Primate Conservation
MSc or PGDip or PGCert
Find out more by joining a live webinar and course information session
Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026
Full time: MSc: 12 months; PGDip: 8 months; PGCert: 4 months
Part time: MSc: 24 months; PGDip: 16 months; PGCert: 8 months
Location: Headington
School(s): School of Law and Social Sciences
Overview
Focus on the area of Primate Conservation that you’re passionate about - and learn directly from internationally renowned conservation researchers.
This globally recognised programme blends the expertise of anthropologists and biologists to examine primate conservation, focusing on human-wildlife relationships in forest and woodland environments. Whether in the lab, working with conservation groups (including zoos and NGOs), or in the field, you'll collaborate with international scholars and gain hands-on experience to drive positive change. You can specialize your choice of species within topics like:
- Human dimensions of primate conservation
- People - primate interactions
- Illegal primate trade
- Primate behavioral ecology
- Captive management
- Dietary adaptations and nutritional ecology
- Primate rehabilitation, reintroduction and translocation
- Primate response to habitat disturbance.
Learning from tutors with unparalleled expertise on primate conservation, you’ll gain the skills to advance your career in conservation biology.
Why Oxford Brookes University?
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World leading research
Our staff members are recognized authorities for their research on primates. You’ll be working directly with them to gain skills and accelerate your career in conservation and human-primate interactions.
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Connect to global projects
Our strong relationships with field sites, zoos and rescue centres across the world will enable you to join well-established projects, many of which are run by our alumni.
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International reputation
This pioneering course gives you training to tackle the processes leading to primate extinction, as well as interdisciplinary, professional training & accreditation
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Teaching excellence
Awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize 2007 in recognition of staff and student outstanding work, this course offers excellent learning resources, field trips (zoos, sanctuaries) and an internal journal.
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Career opportunities
Strong links with conservation organisations and NGOs, including IUCN, Borneo Nature Foundation, TRAFFIC, Neotropical Primate Conservation, and Wildlife Madagascar.
Course details
Course structure
You’ll study conservation biology and explore strategies for primate protection and welfare, covering topics such as:
- Human-primate interactions
- Environmental decline, habitat loss
- Captive management and translocations
- Genetics and population management.
You can choose to conduct captive studies or fieldwork tailored to your interests. As a long-established course, we have strong ties with field sites, zoos, and rescue centers in over 40 countries, many run by our alumni. You can join well-established projects with expert staff and professional equipment. Optional international fieldwork will require funding, but we’ll support you with grant applications and fundraising.
You’ll learn from internationally renowned tutors, many of whom are members of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group and serve on editorial boards or are ad hoc reviewers for leading journals in our field. We also offer a rare specialism in nocturnal primates like lorises, lemurs, galagos, tarsiers, and night monkeys.
Study modules
The modules listed below are for the master's award. For the PGDip and PGCert awards your module choices may be different. Please contact us for more details.
For the MSc Primate Conservation trajectory, it may be possible in exceptional circumstances for students to do an independent study module in lieu of another module only with staff approval.
Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.
Research
Our vibrant research culture is driven by a thriving and collaborative community of academic staff and doctoral students.
Our Research clusters include:
- the Nocturnal Primate Research Group (NPRG)
- the Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group (OWTRG)
- the Human Origins and Palaeo Environments (HOPE)
- Humans, Animals and the Environment
- Primatology and Conservation.
You can find out more by browsing the staff profiles of the course tutors: Giuseppe, Kate, Magdalena, Susan and Vincent.
Careers
You’ll graduate with the skills and knowledge to launch or accelerate your career in animal conservation - as a practitioner, advocate or researcher.
You’ll benefit from our close links with conservation organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in the UK and globally.
Our graduates progress to careers ranging from starting their own NGOs, to Education Officers in zoos or researchers at universities. And during your course, you’ll be able to connect with leading specialists and alumni from organisations like the BBC Natural History Unit, Great Apes Survival Partnership, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
When you finish your course, you’ll join a supportive network of Oxford Brookes graduates who work across all areas of conservation. You’ll also have the option to continue your studies by enrolling on our own PhD programme, or others in the UK or globally.
Student profiles
Our Staff
Professor Giuseppe Donati
Giuseppe Donati is Professor in Biological Anthropology and the course lead for MSc/ MRes Primate Conservation. Giuseppe has conducted research on behaviour, ecology, and conservation of lemurs and New World monkeys, and produced numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals or books.
Read more about GiuseppeRelated courses
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
You will normally be required to have, or be expecting, a good honours degree in anthropology, biology, ecology, psychology or an acceptable related discipline.
If you are not a graduate, or if you have graduated in an unrelated discipline, you will be considered for entry to the course if you can demonstrate in your application, and at an interview, that you are able to work at an advanced level in the discipline. You may also be asked to write a short essay and/or present evidence of original work in support of your application.
We will consider appropriate credits obtained elsewhere. Accreditation of prior learning (eg a conversion course or an advanced research training course) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the course manager.
Transfer between part-time and full-time modes, transfer from the diploma to the MSc, or deferral of study may be possible in certain circumstances at the discretion of the examination committee.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 with 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
Pathways courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.
Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.
If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
English requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Credit transfer
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
International qualifications and equivalences
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page
Financial support and scholarships
There are also opportunities to apply for a scholarship which covers the fees for a student from a primate habitat country. Applicants must indicate on their application that they would like to be considered for this scholarship.
Because of the urgent need for the study of conservation, some private agencies offer scholarships with very particular eligibility criteria relating to gender, age, nationality, and domicile. Ask your local librarian for a guide to funding within your country. You could also try the following agencies:
- Conservation Leadership Programme
- Charlotte Conservation Fellows Program
- Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
- Russel E Train Education for Nature Program Fellowship
- TWOWS Postgraduate Training Fellowship
- Martha J Galante Award
Also available is the Dean's Postgraduate Scholarship
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences believes strongly in the importance of making a difference to the world of our students, and in the ability and potential of our students to make a difference in the world. The Dean's Scholarship is one small way in which we make that belief tangible. Please click on the button above to find out more.
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.
All students across the Primatology and Conservation courses are invited to participate in field trips to the Monkey Sanctuary, and Twycross Zoo - with whom we have special links. These trips are optional, or are part of optional modules and therefore not included within the course fees.
Students are expected to consider and manage the cost of their own research and fieldwork, whether this is abroad or at home. As well as carrying out projects across the globe, our students have carried out research in museums and zoos closer to home, as well as laboratory and library-based studies. Research has been undertaken in more than 50 countries either in the field (Argentina, Costa Rica, Nicaragua; Morocco, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Uganda; Madagascar; India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan), in rescue centres (Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa), zoos (UK, Netherlands, Italy) or in our primate lab in Oxford.
Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been
published on the website. For more information, please visit our
changes to programmes page.