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Bachelor of Science

The human-animal studies major is an interdisciplinary major designed to give students a variety of skills allowing them to become professionals in animal related fields. After a core of courses addressing the human animal bond and animal care, as well as statistics and psychology, in the third year of study students will choose either the Animal Assisted Therapy Track, or the Animal Welfare Track. Each track involves more interdisciplinary courses, and each requires a semester-long four credit hour internship. Experiential learning and a familiarity with the relevant literature is addressed throughout the program.

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses
HAS-1200	Introduction to Animal Science	4
HAS-2210	Animals in Society	4
HAS-3200	Animal Welfare	4
HAS-3300	Prevention and Control of Animal and Zoonotic Diseases	4
MTH-2100	General Statistics	4
PSY-1100	General Psychology	4
Professional Track Courses
Select a track for 16 semester hours		16
Therapy Track
SPED-2120	Characteristics and Identification of Disabilities and the Law
or PSY-3460	Exceptional Individual
REC-2250	Therapeutic Recreation for Selected Populations
or REC-2400	Recreation as a Therapeutic Intervention
HAS-3600	Animal Assisted Therapy
HAS-3940	Animal Studies Internship
Welfare and Bonding Track
HAS-3320	Forensic Investigations Involving Animals
HAS-3400	Animals and Public Policy
HAS-3500	Behavior, Training, and Rehabilitation of Animals
HAS-3940	Animal Studies Internship
Total Credits		40

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

A student who graduates from Aurora University with a baccalaureate degree will have met the following requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for an approved major (with no grades lower than “C”).
2. Overall completion of at least 120 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (a course may be utilized only once in application toward a degree requirement, unless otherwise noted in the academic regulations). The 120 semester hours of coursework must include:
   • At least 52 semester hours completed at a senior college.
   • Residency Requirement - At least 30 semester hours completed at Aurora University, including the last 24 semester hours in the degree, and including at least 18 semester hours in the major. (Portfolio assessment credit, life and vocational experience credit, off-campus experience credit, examination credit, participation credit, and block credit, shall not count toward the residency requirement).
   • Upper-Division Requirement - A minimum of 30 semester hours numbered 3000 or above. Of these 30 semester hours, 15 semester hours must lie within the major and 15 semester hours must be completed at Aurora University.
3. Completion of all General Education requirements (with no grades lower than “C”), as follows:
   • Quantitative and Formal Reasoning competency requirement
   • ENG-1000 Introduction to Academic Writing
   • IDS-1200 Discover What Matters or IDS-3040 Global Justice
   • IDS-1150 First Year Experience - Not required for Transfer or AU Online students)
   • Satisfactory participation in the junior-year mentoring and assessment process designed to guide students to successful completion of their degree and to encourage planning for next steps beyond graduation. (IDS-3500 Junior Mentoring Program I and IDS-3550 Junior Mentoring Program II - Not required for ADC or AU Online students but may be designated electives for AU Online students admitted with fewer than 15 hours of transfer credit.)
   • Distribution Requirements
     Students will complete one approved course¹ from each of the following categories:
     • Artistic Literacy
     • Cultural Literacy
     • Human Inquiry
     • Scientific Inquiry

In addition to the above, ADC and Online students will also complete one approved course¹ from the following category:

• Discovery and Reflection

¹

Only courses that are approved to meet the distribution requirement can be used toward this requirement. See the list of approved courses  for available options. Courses taken to meet distribution requirements are 4 semester hours apiece, with the following exceptions:

• An approved transfer course of at least 2.50 semester hours can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
• Courses with co-requisite laboratory components may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement, provided that the student successfully complete both the three-credit-hour course and the single-credit-hour lab component.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history of human-animal interactions, the economic importance of animals, and the cultural significance of animals in different societies. 
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of techniques to promote the health, welfare, and appropriate behavior of animals. 

3. Students will demonstrate professional behavior and both written and oral communication skills.