Learn about animals
Learning how to study independently is an important part of university life.
You can give yourself a head start, and enjoy learning more about the animals you love, by trying out some of the activities here: these are ways that students at the RVC study, from watching lectures, to discussing case studies. They will help you develop your knowledge of animals, and also prepare you for things like coursework, projects, and eventually, university!
Hear from Dr Beth Preston during our live event - Animal Academy: Mini Lecture
Taster lecture
University style teaching and learning may be a little different from what you have experienced at school or college. Lecturers are experts in their field, carrying out research as well as teaching and the lessons are often faster paced. Watching our taster lecture video will help you prepare for university, and you'll learn some exciting new animal facts from an RVC expert. Although this is a taste of University level learning, the below lectures may not be reflective of any RVC course in the future
Ethics in Animal Science - Professor Madeleine Campbell
Listening to a lecturer and taking notes to revise from later might be a little new to you, so we have made a PDF of all of our Top Tips for Note Taking at university.
Case studies
Case studies are examples of real-life scenarios you might encounter working with animals: below are some great ones to get started. For each, think about your first assumptions as to what is wrong with the animal, and consider what you might do. As you learn new words and discover new techniques used by animal professionals, keep a note of them in your Reflection notes (download: reflection sheet).
Hear the stories of animals with different personalities, temperaments, histories and treatments. Think about how an animal behaves might change how a vet or nurse works with them, and all the different ways you can help an animal have a happier life.
he cases of Alice the Cocker spaniel and Holly the Labrador are common cases in the veterinary world.
This case looks at the welfare needs of an animal, and how they can be harmed if these needs aren't met. It also gets you to think about the people involved and how they might feel, which is a great thing to practice for you work experience and interview. It also goes into law and policy, but don't worry, you don't need to know about that just yet!
Self-led learning activities
At university, it is often up to you to decide what and when to revise, and you may even be asked to do research on an entirely new topic. It is a great idea to spend some time revising the subjects that are important for your future career goals - like Biology!
Our Sutton Trust Summer School students this year completed group projects on 10 different animal health issues, which you can download below;
Diabetes in Pets: Download
Hip Dysplasia: Download
Metabolic Bone Disease: Download
The interactive presentations below will test your learning about dog and cat behaviour, click on each one to go through them. Animals can’t tell you what they are feeling, so understanding their behaviour is key to working safely with them:
Here are some useful activities and links that focus on biology and animals:
- - This focuses on the aspects of anatomy used commonly by animal professionals
- Student Animal Welfare Society: Farm to Fork interactive activity
- - Learn about how we classify living things.
- - Comprehensive courses about conservation, wildlife trade and the challenges we face to protect animals.
- - A great way to revise the anatomy of the heart.
- - ZSL London Zoo has an array of great resources about ecosystems, conservation and zoos.
Independent research project
Download this PDF for instructions on how to develop your own mini-research project about an endangered animal! Developing your knowledge of species will help you understand conservation principles and help you learn more about careers with animals. You can choose the format of your project, it could be a poster, a mind map, a presentation, or an essay.
Send us your completed projects and we can feature them on our social media, and send them on to our Junior Vet Club, who are 7-12 year olds interested in working with animals. They will love to learn from you about new species!