Personal statement

Ralph is Senior Lecturer in Zoology and was the founding Programme Leader for theBSc in Wildlife Conservation where the majority of his teaching remains alongside more general biological and interdisciplinary interests. 

He joined Bath Spa in 2020 after gaining varied teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, teaching animal behaviour and biology at a number of British and Irish institutions including the University of Bristol, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Limerick.

In recognition of his leadership in Higher Education teaching, he was awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), with current leadership roles including acting as a link tutor for a validated degree, external examining and advising on validation of degree programmes for other HE institutions. 

After completing a BA in Natural Science (Zoology) at the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Biology (Integrative Bioscience) at the University of Oxford he went on to doctoral study at the University of Bristol. The focus of this PhD was exploring the relationship between emotion and decision making, both in humans and in other animals.

Emotions and the control of behaviour remain primary research interests, alongside animal behaviour in an ecological context, creativity in science and higher education, and the relationships between humans and other animals. He is a member of the Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation research cluster. 

As an artist, he also has an interdisciplinary interest in the relationships between the creative arts and the sciences, both in education and research. This manifests in efforts to promote creative learning in his students, including leading the 'Wild Muse' and Wildlife Photography modules and co-supervising an interdisciplinary Fine Art PhD. And in research aimed to gain a scientific understanding of some of the processes involved in the creation of visual art.

Academic qualifications

  • BA in Natural Sciences (Zoology) - 1st class - University of Cambridge
  • MSc in Biology (Integrative Bioscience) - University of Oxford
  • PhD in Behavioural Biology - University of Bristol
  • PgCAP in Higher Education - University of Edinburgh

Professional memberships

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Teaching specialisms

  • Animal behaviour
  • Conservation ecology
  • Wildlife photography
  • Creative approaches
  • Biological techniques
  • Dissertation supervision

Research interests

  • Creativity in Sciences
  • Animal Behaviour
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Comparative and Biological Psychology
  • Art and Science interactions.