Program Overview

Undergrad Program Overview

Learning Outcomes | ANSC Courses Summary | Teaching Facilities | Teaching Faculty

ANSC Curricular Learning Outcomes

The curriculum in the B.S. in Animal & Avian Science degree is designed around seven course learning objectives. We use these learning objectives to build our courses sequentially so that graduates in our program are well-rounded in the discipline and ready to start careers or further education working with animals.

Graduates of our Undergraduate ANSC Program will be well-prepared for a future working with animals.

The Animal Sciences undergraduate curriculum is designed around 7 core learning objectives. Graduates of the ANSC undergraduate program will be able to:

Correctly label basic anatomy of a domestic animal
Discuss its role in the animal’s normal physiology

Graduates will be able to safely approach, restrain, and move:

Horses
Sheep
Dairy Cows
Pigs
Chickens
Other species specific to their curricula

Graduates will be able to:

Apply animal science knowledge
Research the creation of rational, feasible, and legal animal management programs which consider appropriate:
- Nutrition
- Husbandry
- Health
- Reproduction
- Welfare

Graduates will be able to:

Select, understand, and critically evaluate scientific, animal science studies
Employ research that is applicable, timely, accurate, and useful for their animal care and management needs

Graduates will be well-versed in the issues related to animal agriculture such that they can contribute to societal debates around:

Future of farming
Use of antibiotics in animal agriculture
Sustainability of our animal farms
Farm worker needs
Scaling agricultural enterprises up and down to meet a growing population’s protein needs

Graduates will be able to communicate effectively in-print and online, through oral, written, and visual means with:

The public
Producers
The scientific community

Courses Summary

UMD ANSC
Catalog

ANSC
Courses

Testudo Schedule
of Classes

Our curriculum is comprised of 4 sets of courses:

All ANSC majors take a core set of courses designed to provide them with the fundamental science background they will need. These courses include:

ANSC 101 - Introduction to Animal sciences
ANSC 103 - Principles of Animal Science Lab
ANSC 204/205 - Anatomy and lab
ANSC 212/214 - Physiology and lab
ANSC 314 - Animal Nutrition and ANSC 315 - Applied Animal nutrition

In these 200-level courses, students learn more about the care and management of a specific species or related set of species. These courses include:

ANSC 220 - Livestock Management
ANSC 232 - Horse Management
ANSC 245 - Sheep Management
ANSC 237 - Equine Reproductive Management
ANSC 242 - Dairy Cattle Management
ANSC 250 - Companion Animal Management
ANSC 255 - Introduction to Aquaculture
ANSC 260 - Laboratory Animal Management
ANSC 262 - Commercial Poultry Management
ANSC 282 - Grazing Animal Management

In these 100- and 200-level courses, students can learn material related to their first two years of the curriculum. These courses include:

ANSC 115 - Careers in Animal Science
ANSC 120 - Introduction to Dairy Judging
ANSC 121 - Introduction to Livestock Judging
ANSC 210 - Veterinary Terminology
ANSC 227 - Eating with Eyes Wide Open
ANSC 233 - Equine Behavior
ANSC 252 - Introduction to Diseases of Wildlife
ANSC 270 - Animal Enterprise Management

In these 300- and 400-level courses, students get an in-depth consideration of topics important to animal science research and practice. These courses include:

ANSC 330 - Equine Science
ANSC 340 - Health Management of Animal Populations
ANSC 359 - Internship Experience in Animal and Avian Sciences
ANSC 410 - The Gut Microbiome and it's Roles in Health and Disease
ANSC 417 - Regulatory Issues in Animal Care and Management
ANSC 435 - Experimental Embryology
ANSC 436 - Animal Health Policy and Communication
ANSC 437 - Animal Biotechnology
ANSC 440 - Zoonotic Diseases and Control
ANSC 443 - Physiology of Lactation
ANSC 444 - Domestic Endocrinology
ANSC 445 - Comparative Digestive Physiology
ANSC 446 - Physiology of Mammalian Reproduction
ANSC 450 - Animal Breeding Plans
ANSC 452 - Avian Physiology
ANSC 453 - Animal Welfare and Bioethics
ANSC 455 - Applied Animal Behavior
ANSC 460 - Comparative Vertebrate Immunology
ANSC 4890 - Nutritional Aspects of Metabolic Disease
ANSC 497 - Animal Biotechnology Recombinant DNA Laboratory

Teaching Facilities

Lecture Hall - ANSC 0408

On the ground floor of the ANSC building in the main concourse area is the “large” lecture hall which seats 88 students comfortably. Several of our larger format courses are taught here.

Anatomy/Physiology Lab - ANSC 0108

Completed in 2012, this space is the key instructional facility for the lab sections of ANSC 211/212 - Anatomy of Domestic Animals, ANSC 214 - Physiology of domestic animals, ANSC 446/447 - Physiology of Mammalian Reproduction, and ANSC497- Animal Biotechnology Recombinant DNA Laboratory. The room features media equipment to connect a microscope or dissecting scope so that students can follow along with instructor demonstrations.

Teaching Lab Room - ANSC 1144

This space features four long science work benches with rolling chairs and a teaching and demonstration area in the front of the room. There is a desktop computer with a projection system. The lab holds between 20-30 students depending on seating. It is used by several courses in the department for a variety of uses.

Aquaculture Teaching Lab - ANSC 0104

With renovations completed in 2011, this teaching facility in the basement of the ANSC building houses a recirculating aquaculture system and tank field that allows up to 20 students to participate in our hands-on, Scholarship in Practice course: Introduction to Aquaculture (ANSC 255).

The Campus Farm

The Campus Farm was described in our most recent external review as a “jewel” to the ANSC undergraduate program’s activities. The farm is a core facility for ANSC as it is used in teaching many of our courses. The complex includes three barns separately used for horses, sheep, and others; a riding area; a machine shed; an office building; and a small poultry house.

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Teaching Faculty

The Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland is home to world-class tenured and tenure-track faculty, lecturers, and affiliated faculty.