Bachelor in Human-Animal Studies

Human-Animal Studies (HAST) is a growing interdisciplinary field that examines relationships between humans and other animals. HAST scholars critically analyze the connections between humans and other animals: historical and contemporary, factual and fictional, real and symbolic, beneficial and detrimental. By exploring ecological, biological, literary, psychological, and ethical connections between our own species and others, we acquire a greater understanding of the ways in which animals figure in our lives - and we in theirs.

The HAST program, in its tenth year at the University of Redlands, has especially practical relevance for those pursuing animal-related careers in zoos or aquariums, wildlife rehabilitation, endangered species conservation, animal shelters and rescues, animal advocacy, veterinary medicine, or laboratory science.

The HAST minor powerfully complements a major in Environmental Studies, Biology, Psychology, or Philosophy. We have minors who are majoring in many other fields of study offered at the university as well.

Interested in learning more about Human-Animal Studies?

The primary organization promoting Human-Animal Studies is the Animals & Society Institute (ASI). Its mission is "Advancing human knowledge to improve animal lives;" its vision is "A compassionate world where animals flourish." The ASI site provides a wealth of resources for HAST students: lists of jobs, internships, degree programs, key readings, definitions, a newsletter, and information about forming a Student Chapter of the ASI on one's campus. There's also an Undergraduate journal in HAST, Sloth, in which we have had student work published. You can find an engaging video glossary of key HAST terms, including a 3-minute video definition of "Animal Ethics" by our own Professor Kathie Jenni.

Degree Programs

The Minor

The minor in HAST consists of six (3 or 4 credit) courses; two foundation courses, three electives, and a practicum.

Foundation Courses

Complete one of the following courses:

• PHIL 212 Humans and other Animals
• PHIL 213 Animal Ethics and Policy
• PHIL 211 Environmental Ethics

and one of the following courses:

• BIOL 331 Ecology
• BIOL 340 Conservation Biology
• EVST 230 Biodiversity
• EVST 305 Ecology for Environmental Scientists
• BIOL 352 Animal Behavior
• PSYC 350 Evolutionary Psychology

Elective courses

Three elective courses; at least one from the Science and one from the Humanities; at least three disciplinary areas must be represented in the minor, and no elective may duplicate a foundational course.

Practicum

Students must complete a practicum (3-4 credits), ideally taken after the completion of other HAST coursework in the spirit of the capstone. The practicum may take the form of any experiential project involving animals that are overseen by Redlands faculty and approved by the advisory committee.

Human-animal Studies Speaker Series

Each year the HAST program brings faculty, students, and community members together for a lecture series featuring world-renowned animal scholars and activists. These lectures (usually three per year) draw a mixed and lively audience of from fifty to one hundred fifty people. Past themes of the Series have included the mental lives of farmed animals, shared human-animal experiences at the margins of society, and living at the wildlife-urban interface. The lectures are followed by Q and A time and informal conversations.

Students are given the opportunity to make personal connections with our lecturers at dinners and beyond. Past speakers have included marine biologist Lori Marino, animal ethologist Marc Bekoff, Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur, and ecofeminist author Carol J. Adams.

General Education Requirements

General Education is a broad description of the curriculum that embodies our commitment to a liberal arts education at the University of Redlands. Our general education conveys the range of fields of study, ways of thinking, and practices of scholarship and creativity that enable students to graduate as critical thinkers capable of innovatively and collaboratively adapting to challenges that come their way in the future.

Our general education is comprised of a Liberal Arts Inquiry (LAI) or Liberal Arts Foundation (LAF) curriculum.

• Entering first-year students and transfer students arriving with fewer than 32 credits in Fall 2018 will follow the LAI curriculum.
• All transfer and returning students with 32 credits or more (i.e., sophomores, juniors, and seniors) in Fall 2018 will follow the LAF curriculum.