Animal Sciences (PHD)

Location(s): Manhattan Campus

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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 animal species. Currently, the department has approximately 1,000 undergraduate students advised in the department and about 60 graduate students pursuing either M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in the Animal Science graduate program.

For graduate training, the department has animal research and teaching units located conveniently to the main campus. Those units include beef (grazing and feedlot), dairy, swine, sheep, poultry, and horse teaching and research units. In addition, both Call Hall and Weber Hall contain laboratories equipped to conduct most analytical techniques required for research.

Graduate training in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry is organized within six functional discipline groups including animal breeding and genetics, meat science, monogastric nutrition, physiology, ruminant nutrition, and food science. The food science program represents a large interdisciplinary degree program and is detailed in a separate area in the catalog.

Admission Requirements

Application for admission to graduate school should begin as early as possible in the semester before the proposed admission date (i.e., for fall semester, begin application process early in the preceding spring semester). 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 to include the discipline area (and animal species if appropriate) in which the student desires to study. The statement of objectives should specify faculty with whom he/she desires to work as a graduate student. This information is important in placing prospective graduate students with major professors whose area of research coincides with their areas of interest.

Doctoral programs in Animal Science are all research based, so each student must have a faculty advisor who guides the research program. Typically, the most limiting step for gaining admission to graduate school is finding a faculty member to serve as advisor. Prospective graduate students are encouraged to visit directly with faculty working in their area of research interest to learn more about their research programs and determine if they are planning to accept additional students into their program. International applicants must meet English proficiency requirements as described in the Graduate School handbook (https://www.k-state.edu/grad/student-success/graduate-handbook/chapter1.html).

The Graduate Record Examination is not required for admission, but it may be helpful in the evaluation process.

Upon receipt of all required application documentation, the applicant’s file will be reviewed by the departmental Graduate Committee which includes graduate faculty representing each of the five discipline areas. If the student is deemed acceptable for admission, a graduate faculty member willing to serve as major professor must be identified before the student’s credentials are forwarded to the graduate school.

Limited numbers of Graduate Research Assistantships and Graduate Teaching Assistantships are available on a competitive basis. Individual faculty members make the key decisions about providing assistantships. For students awarded a Graduate Research Assistantship, student tuition and fees are assessed at in-state resident rates. For students awarded a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, tuition is waived.

Special Requirements

Graduate students in Animal Science are required to assist in teaching a course during each Spring and Fall semester, although waivers can be granted, notably during the student’s final semester. After successfully completing the preliminary exam, students must be enrolled at Kansas State University each semester, excluding summer semester, until degree requirements are met.

Course Requirements

Programs of study must follow the policies of the Graduate School (https://www.k-state.edu/grad/student-success/graduate-handbook/chapter3.html#Program%20of%20Study). Students must complete 90 credit hours, which must include 3 hours of ASI 990 (Seminar in Animal Sciences Research). Students who have previously completed a research-based M.S. degree must complete at least 25 hours of ASI 999 (Doctoral Research in Animal Sciences and Industry), whereas students who have not completed a M.S. degree must complete at least 32 hours of ASI 999 . Students who hold a Master’s degree may request transfer of up to 30 hours of that degree toward a Doctoral degree

Total Hours Required for Doctorate: 90

Areas of Specialization

Animal breeding and genetics

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. A typical program of study will include some of the following graduate level courses: statistical and population genetics; animal breeding; statistics and experimental design; genomics; and molecular biology. Research is conducted using field data from cooperating ranches, breed association, and universities. Facilities are available for adequate analysis of most data sets, including access to software used in genetic evaluation as well as access to high performance computing resources for analysis of high-throughput genomic and sequencing datasets.

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; ante- and post-mortem factors and processes affecting meat quality and composition; myofibrillar, collagen, and pigment chemistry; packaging; lighting; byproduct value enhancement; processed meats; quality assurance; and safety of meat and meat products. Facilities include a fully equipped meat laboratory that permits experimental and industry-like fresh and processed meat processing; research laboratories for physical and chemical analyses; and thermal processing, display, and sensory facilities for instrumental and sensory panel evaluation of meat products. Graduate students are actively involved in teaching, research, and extension activities as part of their training.

Monogastric nutrition

The monogastric nutrition teams offer comprehensive training that weaves a basic understanding of nutrition into an applied research program. Areas of specialized emphasis include comprehensive programs in swine, equine, and poultry nutrition. The K-State swine nutrition program is a national leader in conducting applied field research in modern commercial swine facilities. This allows graduate students to be exposed to the swine business while conducting timely and industry-leading research. Areas of research include amino acid and energy nutrition, utilization of alternative feed ingredients, influences of technological advances on nutritional requirements, and effects of feed processing technologies on nutrient utilization.

The Equine Nutrition program at K-State has one of only two university-owned herds of cecally cannulated horses. This allows graduate students a research program focused on nutrient digestion and absorption, the equine hindgut’s microbiome, and the cecal environment.

The poultry program focuses not only on broiler and laying hen nutrition, but gamebird nutrition as well. Research areas include feed processing and nutrient requirements of poultry.

Graduate students are offered an array of course work to develop areas of expertise. Common areas of training include basic nutrition, biochemistry, statistics, and grain science. Seminars and discussion groups are an integral part of the graduate program.

Physiology

Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI) graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in physiology will be exposed to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary program that may consist of multiple species including cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, and poultry. Physiology course work and seminars span across many areas within ASI and across related departments including statistics, biochemistry, biology, psychology, and anatomy and physiology. Graduate students have the opportunity to develop teaching skill sets by contributing to our extensive ASI undergraduate program, and many students assist with our state and regional extension efforts. Research expertise can be gained in multiple areas across physiology, including basic research in molecular, cellular, and tissue function; translational research in endocrinology, gamete function, embryology, stress physiology, immunology, and neurobehavioral mechanisms; and applied research in reproduction, health, behavior, and animal welfare. Graduate training in physiology prepares students for various careers in animal and biotechnological industries, research, teaching, technical services, consulting, youth and adult extension, and related fields of animal physiology.  

Ruminant nutrition

Scientists within the ruminant nutrition program maintain the dual goals of conducting research that will advance the understanding of fundamental nutritional phenomena and also provide insight into practical aspects of the nutritional management of ruminant livestock. Individual research programs range from basic to very applied. Students in the program are provided with a strong foundation in ruminal and post-ruminal digestion, metabolism, and fundamental experimental procedures necessary for conducting ruminant nutrition research. Areas of research emphasis within the ruminant nutrition group include dairy cattle nutrition, beef feedlot nutrition, grazing livestock nutrition, measurement of greenhouse gas emissions, and stocker cattle nutrition.

Supporting course work is frequently pursued in the areas of biochemistry, grain science, microbiology, physiology, and statistics.