Placement is an important part of the course, giving you the opportunity to put theory into practice. In the past students have worked for ancillary industries such as animal feed manufacturers, research organisations, quality assurance companies, and animal health companies, as well as livestock enterprises. This period is supervised by Harper Adams and we will help you to find a placement that suits your career ambitions. The skills, contacts, confidence and knowledge students develop during the placement year are highly valued by employers.

What you study

The degree will give you a good understanding of how animals’ bodies work, what is needed to maintain health and what happens in the case of disease.

The degree is a farm animal-based course but some core modules consider other species. There are also opportunities to choose some modules which relate to business and companion animals. This allows you to specialise or gives you the flexibility to study over a wide area. Your final year will include a major research project which will commonly be sponsored by an industrial partner.

There are a wide range of career opportunities available to Animal Production Science graduates in animal nutrition, animal health, advisory roles and technical sales. Your in-depth knowledge of farm animal health and production systems will qualify you for careers such as animal health and welfare inspector for a local authority or Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Or you may choose to work in the animal feed industry developing new diets or in an animal health company, for instance. Some students prefer to use their skills as enterprise managers, or to go on to postgraduate study.