Spotlight on… Animal care department
Love animals? Imagine a career where cuddles, care, and conservation are part of your daily routine.
If your ideal colleagues have paws, hooves, feathers, or scales, University Centre Rotherham’s animal care department is designed for people like you.
Whether you’re a college leaver planning your next step or an adult looking to follow your lifelong dream of working with animals, find out how studying a higher education course could open doors to a bright future in animal care.
What is a career in animal management and where could I work?
Not everyone dreams of boardrooms and 9-5s. Some aspire to spend their days feeding meerkats, training assistance dogs, or helping abandoned animals find new homes.
Animal care is more than a job – it’s a calling. You don’t just care about animals; you care for them.
The animal care sector is rich with rewarding opportunities and offers varied roles and routes you could take.
Passionate about animal health and welfare? You could work as an animal welfare or rescue officer for a charity or council, provide care and assistance at a veterinary clinic, become a kennel or cattery manager, or seek out zookeeper, countryside ranger and farm hand roles.
Does animal training and behaviour pique your interest? Maybe you’d like to work as a dog trainer for pets, working dogs, or assistance and therapy animals.
Fascinated by how animals function, evolve, and interact with their environment? A role in animal science lets you turn curiosity into groundbreaking research.
Do you notice every bird call, animal footprint and wildflower when you’re outdoors? A career in wildlife conservation could turn your love for nature into a life’s mission, with roles such as ecological surveyors and wildlife rehabilitators.
Got a business brain and a love of animals? Whether it’s a dog-walking service, pet grooming salon, or mobile farm experience, animal-focused enterprises are growing -and yours could be next.
Want to make a difference behind the scenes? You could even work in fundraising, communications, education, outreach and operational roles within the animal care or charity sector.
Whether you see yourself working in a rescue centre, vet surgery or zoo, training police or assistance dogs, being an animal nutritionist, or setting up your own pet boarding business, higher education can equip you with the right skills to turn those dreams into reality.
With growing awareness around animal welfare and environmental protection, there’s increasing demand for skilled, compassionate professionals in the field. A higher education qualification in animal management gives you the knowledge, confidence, and experience to turn your passion into a purpose-driven career.
What could I study at University Centre Rotherham?
At University Centre Rotherham, we offer the Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Animal Management which are delivered at our Dearne Valley campus.
The HNC and HND are higher education pathways that combine academic theory with plenty of hands-on learning. They’re a flexible and affordable option for people who want to work in this thriving sector without the time and cost of a traditional undergraduate degree.
To apply for the HNC or HND, you will need to have already gained a level 3 qualification in animal care or a relevant subject, where you’ll have developed the foundational knowledge that underpins animal care.
Progressing to higher education enables you to delve deeper into animal science, behaviour, ethics and business. You’ll also develop the transferrable skills employers are looking for, such as communication, time management and critical thinking.
The HNC is a one-year level 4 qualification equivalent to the first year of undergraduate study. You’ll study everything from animal health and welfare, to anatomy and physiology, and ecological principles.
If you advance to the HND, you will do a further year of study to gain a level 5 qualification, equivalent to the second year of an undergraduate degree. At level 5, the animal management course covers things like animal boarding, breeding and genetics, wildlife conservation, and behavioural approaches.
Whether you’re continuing your education or returning to learning, both the HNC and HND are designed with industry input to provide real-world skills and a supportive environment for learners of all ages.
With smaller class sizes, welcoming environment, and local campus, studying with us enables you to achieve a HE qualification without moving away from home.
Plus, our course fees are less than bigger universities. The HNC and HND courses cost £6,900 a year, compared to the national average of £9,250, saving you thousands of pounds in tuition fees.
On graduating, you can apply for supervisory or specialist roles. If you want to work as a zoologist, ecologist, veterinary nurse or animal physiotherapist, you can top up your HND to a full Bachelor of Science degree with just one further year of study at an applicable university.
