Minor in Animal Behavior

In addition to your major courses and General Education requirements, the Animal Behavior minor includes 22-23 credit hours of coursework.

As a multidisciplinary minor, the program connects to both the Biology and Psychology departments.

• Perform research with a faculty mentor or conduct your own independent studies.
• Build your resume by presenting your work at conferences or FSU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Sample Animal Behavior Courses

Animal Learning and Cognition – Exploration of the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals. Topics include classical and operant conditioning, memory, communication, social learning and primate cognition.

Physiological Psychology – Characteristics of the nervous and endocrine system and their relationship to human and animal behavior.

Research Applications in Animal Behavior and Cognition – Overview of research methods used to examine the behavior and cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals. Research projects designed to provide first-hand experience conducting behavioral research with animals.

Mammalogy – The structure, taxonomy, behavior, ecology, evolution and public health significance of mammals, and history of the science of mammalogy. Laboratory emphasizes anatomy, identification, capture techniques, habitat analysis and home-range and population characterization.

Having a background in Animal Behavior will give students better skills in scientifically studying behavior and research methodology. Graduates with a background in a Psychology field may have extra appeal as employees due to their analytical skills. Graduates of wildlife, veterinary or other zoological programs will be distinguished by their ability to understand an animal’s mental processes. Animal Behavior students also benefit from having studied an interdisciplinary subject, which builds their ability to make connections across fields. Animal Behavior minors gain skills and knowledge beneficial for graduate study in Animal Cognition, Veterinary Medicine, and Wildlife related fields. For more information, check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ pages on Wildlife Biologists and Psychologists.