Program Overview

Program Overview

The Animal Behavior major offers a broad and integrated understanding of why animals behave the way they do, while building skills that prepare students for many career paths. Students develop skills in critical thinking, scientific writing, teamwork, and the ability to design and test ideas—skills valuable for research, conservation, animal care, education, and more.

Why Animal Behavior?

The program brings together experts from many departments through the Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB), creating a dynamic learning community. Students benefit from the energy and expertise of a growing group of faculty whose research covers everything from wildlife conservation and animal communication to neuroscience and animal welfare. Animal Behavior at UT is designed to prepare students for diverse careers, whether they’re interested in research, veterinary medicine, wildlife management, animal care, or working in zoos, aquariums, or conservation organizations.

Careers

• Animal behavior researcher
• Animal nutritionist
• Animal technician/trainer
• Animal behavior consultant (zoos/aquariums/private practice)
• Museum exhibit caretaker
• Conservation educator/environmental educator
• Behavioral ecologist/ethologist
• Animal welfare specialist/animal shelter behaviorist
• Wildlife conservation biologist/ecologist
• Wildlife rehabilitator
• Science communicator/writer
• Pet therapist/trainer/animal-assisted therapy professional
• Veterinary technician
• Wildlife policy analyst
• Neuroscientist specializing in animal models
• Zoo/aquarium curator/manager
• Research technician in behavioral labs
• Zookeeper

Featured Courses

Introduction to Animal Behavior

Introduction to the field of animal behavior.

Career Tracks in Animal Behavior: Preparing for the Future

Professional development in the field of animal behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology and Ethology

Basic concepts in the evolutionary approach to behavior, including applications to psychology, the social sciences, and the humanities.

Animal Behavior Lecture

Explore the diversity of extraordinary and sometimes puzzling animal behaviors in the natural world, seeking to understand and test questions about how and why animals (including humans) behave the way they do.

Animal Communication

Principles of communication in animals. Analyses of developmental, mechanistic, functional, and evolutionary influences on communicative signals.

Animal Behavior Laboratory

Introduction to observational and experimental research in ethology.

Complementary Minors

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Animal Science
• Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Program Description

Animal Behavior explores fascinating questions of why animals act the way they do. It is an interdisciplinary field that connects the big picture—like evolution and survival—with the details of how animals grow, learn, and respond to their environments. Animal Behavior can prepare students for a wide range of potential career paths. The program brings together courses from biology, psychology, animal science, neuroscience, and other disciplines to help students explore the amazing diversity of animal life. At UT, students join one of only a few Animal Behavior programs offered at a research-intensive (R1) university in the entire country.

Faculty and Research

The program is led by a vibrant community of researchers, including many new and early-career faculty, who are working at the forefront of understanding how animals perceive and respond to a changing world. Whether students are fascinated by animal communication, social behavior, conservation, the behavior of livestock or zoo animals, or the neural basis of behavior, the major offers the tools, experiences, and support to help students explore their interests and build a career that makes a difference.

Program Benefits

The Animal Behavior major at UT offers students a unique opportunity to explore the fascinating field of animal behavior, with a broad and integrated understanding of why animals behave the way they do. The program provides students with a strong foundation in critical thinking, scientific writing, teamwork, and the ability to design and test ideas, preparing them for a wide range of career paths. With a growing group of faculty and a dynamic learning community, students can expect to gain valuable hands-on research experience and build a career that makes a difference in the field of animal behavior.