Find out more about the HNC/HND in Animal Management
Explore our animal management facilities
When choosing where to study a higher education qualification, top-quality facilities make a big difference – and our Dearne Valley campus delivers.
Students have access to a dedicated animal care centre which is far from a conventional classroom or lecture hall.
The animal unit is a hive of activity, with various rooms that house rodents, exotics, reptiles and nocturnal animals.
Our well-equipped labs support learning in animal biology, genetics, evolution and health, while the kitchen area is a safe and controlled environment to prepare nutritious meals for each species.
The outdoor area is just as impressive as our indoor animal centre. From dog training spaces for obedience and agility to a small holding farm and 10 acres of woodland with varying wildlife habitats, our facilities mirror real industry settings and ensure students are work-ready from day one.
All students undergo full health and safety training before using any equipment or handling animals in our animal centre.
There are also well-equipped computer rooms and library spaces at our Dearne Valley campus for theory work and research projects.
Meet the animals: A diverse on-campus menagerie
Now we know this is the bit you’re really bothered about: the animals. Get ready to work closely with a wide range of species from all over the world!
Our on-site animal collection includes domestic small furries like rabbits and guinea pigs, creepy crawlies such as snakes, tortoises and tarantulas, nocturnal creatures like hedgehogs and our sugar gliders Tate and Lyle, and exotic animals like meerkats and chinchillas, and Amber the armadillo.
Out on the farm, we have ponies, goats, chickens, llamas and our resident alpacas Earl-Grey and Fernando.
Students take an active role in the care, enrichment, and welfare of these animals, gaining first-hand experience in day-to-day husbandry and specialist care.
“I love getting to work with a range of exotic species, and we are constantly learning new topics and information about the animals. Working so closely with the animals is very rewarding and gives me loads of experience,”
says animal management student, Daisy Carter.
While it might be nice to cuddle the animals, if you’re investing in higher education then you’re probably just as keen to develop those higher skills to bag that dream job.
Throughout your course, you’ll learn how to care for and feed the animals, along with maintaining clean environments, monitoring temperatures, and keeping an eye on changes in behaviour or diet.
This not only builds confidence but also gives you the practical skills employers are looking for.
Learn from industry experts
Our teaching staff bring a wealth of real-world animal care experience to the classroom.
Their passion for animal welfare is matched by their commitment to student success. You’ll benefit from small class sizes, personalised support, and mentorship from professionals who understand the industry inside and out and want to help you thrive in it.
Karen Allot is the HE lead within the department. She is an equine physiotherapist who runs her own private rehabilitation practice alongside her teaching role. She has also contributed to various research projects about equine health and welfare, is a magazine columnist for national and international publications, and volunteers at a conservation organisation with cats, exotics and primates.
Alongside her vast knowledge of all creatures great and small, Karen also knows what it’s like to be an adult learner. She returned to education in her late 20s to follow her heart of working with animals. Having started her career in hairdressing, Karen found herself working at a call centre for many years before she decided to retrain, enrolling on a level 2 course in animal care aged 28.
After getting the education bug, she then went on to do a degree and master’s in equine therapy and rehabilitation, before doing her PGCE aged 40 to become a teacher.
“You might feel like you can’t go back to education. You’re not clever enough, you’ve not got enough time, you’re too old for learning. Tutors won’t know how to speak to you or you’ll be surrounded by young kids that make you feel even older.
“I had those thoughts myself. I left school with Ds Es and Fs at GCSE so how was I going to get to grips with studying? But I knew it was my time to do it. If you’re willing to put in the work, it does get easier. We have students aged 18 and in their 40s, and they all work well together as a unit.”
Ready to start your journey in animal care?
We could bark on about our extraordinary facilities and staff until the cows come home. But we believe the best way to make an informed decision is to see it for yourself.
Book a place on one of our upcoming open event this August to discover more about the animal care department at our Dearne Valley campus.