Postgraduate handbook 2004
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Graduate Certificate in Animal Welfare

This course is offered by the Department of Psychology in off-campus learning mode, however students will be required to attend seven hours of on-campus workshops at Caulfield campus per unit. Access to course content as well as academic and other support will be provided primarily by printed and electronic materials. Additional academic support will be provided by telephone, email, fax and face-to-face contact at the weekend workshops.

Graduates of the course will:

• understand animal welfare and ethics within the disciplines of science, history, sociology and politics
• be able to assess animal welfare issues objectively
• be able to apply the knowledge gained in this course effectively in theory and practice in areas such as animal well-being, welfare inspection and assessment, research management, and the preparation and updating of welfare codes, legislation and regulations
• be able to communicate the knowledge gained articulately in written and spoken form
• be aware of the complexity of debate concerning local and international animal issues and able to distinguish between fact and value, examine factual claims for accuracy and address conflicts between different value systems
• be able to identify problems, areas of controversy and areas of agreement, in particular with regard to duty of care to animals, animal housing, animal husbandry, animal rights, conservation and biodiversity, and ethics and welfare
• be able to implement Standard Operating Procedures in their area of practice with a focus on the three Rs (replace, refine and reduce) and quality of life
• be able to plan and design research contributing to knowledge and/or practice in the field of animal welfare and ethics
• have furthered their educational, personal and professional development and lifelong patterns of learning.

Applicants must have a bachelors degree, or equivalent, or three years relevant work experience at an appropriate level (to be determined at the discretion of an academic selection panel). There are no formal unit prerequisites.

Course structure

The course is offered on a part-time basis and can be completed in two to four semesters. It comprises four six-point units, three core units - GAW3010 GAW3020 and GAW3030 and one elective unit - either GAW3040 or GAW3050. Units GAW3010 and GAW3020 will typically be offered in the first semester and GAW3030, GAW3040 and GAW3050 in the second semester.

• GAW3010 Ethics and welfare
• GAW3020 Biology and ethology
• GAW3030 Domestication and management: Urban management of domestic animals
• GAW3040 Research project: observing behaviour
• GAW3050 Animal welfare in a global community

GAW3010 and GAW3020 will have a major component of material presented to students in printed form that is teacher-designated. Students will be responsible for directing the pace of their learning, However they will be required to participate cooperatively in electronic group discussions and on-campus workshops. In GAW3030, GAW3040 and GAW3050 students will be required to undertake group and individual projects and deliver oral and post presentations. Successful participation in these activities will rely on students general knowledge, which they will be encouraged to expand by reading and interpreting popular discussion, magazines and newspapers and listening to the radio and watching television. In GAW3030, students are required to undertake an industry placement (10-20 days) whereby the focus is on experiential learning.
Although the units are offered as part of a course, students may elect to undertake, and be credited for completing, one or more units as single units.

Advanced standing

Provision of up to 50 per cent will be made for credit transfer or advanced standing for previous post-secondary study or recognised prior learning (to be determined at the discretion of an academic selection panel).

Inquiries

Inquiries should be directed to the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, telephone (03) 9905 4359 or (03) 9905 9587. Website http://www.med.monash.edu.au/psych.

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