BSc (Hons) Equine Health and Welfare (Top-up) degree

If you are looking for a course that offers you real flexibility and advances your scientific, management and entrepreneurial equine knowledge, this course is for you.

Course overview

Coming from a Foundation degree or HND background, you will be able to tailor your studies to develop skills including horse breeding and genetics, bio-security, event management and journalism. This course is a springboard to further research or employment in the equine industry with careers in equine media, equine higher education or any number of avenues successfully pursued by our graduates.

Industry experience

You will benefit from lecturers who are experts in their fields and continue to produce vital research in topics such as horse nutrition, equine behaviour and parasitology. You will also benefit from guest speakers who will give industry insight. Previous guests have included Tim Hadaway (Founder of Games and Championships for the FEI) and Gillian Higgins (Founder of Horses Inside Out).

You will also take part in field visits to equine organisations such as Cheltenham Racecourse and the Blue Cross rescue centre.

A transcript of the course video can be found here.

RAU School of Equine Management & Science

Our graduates have gone on to pursue careers within companies worldwide and within the following roles:

Nutritionist working for a horse feed company
A variety of roles within welfare focussed organisations such as the Horse Trust and World Horse Welfare
Lecturer in equine science (with equine health, behaviour and welfare as specialist areas)
Welfare focussed roles in equestrian sport governing bodies such as the British Horseracing Authority or FEI (Federation Equestrienne Internationale)
Roles linked into Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT)
Companies offering equine science services (i.e. Plusvital-Equinome)

I would thoroughly recommend it, particularly because of the flexibility in module choice. I am a mature student and my lecturers have been very supportive whilst I study abnd try to balance home life and work."
Anna Cameron, Student

You will gain solid grounding with three core modules that cover equine health, behaviour and welfare and then have the option to build your ideal course from a range of elective modules. You can choose to focus on applied equine science, business or both. You will benefit from lectures, seminars, group projects, visits and laboratory demonstrations. Modules are assessed through research projects, examinations, presentations and case studies.

The research project is an integral part of the course, the successful completion of which leads to the BSc (Hons) classification. You can choose to focus on either science or business and you could also see your research project featured in one of the many prestigious academic journals that regularly publish our students’ work.

Timetables

Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week. Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and societies activities.

Modules

All full-time academic programmes at the RAU are constructed using a selection of modules, each of which requires engagement with a variety of learning activities. Successful completion of module assessments will result in the award of credits, and students are required to achieve a total of 120 credits. Part-time students are required to achieve a 60 credits per year over two years.

Each module represents a value of 15 credits or multiples thereof. Each 15-credit module represents a minimum of 150 hours of student learning, effort and assessment. To achieve the award of BSc (Hons) in Equine Health and Welfare, a student must achieve a minimum of 120 credits. For this BSc (Hons) Top-up course, your grade is calculated entirely on this course's modules.

The modules available for this course are as follows:

3058 Equine Behaviour and Welfare
3200 Equine Health
3241 Advances in Equine Science & Industry Developments
3300 Research Project / Dissertation

Plus a choice of THREE electives, examples given below:

3034 Marketing Communications
3041 Corporate Finance
3059E Equine Genetics
3078 Equine Performance Nutrition
3206 Equine Breeding Management
3217 Advances in Training the Equine Athlete
3240 Contemporary Media Studies
3325 Rural Entrepreneurship

The availability of electives to individual students will be dependent on timetabling considerations and on sufficient students electing to take part.

Disclaimer information

The University has established various rules and regulations that you must agree to and follow if you accept an offer to study with us. View our full disclaimer notice.

Typical offers

A foundation degree or an HND award in a related subject, achieving 240 credits overall
Depending on previous studies, you may be required to complete additional ‘bridging’ studies prior to enrolling on the Honours course in order to cover identified gaps in previous learning

Flexible entry

The University welcomes interest from applicants who may not have the standard entry requirements. A wide range of qualifications and experience are accepted in order to join University degree programmes. The University always considers evidence of personal, professional (APL) and educational experience, (APEL), which show an ability to meet the demands of their intended programme of study.

Further information

Read more general information about our entry requirements.

International students will also need to achieve IELTS Academic or equivalent at the appropriate level for your programme of study. English language requirements for international students.

For any further help, please contact our admissions team:

Email: admissions @rau.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1285 889912

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees (not repeat or trailing modules, re-sit fees or coursework resubmission). Any costs associated with work placements will be the student's responsibility.

2023-24 Applicants

For the academic year 2023-24 the tuition fees for this course are:

	UK	International
Full-time	£9,250 per year	£13,900 per year

For part-time study, please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk for further information.

Please also refer to the funding your time at university page.

Tuition fees may be subject to an inflationary increase each year as set out in our Access and Participation Plan 2019/20.

If you are an Irish national you can check if you meet the requirements for Home Fees. Please visit the UKCISA website and consult the pdf guide “England HE – who pays Home Fees”. First check category ‘3 years in Republic of Ireland/UK/Islands, settled in UK’ or ‘Brexit temporary offer for courses starting before 2028: Irish citizens with residence in Europe or overseas territories’. You will possibly need to be fee assessed when you submit an application for study to the RAU.

Scholarships

The University offers a wide range of generous fee waivers and bursaries. To find out more about the these, please visit the bursaries, awards and scholarships page.

Ready to take the plunge? Apply now

Applications to study at the Royal Agricultural University must be made through the UCAS system. This applies to all undergraduate courses.

Applications should be made by the UCAS deadline to ensure we are able to offer you a place on your first choice course. However, if you have missed the deadline please contact Admissions@rau.ac.uk as there are usually places available.

If you would like to apply during UCAS Extra or Clearing, please check that we have places available.

Applicants wishing to study on a course on a part-time basis will need to apply directly to the RAU.

Please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk to discuss your requirements and obtain an application form.

Apply for BSc (Hons) Equine Health and Welfare (Top-up)

Course:BSc (Hons) Equine Health and Welfare (Top-up)

Course details

UCAS Code

Location

Duration

Academic Year

Course overview

Industry experience

RAU School of Equine Management & Science

Timetables

Modules

Disclaimer information

Typical offers

Flexible entry

Further information

2023-24 Applicants

Scholarships

Ready to take the plunge? Apply now

You might also like

Equine degree courses

Undergraduate open days and events

Accommodation

Undergraduates applying to the RAU

Course details

UCAS Code

Location

Duration

Academic Year

Course overview

Industry experience

RAU School of Equine Management & Science

Careers and graduate destinations

Course content

Entry requirements

Fees

Ready to take the plunge? Apply now

You might also like

Equine degree courses

Undergraduate open days and events

Accommodation

Undergraduates applying to the RAU