Wildlife Conservation with Zoo Biology

Wildlife conservation with zoo biology is a degree that recognises two complementary dimensions of the challenge of protecting the world's biodiversity. Conservation in the wild, through habitat management, species monitoring and community engagement in biodiversity-rich regions, is central to any serious conservation effort. Zoos and wildlife parks play a different but increasingly important role, housing threatened species, conducting research, supporting breeding programmes and educating millions of visitors about conservation every year.

Understanding both contexts and how they connect gives students a particularly rounded preparation for careers in this sector.

At the University of Salford, studied part-time, you will explore conservation theory and practice across both environments. You will engage with ecology, animal behaviour and welfare, population biology, conservation genetics and the legal and policy frameworks that govern wildlife protection internationally. The zoo biology strand develops your understanding of captive animal management, enrichment, husbandry and the role that modern zoos play in conservation, including the reintroduction programmes that aim to restore wild populations.

Research methods are central to the programme, developing your ability to design and carry out field and laboratory investigations and to engage critically with the scientific literature.

Graduates work in zoos, wildlife parks, nature reserves, environmental charities, government conservation bodies and fieldwork organisations both in the UK and internationally. Roles in species management, conservation research, zoo education, environmental education and policy are among the destinations. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in conservation biology, zoology, ecology or related disciplines, deepening their specialism or moving into research.

The combination of in-situ and ex-situ conservation knowledge gives graduates a profile that is relevant across the full range of organisations working to protect threatened species and habitats.