviated CV. If the faculty member has the capacity to take on another student at this time, you may be invited to an informal meeting with Program members. If your interests align with the Program’s objectives and if there is funding and capacity, you will invited to formally apply through the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.
- top of page -
COURSES
The Animal Welfare Program offers the following courses at the graduate level:
ANSC 551 Tutorials in Animals Welfare Research
Description:
This consists of 8 tutorials run with an instructor and a small group of students. Each week students will be set readings covering key topics in the field of animal welfare. Students will be expected to write a short essay on the readings and then discuss their essay and the readings during the tutorial session.
Pre-requisite:
Permission of the instructors. Recommended for graduate students active in some aspect of animal welfare research; 4th year students who have taken APBI 315 may also be accepted.
ANSC 550 Topics in Animal Welfare
Description:
This involves reading and discussion of current research in animal welfare and ethics. Topics will be chosen to fit the interests of students, and may include the interplay of science and value issues in assessing animal welfare, research on animal cognition and its implications for animal ethics, effects of trade agreements on the welfare of agricultural animals, use of animal and non-animal models in research, and the relation between animal welfare and environmental concerns. Offered September-December.
Pre-requisite:
Permission of the instructors. Recommended for graduate students active in some aspect of animal welfare research; 4th year students who have taken APBI 315 may also be accepted.
ANSC 515 Overview of Animal Welfare and Animal Ethic
Description:
A graduate level overview of animal welfare and animal ethics, covering scientific assessment of animal well-being, ethical concepts applied to animal use, and animal welfare issues arising in agriculture, biomedical research and other areas. This course is intended especially for new graduate students specializing in animal welfare. It will be linked to the undergraduate course APBI 315 and students will cover a common curriculum. Graduate students enrolled in the graduate course will be responsible for a greater breadth of readings and will write an in-depth term paper. Credit will be given for only one of APBI 315 or ANSC 515.
Pre-requisite:
Standing as a graduate student in any field of study and permission of the instructor.
Details (APBI 315)
- top of page -
ALTERNATIVES FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN TOPICS OUTSIDE OUR PROGRAM'S SCOPE
Science || Non-science || Interdisciplinary
Science
For topics that are too far removed from our expertise, we encourage students to enroll as graduate students of faculty members in their chosen area of research (in departments such as zoology, psychology, conservation biology, or forestry). If there is a strong animal welfare component to the research, we will encourage the student to be associated with the Animal Welfare Program, attend courses, and take part in Program activities. If desired, we may also sit on the student's supervisory committee.
- top of section -
Non-science
We encourage graduate students from non-science backgrounds to pursue research relevant to animal welfare issues. Possible examples include:
- education students interested in humane education,
- law students interested in animal related law,
- economics students interested in how trade and market forces affect animal welfare,
- theology or philosophy students interested in religious or philosophical issues arising over the use of animals, and
- social science students interested in cultural or psychological aspects of the human animal relationship.
Although we cannot provide primary supervision in these disciplines, students accepted into an appropriate program in another Faculty can become associated with the Animal Welfare Program, receive co-supervision from faculty members, attend courses, and take part in Program activities.
- top of section -
Interdisciplinary
The Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program (ISGP) is a graduate program that allows students with interests involving multiple fields to pursue interdisciplinary research that falls outside the scope of existing programs. The application process is rigorous and involves multiple steps including a written thesis proposal and securing the support of the intended supervisory committee. This program allows students with a non-scientific interest animal welfare, such as ethics or anthrozoology, to create a program that fits their interests and research goals.
- top of section -
- top of page -