Animal Sciences

Description

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The Department of Animal Sciences and Industry is a comprehensive unit supported by about 50 faculty devoted to research, teaching, and extension activities related to domestic farm animals species. Currently, the department has approximately 700 undergraduate students advised in the department and about 75 graduate students pursuing both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

For graduate training, the department has animal research and teaching units located conveniently to the main campus. Those units include sheep, poultry, purebred beef, dairy, swine, and horse teaching and research units and the beef, forage, range and cow-calf research units. In addition, laboratories in both Call and Weber Halls contain state-of-the-art equipment that allow the student access to most analytical techniques required for their research.

Contents

Graduate training in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry is organized within six functional discipline groups including animal breeding and genetics, food science, meat science, monogastric nutrition, physiology, and ruminant nutrition.

Animal breeding and genetics: Graduate work leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in animal breeding is administered by participating faculty. Graduate programs are designed specifically for each student to acquire training in genetics, animal breeding, and statistics. Additional courses will be selected from the fields of biological and physical sciences.

Food science: The food science program represents a large interdisciplinary degree program and is detailed in a separate area in the catalog.

Meat science: The meat science program is comprehensive and prepares students for fundamental and applied research, product and process development, and technical service in industry, academic, regulatory, and international positions. Faculty conduct research in tissue growth and development; germplasm characterization; ante- and post-mortem factors and processes affecting meat quality and composition; myofibrillar, collagen, and pigment chemistry; packaging; lighting; irradiation; low-fat products; byproduct value enhancement; processed meats; quality assurance; and safety of meat and meat products.

Monogastric nutrition: The monogastric nutrition team offers comprehensive training that weaves a basic understanding of nutrition into an applied research program. Areas of specialized emphasis include: amino acid nutrition as influenced by age, sex, weight and physiological state of the animal; utilization of alternative feed ingredients; influences of technological advances on nutritional requirements; effects of feed processing technologies on nutrient utilization; and manipulation of the immune response through the diet.

Physiology: Students pursuing M.S. and Ph.D. programs in physiology in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry will be exposed to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary degree program including course work, seminars and research experiences spanning many departments including biochemistry, statistics, biology, and anatomy and physiology.

Ruminant nutrition: The ruminant nutrition program is characterized by highly productive individual research programs and a concomitant commitment to the pursuit of collaborative research efforts. Scientists within the ruminant nutrition program maintain the dual goals of conducting research which will advance the understanding of fundamental nutritional phenomena but which also provide insight into practical aspects of the nutritional management of ruminant livestock.

Requirements

All applicants must submit a completed application form, three letters of recommendation, and official transcripts of all previous college work. In addition, the applicant should write a short statement of objectives which should include the discipline area (and animal species if appropriate) in which the student desires to study. The student should mention in the statement of objectives specific faculty with whom they may have had prior contact, and with whom they desire to work as graduate students. This information is important in placing prospective graduate students with major professors whose area of research coincides with their areas of interest.

English Language Requirements

Funding

Most graduate students are able to finance their education with a variety of financial assistance tools specific to graduate school:

* Graduate Assistantships: Funded by individual departments and graduate programs, teaching, research and graduate assistantships are awarded based on a student's ability and promise.
* Graduate Fellowships
* Loans: Loans are available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have successfully applied for financial assistance
* Traineeships: Traineeships are offered through the university or departments that have federally supported traineeships.

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Accreditation

Kansas State University has been providing quality education to the residents of Kansas, the country and the world for the last 150 years.

Located in a community with nearly 60,000 people and more than 24,000 students, we are able to provide a safe and supportive environment for our students.

Kansas State University has 3 campus locations, two of which, Manhattan and Salina, have complete academic programs and on-campus housing. Olathe is the third and newest extension of the university, focusing on collaborating with industry and Kansas City K-12 schools.

Accreditation:

Kansas State University has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association (NCA) of Colleges and Schools since 1916.