Postgraduate Course: Animal Cognition and Consciousness (AWAB11046)
Course Outline
| School | Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In this course students will be presented with the scientific basis of motivation, emotion, learning and cognition, which are all integral to the study of animal behaviour and animal welfare. Emphasis will be put on the integration of these areas with a specific focus on welfare, while an understanding of learning theory will be put in to practice through training practical sessions. This course will also focus on debates surrounding the concepts of animal sentience and animal consciousness; it will discuss historical and current interpretations, different existing experimental approaches, and philosophical conundrums concerned with the study of animal minds. It will consider the implications of the study of animal consciousness for models of animal welfare and provide an in-depth look at Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), a methodology for the study of emotional expression in animals. |
| Course description |
This course integrates philosophical and applied approaches to the study of animal minds, exploring how motivation, emotion, learning and cognition shape how animals experience and respond to their worlds. Students will be exposed to contemporary and historic debates about animal sentience and consciousness, unpacking the philosophical and practical challenges that arise when attempting to understand animal minds. Students will deepen their intellectual understanding as well as their practical competencies, through animal handling and training practicals, as well as applied training in the use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment as a tool for interpreting animals' emotional expressivity.
Alongside conventional scientific and methodological approaches, this course actively invites students to consider wider intellectual traditions that challenge and enrich mainstream animal welfare science. Students will be introduced to different approaches to understanding animal cognition and consciousness (e.g., Critical Animal Studies, care-based ethics, and relational perspectives that emphasise multispecies interconnectedness). This will enable students to critically evaluate different narratives in cognitive ethology, and consider how human-animal relationships and research are shaped by power, culture, and history.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 45,
Summative Assessment Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
145 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
40 %
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| Feedback |
Opportunities for feedback arise during timetabled courses, for example during live session tutorials, discussion boards, emails, telephone communication and in person/on campus. Feedback can be provided on coursework assignments but also activities which are not formally assessed, for example class discussion on the discussion board, group exercise, problem-solving and developing project plans and proposals. A formative task is provided in each course which provides formative feedback prior to the student submitting their first piece of assessed course work.
All assignments, including the formative assessment, will be marked and feedback is provided within a period of fifteen working days (where possible) following the submission date (excluding holidays periods whereby the University of closed, e.g. over the Christmas period)
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the principal theories, principles and concepts of animal cognition, sentience and consciousness.
- Design a practical application that demonstrates a critical understanding of learning theory principles and concepts.
- Communicate using appropriate methods to targeted audiences about animal cognition and consciousness.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Animal cognition,psychology,ethology,animal minds,critical animal studies,animal welfare |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Cynthia Naydani
Tel:
Email: cnaydani@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Linda Pollock
Tel: (0131) 650 6149
Email: Linda.Pollock@ed.ac.uk |
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