Our Animal Behaviour MRes is research-based with a taught component. It provides a springboard into a career that involves scientific research.<br/><br/>**Applications for this course are now open**<br/>You can now apply for September 2021 entry using our postgraduate application portal.<br/><br/>**About this course**<br/>The study of animal behaviour is an exciting and theoretically rigorous area of the biological sciences with possible applications in:<br/><br/>conservation<br/>animal welfare<br/>biomedical science<br/>agriculture.<br/><br/>The Centre for Behaviour and Evolution at Newcastle University brings together world experts in:<br/><br/>behavioural ecology<br/>comparative cognition<br/>neuroethology<br/>animal welfare.<br/><br/>Experts at Newcastle have discovered, among other things, that:<br/><br/>bees learn better when exposed to caffeine<br/>starlings who were hungry as babies become heavier as adults<br/>mice have pain faces.<br/><br/>You can also be part of this exciting research community. The course is designed for graduates with a BSc in the life sciences, psychology or anthropology. It can be taken either as a stand-alone qualification or as an entry route onto a PhD.<br/><br/>**What youll learn**<br/>The core module on the biological study of behaviour introduces the central questions related to animal behaviour research and their associated research methods, including:<br/><br/>adaptive consequences<br/>proximate mechanisms<br/>development<br/>evolutionary history.<br/><br/>Other relevant modules focus on:<br/><br/>comparative cognition<br/>sensory systems (including neuroethology)<br/>applied ethology for animal welfare.<br/><br/>Research-led seminars, delivered by members of the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution cover a wide range of:<br/><br/>taxa (insects to humans)<br/>topics (olfaction to cooperation)<br/>methodologies.<br/><br/>**Your development**<br/>Your research project comprises the major element of the course. This project will involve 24 weeks of research in an area of animal behaviour under the supervision of an expert academic researcher in the field.<br/><br/>The course allows you to experience an internationally competitive research area, predominantly in academia but also potentially in industry. Graduates from our programme have gone on to competitive PhD studentships, as well as jobs in research and in zoos.<br/><br/>**Faculty of Medical Sciences Graduate School**<br/>Our Medical Sciences Graduate School is dedicated to providing you with information, support and advice throughout your research degree studies. We can help and advise you on a variety of queries relating to your studies, funding or welfare.<br/><br/>Our Research Student Development Programme supports and complements your research whilst developing your professional skills and confidence.<br/><br/>You will make an on-going assessment of your own development and training needs through personal development planning (PDP) in the ePortfolio system. Our organised external events and development programme have been mapped against the Vitae Researcher Development Framework to help you identify how best to meet your training and development needs.