MSc Primate Conservation
Educational Organization:
Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Date Posted:
2007-11-20
Program Description:
The unique MSc in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes University is now in its eighth year, and in November 2007 has been awarded the highly-prestigious Queens Anniversary Award for Higher and Further Education a national honour recognising the outstanding contribution by the MSc programme team and the Department of Anthropology & Geography at Oxford Brookes. The prize was awarded to the MSc for the high-quality professional and scientific training it provides students for a life-long career in conservation.
The course provides a high quality postgraduate qualification relevant to the careers of anthropologists, conservation biologists, captive management professionals and educators who have a particular interest in primates and their habitats, and practical solutions to their continuing survival. Skills gained in the Research Methods modules will give you the opportunity to go on to further research.
Career Prospects: Our MSc graduates have gone on to work for a variety of institutions including:
The BBC Natural History Unit
The British Sound Archives
IUCN
WCS, WWF, Frontier
UK Zoos
North American Zoos
We also have graduates working as paid researchers in Indonesia , Vietnam , Congo and DRC. Others have embarked upon research degrees, or are working as research assistants at institutes of higher education.
Course Content: This course combines the expertise of anthropologists and biologists to examine primate conservation biology in a broad context, with particular emphasis on the interrelationships between humans and wildlife in forest and woodland environments.
If you study towards an MSc you will take all of the six taught modules below and complete a final project in the form of a traditional dissertation, or innovative end-product relevant to primate conservation (eg video, web site).
Taught Modules:
Primate Diversity and Biogeography (eg threats to primates, taxonomy, systematics, speciation, ecology, behaviour, biodiversity, habitat protection)
Human Wildlife Conflict Issues (eg hunting, pest control, eco-tourism, economic pressures on forests, design and management of reserves and parks)
Environmental Education (eg philosophy - the relationship of awareness to action, planning and practice)
Primate Conservation Genetics (eg DNA sequencing, studbooks, minimal viable populations)
Research Methods in Primate Conservation (eg behavioural sampling, surveys, statistics, generating funding, museum studies)
Captive Management (eg enclosure design, breeding, display, rehabilitation)
An important theme running throughout the course is its emphasis on anthropological perspectives.
Special Features: Staff expertise is matched to each aspect of the course, with regular input from visiting speakers with first hand experience in primate conservation. A regular Monday night seminar series, and production of an in-house journal Canopy are other features. Permanent members of staff include world-renowned experts Dr K A I Nekaris (Course Leader), Professor S K Bearder (Chair, Course Planning Committee), Dr C M Hill, Dr G Donati, Dr N Priston, and Dr V J Nijman (Final Project Leader).
The course is supported by a Course Co-ordinator and an Admissions Administrator together with experienced postgraduate researchers who help with part-time teaching.
Teaching and Assessment: A combination of lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials are used, with the emphasis on group sharing of skills and knowledge. The course builds on the facilities and teaching support available to students. Facilities include dedicated laboratory space with conservation-related software (Avisoft, Vortex, Distance, ArcGis, MaxEnt, Garp, JWatcher), a primate sound archive, a wet lab that can be used for hormone/parasite analysis, access to the zoological collections of the University of Oxford Natural History Museum, and a conservation library and reprint collection. All students also receive a Bodleian library card.
Research: All students will complete an independent research project suitable for publication and/or presentation at a scientific meeting. The MSc maintains an equipment closet, so that students have access to equipment with which to undertake their research in the field, the lab, the museum setting, or in captivity. Students in the past have been successful in obtaining research funding for their projects from conservation organisations.
Enterance Qualifications:
2:i or first (e.g. 3.0 GPA or higher)in a related subject (primatology, ecology, biological anthropology, psychology). Students with a 2:ii (e.g. 2.5 GPA) or with unrelated degrees will be considered, particularly if they have experience with primate conservation. Proficiency in English is required (e.g. IELTS).
Tuition / Fees:
£4730 F/T
£2410 P/T
£9200 Overseas
Support (scholarships, travel):
There are currently opportunities for;
4 Scholarships for students from primate habitat countries covering course tuition fees
2 Scholarships for students from Madagascar covering course tuition fees and living expenses
Occasionally additional scholarships are offered for overseas students; please contact Mansi Desai for queries about these scholarships.
Start + End Dates:
September 2008 - September 2009
Application Deadline:
Round 1: 15 March 2008; Round 2: 15 August 2008
Comments:
If you have queries that cannot be answered by the course administrator, please contact the course tutor, Dr Anna Nekaris, anekaris@brookes.ac.uk
Contact Information:
Ms Mansi Desai
Gipsy Lane
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX3 0BP
United Kingdom
Telephone Number:
01865 484228
Website:
http://http://ssl.brookes.ac.uk/primate/
E-Mail Address:
mdesai@brookes.ac.uk
Questions and Comments
Questions about a specific job listing should be directed to the
contact person listed for that job. Questions and comments about using
the Primate-Jobs web site can be directed to Ray Hamel, Special
Collections/Reference Librarian, at
hamel@primate.wisc.edu or (608) 263-3512.
