From the Upper East Side to Down Under

“I have always been interested in animal behavior and welfare,” said Sarah Wallace (MA ’10).  “I came from a psychology background and I knew I wanted to work with animals in my career, but was not sure exactly how.”  Then she discovered Hunter’s unique master’s program in Animal Behavior and Conservation, offered through the Department of Psychology.  “I hadn’t seen or heard of a program quite like it.”

At Hunter, Sarah compared sparrow vocalizations in different New York settings to understand how the urban environment affects birdsong, and she is now preparing a manuscript for publication based on her research.  She continues to study birds in Western Australia, where she is currently pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery at Murdoch University.

“I enjoyed the sense of community among the animal behavior students,” said Sarah.  “It was easy to make friends, and I liked that people came to the program from a variety of backgrounds. “

Sarah saved her greatest praise for her Hunter professors, particularly her adviser, Dr. Mark Hauber.  “They are very passionate about what they teach and really want you to succeed.  You really get to know your instructors, and they get to know you.  Right now my lectures have over 500 students enrolled in each, so I’ve definitely learned to appreciate the small class size and helpfulness of the faculty at Hunter.”