Degrees & Programs
The programs offered in the Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Science Department can help you expand your interest, knowledge and enjoyment of animals into a rewarding and profitable career. Over 95% of our graduates are able to find jobs in an area related to their studies after graduation.
Students in the ADVS Department have opportunities for hands-on experiences in feeding, breeding, handling, managing, and grooming animals. The skills important for handling animals are taught in applied laboratory settings at the various department facilities. Students can also gain knowledge and experience by working with beef and dairy cattle, horses, sheep, and swine.
Undergraduate Degrees
Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences - BS
The ADVS department offers one bachelor’s degree: Bachelor of Science in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences. Additionally, students choose an emphasis of study within this degree. There are four emphasis options. Select one of the following emphases to learn more about it:
BS in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
Students will be trained in food animal production, equine and food animal management, and animal and medicinal biotechnology. They will also study issues including cost production, profitability, human and animal health, environmental stewardship, bioethics, and animal well-being.
Career Options
|
BS in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
In this emphasis, students learn the application of scientific and engineering principles to the production of materials by animals to provide goods and services. Topics of study include quantitative trait mapping, genetic manipulation, and cloning.
Career Options
|
|
BS in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
In this emphasis students will cover topics such as animal biology, management, and disease. Coursework is intended to prepare students for admission to schools of veterinary medicine or other graduate programs in the life sciences, leading to career opportunities in veterinary medicine, life science research, biotechnology, or pharmaceutical testing laboratories.
Career Options
|
BS in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
This emphasis prepares students for careers dealing with horses. Options include managing equine events, running breeding farms, writing for equine publications, working for breed associations, and working for feed and pharmaceutical companies that deal with equine health.
Career Options
|
Minors:
Adding a minor focused in Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science is a great way to gain additional background experience and to expand your skill set. Our department offers the following minors:
- Animal and Dairy Science
- Bioveterinary Science
- Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies
- Animal Biotechnology
- Equine Science
Visit the University Catalog to learn more about each minor.
Graduate Degrees
Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences - MS or PhD
Students seeking either an MS and PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences choose one of five specializations:
MS or PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
In this specialization, students focus on molecular biology, pathology, and disease detection using conventional and advanced molecular technologies, epidemiology, parasitology, pharmacology, and microbiology.
Research
|
MS or PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
This specialization involves technologies in genome analysis, whole genome scanning, marker assisted selection, and the identification of economically important trait loci in food-producing animals.
Research
|
MS or PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
Students in this specialization have the opportunity to study things like the development of new feed additives that improve animal performance, innovations in grazing practices that optimize ruminant production, the development of feasible approaches for sustainable agriculture, and more.
Research
|
MS or PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
For students seeking careers in production animal agriculture, this specialization prepares students for the challenges facing the animal industry and commodity groups in the 21st century.
Research
|
MS or PhD in Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences
About
Students in this specialization work with faculty exploring aspects of early embryo development, differentiation, gene regulation, embryonic stem cell characteristics and applications, reproductive immunology, and more.
Research
|
Toxicology - MS or PhD
Students can receive both MS and PhD degrees in Toxicology through the department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences at USU. Learn about the Toxicology program below:
MS or PhD in Toxicology
About
Toxicology is the scientific understanding of the harmful effects of natural and synthetic chemicals at all levels – whether large-scale environmental pollutants or small-scale carcinogens – that have an incremental effect over time.
Students can focus their research on a wide variety of areas within the discipline of toxicology, but USU’s program is particularly strong in the following areas:
- Molecular and biomedical toxicology: This area deals with how external agents affect the genetic structure of cells. Toxicologists at USU are developing research on the genomics of disease, cancer prevention, the mechanisms of air pollution, and more.
- Environmental toxicology: Scientists working in this area are focused on toxins that affect the environment. Their research aims to restore ecosystems, remove toxic waste, and reduce human and animal exposure to environmental toxins. Additionally, USU scientists were among the first to use a naturally occurring fungus to digest and detoxify chemical waste.
Research
|
Veterinary Public Health - MPH
Utah State University offers a Master of Public Health degree with three concentrations. Students in the Veterinary Public Health concentration are part of the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences. Find information about the concentration here.
MPH in Veterinary Public Health
About
The Master of Public Health program at USU trains students to be leaders in the field of Public Health. The MPH provides students with a strong educational and research foundation in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, sociobehavioral public health, and public health policy and administration. MPH graduates will be prepared for careers in health care professions, academic institutions, local, state, and federal health agencies, private industry, and non-profit organizations.
The Veterinary Public Health degree concentration builds on the program of the USU School of Veterinary Medicine by offering specialized training in the emerging Public Health discipline of One Health. Learn to work with veterinarians, ecologists, and physicians to monitor and control public health threats by applying the core disciplines of public health and specialized knowledge of veterinary medicine. Learn how diseases spread among people, animals and the environment. USU provides unique resources for the Veterinary Public Health MPH program with the School of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural Extension programs, diagnostic laboratories, Institute for Antiviral Research, and strong academic programs in climate sciences, ecology, and natural resources.
To explore this degree more, visit Degree Finder and the Master of Public Health website.
To explore degrees offered through the School of Veterinary Medicine, visit vetmed.usu.edu.