Can dogs understand human language? Why do birds migrate? Do fish feel pain? These are some questions you鈥檒l seek to answer as an animal behavior and ethology major. Never heard of ethology? Merriam Webster鈥檚 dictionary defines it as 鈥渢he scientific and objective study of animal behavior.鈥 Animal behavior and ethology covers a range of scientific disciplines all concerned with what animals do and the neural mechanisms that enable them to do it.
A major in animal behavior and ethology piles on some serious science; you鈥檒l take classes like anatomy, biology, genetics, neurobiology, neuroscience, behavioral evolution, zoology, and cognition and sensory perception. You鈥檒l use this knowledge to observe and attempt to understand animal sensation, cognition, and behavior. By your junior or senior year, you鈥檒l undertake an independent research project in an area of special interest, such as animal communication or social evolution.
Animal Behavior
Animal Physiology
Behavior of Social Insects
Conservation Biology
Mammalian Embryology
Marine Biology
Nature of Sensing and Response
Neuroscience
Sensation and Perception
For this major, you鈥檒l want to take biology, anatomy, and -- if your school offers it -- psychology. While you鈥檙e at it, classes in chemistry, mathematics and physics are also not a bad idea.
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