Professional Development Diploma in Equine Learning and Equitation Science

Professional Development Diploma in Equine Learning and Equitation

Science 16.5 Credit Hours/307.5 Clock Hours

This is a non-degree professional development diploma program. Students who enroll in this program may 1) hold an undergraduate or graduate degree in another field of study, do not wish to enroll in another degree program, and wish to practice in the field of applied animal behavior with horses and apply for professional board certification or 2) do not wish to complete a degree program at this time but wish to practice in the field of applied animal behavior with horses and apply for professional board certification.

Program Description

This is a blended learning professional development program delivered 1) in instructor-led online asynchronous and synchronous classrooms on the college’s Virtual Campus located at http://amcollege.net using Internet-based videoconference/teleconference software, 2) in a 5-day (45 contact hour) face-to-face faculty-lead academic residency lab course with horses at a scheduled location in the U.S. and 3) in a faculty-monitored real-world practicum (externship) under the direct supervision of a faculty-approved field supervisor that is usually completed in the student’s community. All courses are taught by instructors holding doctoral, masters or veterinary degrees in their area of expertise. The program follows an applied behavior analysis model for behavior change as well as principles of ethology. Students may enter the program with or without experience working with and caring for horses. Students receive a diploma upon satisfactory completion of all required online coursework, academic residency lab coursework and practicum.

This program targets equine professionals who want to have better credentials and offer new services such as training and modifying problem behaviors, using ethical, evidence based methods. This gives the professional an edge.

This professional development diploma program is not an unsupervised home study or correspondence course.

This program typically takes 12-24 months to complete on a full-time/part-time basis. Courses are taken in 6-week blocks.

Program Outline

	*CORE ONLINE COURSES*	Credit Hrs.	Clock Hrs.
ANSC 2031	Principles of Learning and Animal Training	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2032	Equine Behavior I	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2033	Equine Behavior II	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2034	Equine Nutrition and Health	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2035	Equine Biomechanics	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2036	Principles of Equitation Science I	1.5	22.5
ANSC 2037	Principles of Equitation Science II	1.5	22.5

	* ACADEMIC RESIDENCY LAB *
ANSC 2214	Equine Behavior Academic Residency Lab	3	45

	* PRACTICUM *
ANSC 2900	Externship Practicum	3	105

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS

307.5

Technical Standards and Physical Requirements

Students enrolled in this program are required to work with horses in academic residency, field project or externship courses. Working with animals requires certain physical requirements including, but not limited to, responding quickly to animal movement, bending, use of hands to hold leashes, food reinforcers, and clicker signaling devices; restraining an animal, donning and removing training equipment used with the animal’s training, placement and removal of animals into cages or carriers, etc. Students should be confident that they are capable of performing these physical tasks, with or without accommodations, prior to enrolling in a program. If a student has questions about their ability to perform these physical tasks, it is advised that they seek the guidance of their personal physician before applying.