All I can find online are lists of top rated colleges, no actual inside knowledge on the best colleges for this major. I am planning on attending community college in Washington State next year but I would like to transfer asap to pursue my actual interests. I am also super interested in internships/volunteer experience to find out what path I want to take, but it seems like most of these programs are for people already with some higher education so it may have to wait. Hopefully this thread can act as a discussion platform to talk about zoology schooling/training in general and the best programs!
Well I don't have any specific answers for you but perhaps some advice. The first thing is to decide or at least think about what you want to do with a zoology degree. The second is if you have a more specific field you are interested in within zoology: ornithology, herpetology, ichthyology etc. . Those two questions will help focus. There is a big difference between wanting to become a researcher or if perhaps you actually want to work at a zoo, or something else. And then maybe look for a university that has graduate programs in that area. Or even if you just want to explore possibilities. Which Hell, that's as good a reason to go to college as any. More unsolicitated advice: Have fun in college but the best way to keep your options open is to take your classes seriously and do well in them. As in like get A's. Maybe you might want to go into Veterinary Medicine etc.
Thanks for the advice! Yeah im not 100% sure on exactly what I want to do just yet. Im not really interested in veterinary medicine. Potentially research could be a part of my career but I would prefer to be more hands on involved in active conservation work. Actually working in a zoo is a dream, but I would want to do more with conservation than just breeding plains zebras for a safari park, and the public relations/bureaucracy aspect drives me nuts. I have always been fascinated by the complexities of ex situ breeding programs for future reintroduction, and feel a profound urgency when it comes to preserving biodiversity. The dream would be a place like Durrell, or the EPRC, but I dunno I have to be realistic and keep my options open! I didnt mean to make this thread all about me, maybe il make a second one specifically just to talk about zoology schools.
There are lots of colleges and universities with zoology or related life sciences (ecology, biology, etc). However there are only two colleges in the United States that offer a zoo keeping degree and have their own mini zoo on campus. Both are two year community colleges. One is Moorpark College in Moorpark, California. The other is Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida.
Here's a long list of zoo and aquarium career education programs, compiled by the AZA: Education Programs for Zoo and Aquarium Careers
Ive heard of Santa Fe before, the facility looks amazing and they have species such as tree kangaroos and guam rails which is pretty mindblowing. It seems like it is only a 12 week program though? Thanks! The problem is that I wish I could talk to people who have actually gone through these programs before. Its pretty hard to distinguish the good and the bad off of a list of names is what im finding.
I bet if you contact some of these programs and explain you're trying to select one that at least some of them will give you the names of alumni who would be willing to speak with you.
