GRADUATE AND ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE COURSES in Animal Sciences (ANSC) and related Biochemistry (BCHE)

Professors  Greene (Head), Bartol, Bergen, Cummins, Kuhlers, McCall, McCaskey, Muntifering, Rankins, Schmidt and Wower
Associate Professors  Chiba, Coleman, Kerth, Kriese-Anderson, Mulvaney and Owsley
Assistant Professors  Rodning and Wagner

         Graduate study in animal sciences is directed toward the master's and doctoral degrees. The Master of Agriculture (M.Ag.) is offered as a non-thesis degree and prepares students for careers in secondary education and agribusiness. Graduate programs leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees provide' advanced education and technical training in preparation for careers in public and private sectors related to animal science and technology, food science and technology, animal biotechnology, agribusiness and university level research and education. Areas of specialization include animal nutrition, biochemistry and molecular biology, microbiology, behavior, growth biology, meat science and muscle biology, quantitative genetics and reproductive biology. Interdepartmental minor programs in cell and molecular biosciences, ecology and environmental sciences also are available.

         The M.Ag. degree requires successful completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours, 21 of which must be in the agricultural or related sciences. Additional courses may be required for individual students.

         Admission to the M.S. degree program requires that the student have the bachelor's degree or evidence of satisfactory progress toward attainment of the bachelor's degree in animal sciences or a related area. Applicants lacking suitable preparatory course work in the basic sciences will be required to correct deficiencies by satisfactorily completing additional courses. The M.S. requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate work, including at least 21 credit hours in the major field of study. The remainder may be in a minor area selected by the student and upon approval by the advisory committee. A research-based thesis is required.

         Admission to the Ph.D. degree program usually requires that the student have a master's degree from a recognized graduate program. However, evidence of exemplary potential may be considered as a criterion for admission with a bachelor's degree. The doctoral program emphasizes original, scholarly research and includes significant advanced course work. The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree and a dissertation describing original research. There is no foreign language requirement, but knowledge of a foreign language may be recommended by the student's advisory committee.

         All graduate students are expected to be engaged in service to the department's research and education programs as deemed appropriate by the academic adviser and department chair. All students receiving departmental assistantships must be registered as full-time students each term, and all M.S. and Ph.D. students must register for at least one credit hour of thesis or dissertation research each term. Classified (FLSA-exempt) research associates holding full admission status in the Graduate School for work toward a graduate degree are exempt from this requirement, but must complete 10 hours of thesis research in a M.S. program or 20 hours of dissertation research in a Ph.D. program following completion of a master's degree. A Ph.D. degree program undertaken by classified (FLSA-exempt) research associates but not preceded by a master's degree must include 30 hours of dissertation research credit.

ANSC 6010 STOCKER CATTLE PRODUCTION (4). LEC. 3, LAB. 4. Departmental approval.   Application of theprinciples of animal science to the successful production of stocker cattle. Emphasis placed on marketing and management strategies. Lab will involve a considerable amount of traveling.

BCHE 7200 ADVANCED BIOCHEMISTRY I (3). LEC. 3. Pr., CHEM 2080 or equivalent. Graduate Biochemistry I.   Structure and function of biomolecules in living matter including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

BCHE 7210 ADVANCED BIOCHEMISTRY II (3). LEC 3. Pr., CHEM 2080 or equivalent. Graduate Biochemistry II.   Structure and function of macromolecules participating in the flow of molecular information including biological assemblies, replication, transcription and translation of genetic information.

BCHE 7220 PRINCIPLES OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR ENZYMOLOGY (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 6190 or equivalent.   Principles of enzyme chemistry including the physical, chemical and catalytic properties of enzymes.

BCHE 7230 BIOCHEMISTRY OF MACROMOLECULES (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 6180 or equivalent.   Structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids, formation, structure and function of macromolecule assemblies and their roles in regulating transfer of genetic information.

BCHE 7250 BIOCHEMISTRY OF LIPIDS AND LIPOPROTEINS (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7200 or equivalent.   Regulation of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, role of lipid mediators in signaling pathways and protein modification, assembly and dynamics of lipoproteins and biomembranes.

BCHE 7260 BIOINFORMATICS (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or equivalent.   Concepts and tools of genomics and proteomics including search and retrieval of molecular information from databases, analysis of DNA and protein structure, and structural analysis of RNA and protein molecules.

