| Summary: | Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs) targeting college students’ stress and academic success have increased, despite limited research on academic outcomes. This randomized controlled trial (<i>N</i> = 349) examined the effects of incorporating levels of Human−animal Interaction (HAI) (0%, 50% or 100%) with therapy dogs in a four-week academic stress management program. Conditions included (1) Academic Stress Management (ASM) content only (0% HAI), (2) Human−animal Interaction only (100% HAI) and (3) equal combinations of ASM content and HAI (50% HAI). Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses examined the effects of students’ risk status (<i>N</i> = 146; depression, anxiety, perceived stress, worry) and treatment condition on students’ learning and study strategies at posttest and follow-up. The results showed interactions between condition and risk status demonstrating higher posttest levels of WILL (i.e., anxiety, attitude, motivation) (<i>Β</i> = 0.582, <i>p</i> = 0.005) and SELFREGULATION (i.e., concentration, self-testing, study aids, time management) (<i>Β</i> = 0.501, <i>p</i> = 0.031) for at-risk students receiving equal combinations of HAI and content presentations. Moderation effects remained at follow-up (<i>Β</i> = 0.626, <i>p</i> = 0.005; <i>Β</i> = 0.630, <i>p</i> = 0.007). At-risk students receiving only HAI (100%) also showed higher levels of WILL at posttest (<i>Β</i> = 0.481, <i>p</i> = 0.021) and follow up (<i>Β</i> = 0.490, <i>p</i> = 0.038). University administrators should consider providing at-risk students with targeted programs with varying levels of HAI and ASM content, depending on the targeted academic outcome.
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