Animal Science, B.S.
About the Major
Do you dream of working with animals for a living? The animal science program is for you!
This is the major you should take if you want to become a veterinarian. Our pre-veterinary science/graduate school option meets the requirements for admission to most veterinary schools and related medical technical fields, and for graduate study in animal nutrition, meat science, animal breeding, and animal physiology.
But the animal science major can open doors to a wide variety of careers, not just veterinary medicine. The animal science option will prepare you to work in the animal industry and business management, food safety, and public health. You can work in research, inventing new vaccines, developing smarter pet food and better pharmaceuticals, and safer foods.
Regardless of your path, this major will give you a holistic, STEM-based approach, studying animals from their cellular DNA on up. You'll learn about animal nutrition, microbiology, genetics, breeding principles, reproductive physiology, and immunology.
Best of all, you'll have hands-on opportunities, learning how to handle and work with the animals on our farm. We have sheep, swine, goats, and cattle. You can also help perform artificial insemination on horses at the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center, monitor the pregnancy, and be present when the foal is born. That's something other biological science programs don't offer!
Student Life
Student Life in Animal & Veterinary Science
Get involved, get connected. Develop leadership and team-building skills. The Huntley College of Agriculture has a wide variety of clubs, including the Animal Health Science & Technology Association (AHSTA), the Pre-Veterinary Club, and the Livestock Show Team, which participates in intercollegiate competitions. In addition, there are clubs that are open to any major, including Ag Council;...
Alumni Success Story
“I decided last year to take a career pivot to the business side of food, providing strategic account management services for protein and supplement brands such as Premier Nutrition and Dymatize for Amazon. I work with these brands to grow their business.”Maryam Tngrian ('13, animal science) Senior Customer Success Manager, Amazon.com