BCHE 7270 BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES (4). LEC. 3, LAB. 4. Pr., BCHE 6190 or equivalent.   Principles and practice of fundamental laboratory techniques used in biochemistry and molecular biology research.

BCHE 7280 TOPICS IN BIOCHEMISTRY (1-3). Pr., BCHE 7210 or equivalent, Departmental approval.   Directed studies in biochemistry.

ANSC 7400 RUMINANT NUTRITION (3). LEC 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Digestive physiology, mechanisms of rumen fermentation, postruminal nutritional biochemistry.

ANSC 7410 NONRUMINANT NUTRITION (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Digestion, absorption and utilization of macro and micro nutrients, nutrient interrelationship in swine and other nonruminant species.

ANSC 7420 NUTRITIONAL TOXICOLOGY (3). LEC. 3. Pr., graduate standing.   General principles of nutrition and toxicology applied toward understanding and managing livestock responses to toxicants in feeds and plants.

ANSC 7500 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS (3). LEC. 3. Pr., STAT 7010.   Research methods used in the animal sciences for the analysis and interpretation of data. Included are experimental designs and computing techniques.

ANSC 7510 QUANTITATIVE GENETICS (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BIOL 3000 or equivalent, STAT 7010.   Principles of population genetics; gene frequency, biometric relationships between relatives, additive, dominance, and epistatic effects, estimation and use of repeatability, heritability, genetic correlations, and breeding values.

ANSC 7600 PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION (3). LEC. 3. Pr. ANSC 3600, BIOL 6240 or equivalent, or departmental approval.   Physiological, endocrinological, cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating reproduction, with emphasis on mammalian systems.

ANSC 7610 PHYSIOLOGY OF GROWTH (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Molecular and cellular basis of tissue differentiation, growth and development with emphasis on muscle, adipose and connective tissues. Major factors influencing gene expression during growth including genetic, endocrine, metabolic rate and growth regulators will be emphasized in discussions of current literature.

ANSC 7700 MUSCLE FOODS AND APPLIED MUSCLE BIOLOGY (4). LEC 3, LAB 2. Pr. ANSC 3700, BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Investigations of muscle microanatomy, biochemistry of muscle proteins and lipids, biochemistry of skeletal muscle contraction, lipid/protein interactions, antemortem and postmortem factors affecting fresh and processed meat quality; discussion of classic and current scientific literature.

ANSC 7800 SEMINAR (1). Pr., graduate standing. S-U grading.   An intensive study of selected topics in some facet of animal sciences.

ANSC 7970 SPECIAL PROBLEMS (1-5).   Conference problems, assigned reading, literature searches in one or more of the following major fields; (a) biochemistry, (b) nutrition, (c) animal breeding, (d) reproductive physiology,(e) growth physiology, (f) muscle foods, (g) microbiology, and (h) behavior.

ANSC 7990 RESEARCH AND THESIS (CREDIT TO BE ARRANGED.)   Research and thesis may be on technical laboratory problems or on problems directly related to beef and dairy cattle, sheep, swine or laboratory animals.

ANSC 8400 PROTEIN AND ENERGY METABOLISM (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Nutritional biochemistry of protein and energy metabolism of mammalian, avian and aquatic species. Concepts of protein turnover, nutrient-gene interactions, control of bioenergetics, nutritional assessment, nutritional quality of nutrient sources.

ANSC 8410 VITAMIN AND MINERAL METABOLISM (3). LEC. 3. Pr., BCHE 7210 or departmental approval.   Vitamin and mineral nutrition with emphasis on chemical structures and characteristics, metabolic functions, deficiencies and toxicity syndromes, interrelationships and requirements of vitamins and minerals.

ANSC 8500 LINEAR MODEL APPLICATIONS IN ANIMAL BREEDING (4). Pr., ANSC 7510 and STAT 7010.   Selection index and mixed linear model genetic theory for estimation and prediction. Equivalent animal models, properties of solutions, and extension of methods to consider genetic relationships, multiple records, culling bias and multiple trait evaluation. Current literature also will be discussed.

ANSC 8610 MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY (3). Pr., BCHE 7210, BIOL 6600 or departmental approval.   Heterogeneity and plasticity of muscle as a tissue, ontogeny, differentiation, growth and regulation of metabolicand molecular properties of muscle fibers by innervation, usage, hormones and artificial modulation. Evaluation of current literature.

ANSC 8990 DOCTORAL RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION (CREDIT TO BE ARRANGED).

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Send your questions or comments about the teaching program to: dcoleman@acesag.auburn.edu