Proposal to Add Poultry Science to the Present Ph.D. Program in Animal Science to be called the"Ph.D. in Animal Science and Poultry Science with Concentrations in either Animal Science or Poultry Science"

Justification

An important objective of the proposal is to broaden the Ph.D. program to include the major animal industries in the state, which would include avian species as well as the major livestock species. This program will accommodate students who do not fit well under the traditional interdisciplinary programs, such as poultry and animal waste management or product safety. A further objective is to eliminate the problem of under-enrollment that presently exists for the Ph.D. program in Animal Science.

Name of the Program

Ph.D. in Animal Science and Poultry Science with concentrations in either Animal Science or Poultry Science. It is emphasized that this reflects a change in the name of the existing Ph.D. program.

Resources

No additional resources are envisioned for this change, as the Departments of Animal and Poultry Science already have the infrastructure (faculty, curriculum, research facilities, authorization to offer the Ph.D. degree) in place to support the Ph.D. program.

Impact on Other Programs

The suggested program will attract students who do not fit well under the existing interdisciplinary programs, such as poultry and animal waste management; product safety; or poultry genetics. There may be one or two students who may decide to shift into the proposed program from the interdisciplinary programs of Physiology or Nutrition because of a closer relevance to their research interests and objectives. However, such transfer is expected to be of a minimal impact on the existing interdisciplinary program. Supporting letters from the chairs of the Nutrition and Physiology Program are attached.

Governance

The existing Graduate Committees of the Animal Science and Poultry Science Departments will continue to function as usual. A joint Ph.D. subcommittee will be established, which will consist of the Directors of Graduate Programs of both departments plus one additional member, having full graduate faculty status, from each department. This subcommittee will oversee matters of common interest to both departments as well as troubleshoot issues related only to doctoral programs from each department. The chair of the joint Ph.D. subcommittee will be the Director of Graduate Programs of either the Department of Animal Science or the Department of Poultry Science. The chair will be chosen on a rotational basis every three years beginning with Director of Graduate Programs from the Department of Animal Science.

The graduate school will receive all new applications for the Ph.D. degree in Animal or Poultry Science and forward the applications to the chair of the joint Ph.D. subcommittee, who will establish the intended Ph.D. concentration stated by the candidate and then forward the application to the appropriate graduate studies committee (Animal Science Department or Poultry Science Department) for review and recommendations. If the distinction of intended concentration is not clear, the chair of the joint Ph.D. subcommittee will forward the application to both departments. The candidate will only be accepted in one of the concentrations.

Admission Requirements

The following criteria will be taken into consideration in evaluating applicants for admission into the Ph.D. program.

  1. Grade point average and prerequisite courses in previous degree programs. A GPA of 3.00 or higher is a minimum requirement for consideration for full admission.

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  1. Graduate Record Exam.
  2. Three letters of recommendation.
  3. Availability of a faculty adviser in the area of the applicants research interest.

Applicants lacking sufficient academic background may be granted provisional acceptance.

Graduate Student Teaching or Research Assistantships

Each department will continue to allocate assistantships as it has done in the past.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

  1. The program will be governed by the doctoral degree program prescribed by the Graduate School. A Ph.D. major in Animal Science and Poultry Science will not have specific course requirements. Each students course program will be developed in consultation with the Ph.D. advisory committee. A minor will be optional. External faculty representation, i.e., either from another department (e.g., statistics) or another program (e.g., physiology), will be required on the advisory committee. In addition, a graduate school representative will be required at the preliminary oral and final oral defense. Written and oral preliminary exams will be required to establish a Ph.D. candidacy within each concentration.
  1. To develop teaching skills, each Ph.D. student in Animal Science and Poultry Science will be required to assist in the departmental teaching and/or outreach programs, regardless of source of funding. Each department will determine the amount of teaching required of the student within their concentration and will assign students accordingly. Students who are assisting in teaching can register for Doctoral Supervised Teaching (ANS/PO 885). All participate in the University Teaching Effectiveness Workshop. The international students will be required to comply with Graduate School requirements for passing the Speak Test prior to participating in any formal teaching activities.
  1. Written preliminary exams will be prepared for each Ph.D. student by each member of the students Ph.D. advisory committee.
  1. A Ph.D. student will be required to present a formal seminar of his or her Ph.D. research, which will usually be scheduled prior to their dissertation defense.

Recent Ph.D. Graduates, Present Enrollment and Projected Enrollment

The data are summarized below. It is projected that each concentration will enroll 3 Ph.D. students in 2002 and 3 in 2003.

Item / Year / Animal Science / Poultry Science
Recent Graduates / 2001 / 4 / NR
Presently Enrolled / 9 / NR
Projected / 2002 / 3 / 3
Projected / 2003 / 3 / 3

Graduate Courses

Core courses in Animal Science and Poultry Science are linked as an Appendix. Many of these courses are cross-listed with other programs (e.g., Nutrition, Genetics, Physiology). Depending on the student's goals, other courses will be selected from other appropriate curricula (e.g., Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Genetics, Microbiology, Immunology, Physiology, Statistics, Zoology).

Appendix A

Animal Science Core Courses

ANS 516Animal Nutrition Research Methods

ANS 520Livestock Production in Warm Climates

ANS 550Applied Ruminant Nutrition

ANS 553Growth and Development of Domestic Animals

ANS/FS/NTR 554 Lactation, Milk, and Nutrition

ANS 590Regulation of Metabolism

ANS/PHY 702 Reproductive Physiology of Mammals

ANS 706Mammalian Embryo Manipulation

ANS/GN 708Genetics of Animal Improvement

ANS/NTR 709 Energy Metabolism

ANS 710Advanced Livestock Management

ANS/GN 713Quantitative Genetics and Breeding

ANS/CBS/NTR/PHY 764 - Comparative Physiology of the Digestive System

ANS/PO/NTR 775 Mineral Metabolism

ANS/PHY 780 Mammalian Endocrinology

ANS 790 Advanced Special Topics in Animal Science

ANS 801 Animal Science Seminar

ANS/CBS/ZO 802 Seminar in Biology of Reproduction

ANS 803Reproductive Physiology Seminar

ANS 804Animal Breeding and Genetics Seminar

ANS 810Topical Problems in animal Science

ANS 841Practicum in Animal Science

ANS 885Doctoral Supervised Teaching

ANS 890Doctoral Preliminary Examination

ANS 893Doctoral Supervised Research

ANS 895Doctoral Dissertation Research

ANS 896 Summer Thesis Research

ANS 899Doctoral Dissertation Preparation

Appendix B

Poultry Science Core Courses

PO 505Physiological aspects of Poultry Management

PO (PHY, ZO) 524Comparative Endocrinology

PO (NTR) 525Feed Manufacturing and Quality Control

PO (BIT)702Biotechniques in Avian Biology

PO 705Physiological aspects of Poultry Management

PO (NTR)735Advanced Feed Formulation

PO (CBS, IMM, MB, PHY) 756Immunogenetics

PO (IMM) 757Avian Immunology

PO (ANS, NTR) 775Mineral Metabolism

PO (NTR) 820 ANutrition and Biotechnology

PO 824Simulation Modeling of Poultry Production

PO 801Graduate Seminar in Poultry Science

PO 820Special Problems in Poultry Science

PO 885Doctoral Supervised Teaching

PO 890Doctoral Preliminary Examination

PO 893Doctoral Supervised Research

PO 895Doctoral Dissertation Research

PO 896Summer Dissertation Research

PO 899Doctoral Dissertation Preparation

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