Is my Animal Science course load farm/production-based?

[stephrp]

Edit: I have decided to stick with animal science. Your feedback is still welcome though!

Hi there. I want to give a little bit of background before I continue! I'm currently enrolled at a community college and will be graduating in May with an A.S. Biology. It's taken me four years to complete this after high school because I took the first year off, switched majors continuously during the first year, then finally took two years to complete the degree. I am automatically accepted and will be transferring to my state university which offers both an Animal Science and a Pre-Veterinary degree (which is apparently rare because most universities only offer a pre-veterinary track).

I originally applied for Biology but have been considering switching to their Animal Science program. They have two options for Animal Science: Animal Management and Biotechnology. I will be heading towards Biotechnology.

I have seen a lot of posts on here similar to mine, and the responses basically say that Animal Science is 95% farm/meat production classes and not about medicine. However, I wanted to list my requirements for their major and see if those classes are really focused on the production? It doesn't seem like their Animal Science program is completely farm-driven, and this may be due to the fact that they have a separate Pre-Veterinary degree available in their program. I tried asking advisers about this but they seem to tell me what I want to hear and what will sell me towards their program so hopefully a neutral party could help me out!

Also, I am also aware that I could major in anything before vet school. However, I have A's in everything non-science and I wouldn't feel challenged majoring in anything besides science. I want to make sure I can absolutely handle a rough course load with nothing but science courses. Also, I like working with animals and am not interested in anything else.

So ultimately my question is: Is this course work focused on production/farm management like others have said, or is this program different? It doesn't seem as production-related as others say. Thanks!

Intro to Animal Science
Intro to Animal Management
Animal Anatomy & Physiology
Animal Welfare
Animal Cellular and Molecular Biology
Careers in Animal Science seminar
Animal Genetics
Fundamentals in Veterinary and Biomedical Laboratory Techniques w/lab
Basic Animal Nutrition and Feeding
Animal Diseases
Veterinary Microbiology
Equine Reproduction Lab
Fundamentals of Reproduction
Biotechnology Research Experience 1 & 2
Research Animal Management 1 & 2
Advanced Biotechnology Research Experience 1 & 2

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[Gwenevre]

Using my undergrad as a comparison, the following sound like production classes to me:
Intro to ANSC
Intro to Animal Management
Maybe Animal Welfare (get ready to hear something along the lines of the 5 freedoms and applying those concepts to management)
Careers in ANSC
Nutrition (my class covered farm animals almost exclusively, with little companion animals or equine)
Research Animal Management 1 and 2

The rest sound like pretty sound physiology and biology classes, and I'm jealous of your equine repro class!

 

[stephrp]

Using my undergrad as a comparison, the following sound like production classes to me:
Intro to ANSC
Intro to Animal Management
Maybe Animal Welfare (get ready to hear something along the lines of the 5 freedoms and applying those concepts to management)
Careers in ANSC
Nutrition (my class covered farm animals almost exclusively, with little companion animals or equine)
Research Animal Management 1 and 2

The rest sound like pretty sound physiology and biology classes, and I'm jealous of your equine repro class!

Thanks! I've actually taken History of Animal Advocacy and based on Animal Welfare's course description it's essentially the same thing minus my professor's "world-renown book". It was primarily small-animal based but this course will probably be geared towards management like you said. I've also taken a look at their Animal Management concentration which has classes like "dairy herd management", and several courses requiring you to choose a farm animal to spend four semester with. I think the Biotechnology part makes it more physiology- and biology-based.

 

[MustangJumperPony]

I also go to a school that has both pre-vet and animal science. Both majors at my school are similar, except that animal science has lighter core science requirements. I chose to do pre-vet rather than biology or something else because I wanted to take the animal science courses because that's what I enjoy. We have a few production type classes, similar to yours, but I think it's helpful to have some of that going in. Even if you don't want to study large animal medicine, it helps to understand how production farming/medicine works, at least on a basic level.

I really enjoyed and got a lot out of my animal based/medicine related course: anatomy, comparative physiology, repro. physiology, animal diseases, animal immunology, histology, nutrition, etc. It sounds like you have quite a few of those types of courses, so if you're interested in taking more of that rather than more general biology courses, I definitely recommend doing animal science/pre-vet. It doesn't seem like your courses are too production based. Also, since you're from Philly, the animal science programs in this area are less production based than some of the programs in the Midwest, just because they have more traditional programs, and more students who want to go into production agriculture out of college.

 

[stephrp]

I also go to a school that has both pre-vet and animal science. Both majors at my school are similar, except that animal science has lighter core science requirements. I chose to do pre-vet rather than biology or something else because I wanted to take the animal science courses because that's what I enjoy. We have a few production type classes, similar to yours, but I think it's helpful to have some of that going in. Even if you don't want to study large animal medicine, it helps to understand how production farming/medicine works, at least on a basic level. I really enjoyed and got a lot out of my animal based/medicine related course: anatomy, comparative physiology, repro. physiology, animal diseases, animal immunology, histology, nutrition, etc. It sounds like you have quite a few of those types of courses, so if you're interested in taking more of that rather than more general biology courses, I definitely recommend doing animal science/pre-vet. It doesn't seem like your courses are too production based. Also, since you're from Philly, the animal science programs in this area are less production based than some of the programs in the Midwest, just because they have more traditional programs, and more students who want to go into production agriculture out of college.

Hi, thanks! I had some feedback from students at the university who are in animal science, pre-veterinary, or another science. It seems that the introduction classes during the first year focus primarily on large animal because those are the animals available at their location. Once the introduction classes are completed, it's more generalized and science-based than about production. I have considered choose pre-veterinary at the university; however, the curriculum is primarily biology and chemistry with only last semester focused specifically on animals. For this reason I feel animal science would be a better fit.

 

[MustangJumperPony]

You should really do whatever you think you would enjoy/benefit from the most. As you're choosing, just make sure you take into account all of the vet school requirements. If the animal science program doesn't make you take physics or biochemistry, make sure you take those in addition to the courses for your major.

 

[stephrp]

You should really do whatever you think you would enjoy/benefit from the most. As you're choosing, just make sure you take into account all of the vet school requirements. If the animal science program doesn't make you take physics or biochemistry, make sure you take those in addition to the courses for your major.

Thanks for your advice. I believe I will enjoy animal science the most. I love the hands-on opportunities. I have taken a look at the requirements for vet school already and my program is missing physics as well as one year of organic chemistry with a lab (my program has only one semester without a lab), so I'll be adding those. I'll also be taking biochemistry with a lab (mine doesn't have one) at a different college through a five-college program since mine doesn't offer it with a lab.

 

[Gwenevre]

Also study a field that you'll be able to find a job that you'll enjoy in case vet school doesn't work out.

 

[that redhead]

Intro to Animal Science
Intro to Animal Management
Animal Welfare
Animal Genetics
Basic Animal Nutrition and Feeding
Animal Diseases
Equine Reproduction Lab
Fundamentals of Reproduction

These are all courses that are likely to have a definite slant toward farm animals. They might not sound like it, but my undergrad courses in animal science (from a land grant university) with the same titles barely touched on companion species. Your mileage may vary, of course. It might not hurt to ask for a course syllabus to see what the various lecture topics are.