At Florida Tech, the low student-to-faculty ratio and small class sizes foster close collaboration, mentorship, individual creativity and leadership—and ensure personalized attention and support for each student.

This close-knit environment often gives students opportunities to participate in cutting-edge studies—experiences often reserved for graduate students at larger universities. This hands-on involvement enhances both academic learning and career preparation, offering an unparalleled undergraduate experience.

Florida Tech’s expert faculty are passionate about teaching and dedicated to providing top-notch instruction and practical experience for undergraduate students.

They bring groundbreaking research into the classroom, giving students firsthand insights into animal behavior and cognition. Their work explores topics in nonhuman animals such as decision-making, social behavior, face recognition, behavioral economics and animal welfare, advancing our understanding of both animals and humans.

Students get to know their faculty and work closely with them throughout their studies. Whether they're participating in research projects, seeking career advice or simply looking for academic guidance, they'll find that our faculty maintain open-door policies, are approachable and always happy to help.

Animal behavior and cognition students gain rare and distinctive hands-on research experience through coursework and faculty-led research.

Through a transformative partnership with Brevard Zoo, the Florida Tech Animal Research Outpost offers undergraduates exceptional, hands-on opportunities to study exotic animals on-site at the zoo. A standout feature of this collaboration is the zoo’s Animal Cognitive Research Center, which was developed with input from Florida Tech faculty to support voluntary behavioral studies with the resident spider monkey troop. Spider monkeys exhibit key behavioral traits similar to those of humans and chimpanzees yet remain relatively understudied, making them a compelling and valuable subject for research.

Florida Tech’s innovative undergraduate Roach Lab lets students design and conduct independent research using a novel animal model, the cockroach. These simple, yet surprisingly fascinating, creatures help students explore cognitive abilities, such as associative learning, as well as the evolutionary origins of social behaviors, like group decision-making.

These experiences provide invaluable skills for careers in animal behavior and research, setting students apart as they advance in the field. Dedicated students may even have the opportunity to present or publish their research, giving them a competitive edge when applying to graduate programs.

Built into the degree program, animal behavior internships provide real-world, hands-on experience focused on animal training, husbandry or public education. Working in professional care and research settings, students apply their knowledge while exploring the ethical and practical aspects of working with animals.

Florida Tech students have gained valuable experience at top facilities, including:

• Brevard Zoo
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Dolphins Plus Bayside (Key Largo)
• EPCOT
• Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
• Lemur Conservation Foundation
• MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium (dolphin research program)

This structured, experiential training helps students build essential skills and connections in animal behavior, preparing them for careers working with animals in research, conservation and applied settings.

Ensuring animals can behave naturally is best for their well-being and leads to more accurate and meaningful research. In the animal behavior and cognition program, we emphasize both exceptional animal welfare and rigorous scientific research.

For example, Brevard Zoo’s Spider Monkey Complex was designed with input from faculty to mimic the monkeys’ natural fission-fusion social structure, in which—just like humans—the larger group breaks into smaller subgroups (fission) and reunites (fusion) multiple times within a day. The complex connects three large habitats and the Animal Cognitive Research Center via "sky trails," allowing the monkeys to come and go as they please.

The Animal Cognitive Research Center was designed so that Florida Tech researchers can work one-on-one with the monkeys in front of the public. This setup enables us to investigate experimental research questions related to the behavior, biology and cognition of spider monkeys in a controlled environment. It also offers valuable research and public engagement opportunities for undergraduate students. The monkeys’ participation in this research is entirely voluntary and cognitively enriching, supporting their psychological well-being.

When it’s time to kick back and relax, we’re just over the causeway from 72 miles of beautiful beaches, a short trip away from the Florida Keys or the Orlando theme parks and minutes away from the Indian River Lagoon, North America's most biodiverse estuary.

But you won’t have to travel far for rest and relaxation. We also have a rich campus life, with intramural and collegiate sports, over 200 campuswide student organizations and clubs and a wide variety of social activities.

Florida Tech’s summer field courses are exhilarating, hands-on opportunities that provide participants with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, practical training for work in natural habitats and a résumé boost for internships and job opportunities.

Course options include the study of animal life around coral reefs in Puerto Rico, marine mammals in the Pacific Northwest or field biology and evolution in the Galápagos Islands.