Animal Science
Major Requirements
Major: Animal Science
Degree Type: B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
University Degree Requirements
- Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework. Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
- Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
- A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits. Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
- At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
- Students presenting transfer credit must meet the NDSU residence credits and the minimum upper level credit. Of the 30 credits earned in residence, a minimum of 15 semester credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 semester credits must be in the student’s curricula for their declared major.
For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.
University General Education Requirements
A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category C: Communication | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Category R: Quantitative Reasoning † | 3 | |
| Category S: Science and Technology † | 10 | |
| Category A: Humanities and Fine Arts † | 6 | |
| Category B: Social and Behavioral Sciences † | 6 | |
| Category W: Wellness † | 2 | |
| Category D: Cultural Diversity *† | ||
| Category G: Global Perspectives *† | ||
| Total Credits | 39 | |
- *
Courses for category D & G are satisfied by completing D & G designated courses in another general education category.
- †
General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses for Animal Science | ||
| ANSC 114 | Introduction to Animal Sciences | 3 |
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics (May satisfy general education category B and G) | 3 |
| MATH 103 | College Algebra | 3 |
| or MATH 105 | Trigonometry | |
| or MATH 107 | Precalculus | |
| or MATH 146 | Applied Calculus I | |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R) | 3 |
| ANSC 218 | Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 1 | |
| Student Success Techniques - Animal and Equine Science | ||
| Student Success Techniques - Animal Sciences with Pre-Veterinary Medicine Emphasis | ||
| Student Success Techniques - Nontraditional & Transfer Students | ||
| Student Success Techniques: Veterinary Technology | ||
| ANSC 240 | Meat Animal Evaluation and Marketing | 3 |
| ANSC 300 | Domestic Animal Behavior and Management | 3 |
| ANSC 323 | Fundamentals of Nutrition | 3 |
| ANSC 324 | Applied Animal Nutrition | 3 |
| ANSC 463 & 463L | Physiology of Reproduction and Physiology of Reproduction Laboratory | 4 |
| ANSC 478 | Research and Issues in Animal Agriculture | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 2 | |
| Global Seminar | ||
| Undergraduate Research (research experience) | ||
| Field Experience (internship experience) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Equine Industry and Production Systems | ||
| Sheep Industry and Production Systems | ||
| Swine Production/Pork Industry Systems | ||
| Beef Industry and Production Systems | ||
| Dairy Industry and Production Systems | ||
| Program Option | ||
| Students must select one program option of interest to complete the major. The standard option for this major is the Animal Production, Management and Husbandry. Students who wish to declare an option other than the standard option must officially declare that option with the Office of Registration and Records. | 44-48 | |
| Total Credits | 84-88 | |
Option 1: Animal Production, Management, & Husbandry Option (Standard)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 242 | Introduction to Agricultural Management | 3 |
| AGEC 244 | Agricultural Marketing | 3 |
| BIOC 260 | Elements of Biochemistry | 4 |
| MICR 202 & 202L | Introductory Microbiology and Introductory Microbiology Lab (May satisfy general education category S) | 3 |
| PLSC 315 | Genetics (May satisfy general education category S) | 3 |
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Concepts of Biology and Non-Majors Biology Lab (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory | ||
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Chemical Concepts and Applications and Chem Concepts and Applications Lab (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| Select one the following evaluation courses: | 2 | |
| Meat Grading and Evaluation | ||
| Livestock Evaluation | ||
| Dairy Cattle Evaluation | ||
| Equine Evaluation | ||
| ANSC 340 | Principles of Meat Science | 3 |
| ANSC 357 | Animal Genetics | 3 |
| ANSC 370 | Fundamentals/Animal Disease | 3 |
| ANSC 380 | Livestock Sales and Marketing | 2 |
| ANSC 480 | Equine Industry and Production Systems | 3 |
| or ANSC 482 | Sheep Industry and Production Systems | |
| or ANSC 484 | Swine Production/Pork Industry Systems | |
| or ANSC 485 | ||
| or ANSC 486 | Beef Industry and Production Systems | |
| or ANSC 488 | Dairy Industry and Production Systems | |
| Animal Production, Management, and Husbandry Elective (choose from any level PLSC, NRM, RNG, or SOIL) | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 46 | |
Option 2: Animal Agribusiness Option
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 102 | Fundamentals of Accounting | 3 |
| AGEC 242 | Introduction to Agricultural Management | 3 |
| AGEC 244 | Agricultural Marketing | 3 |
| AGEC 246 | Introduction to Agricultural Finance | 3 |
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Concepts of Biology and Non-Majors Biology Lab (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory | ||
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Chemical Concepts and Applications and Chem Concepts and Applications Lab (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| Select one of the following evaluation courses: | 2 | |
| Meat Grading and Evaluation | ||
| Livestock Evaluation | ||
| Dairy Cattle Evaluation | ||
| Equine Evaluation | ||
| ANSC 357 | Animal Genetics | 3 |
| ANSC 380 | Livestock Sales and Marketing | 2 |
| ECON 202 | Principles of Macroeconomics (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| PLSC 315 | Genetics (May satisfy general education category S) | 3 |
| AGEC elective | 300-400 level | 6 |
| Animal Agribusiness Electives (choose from 300+ level ANSC, AGEC, ECON, PLSC or RNG) | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
Option 3: Biomedical Science Option1
Students interested in veterinary school should consider this option. The option meets most veterinary school prerequisites. Consultation with an adviser is recommended.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANSC 357 | Animal Genetics | 3 |
| ANSC 444 | Livestock Muscle Physiology | 3 |
| BIOC 260 | Elements of Biochemistry | 4 |
| BIOL 150 & 150L | General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 151 & 151L | General Biology II and General Biology II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 121 & 121L | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | 4 |
| CHEM 122 & 122L | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | 4 |
| CHEM 240 | Survey of Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| or CHEM 341 | Organic Chemistry I | |
| MICR 350 & 350L | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab | 5 |
| PLSC 315 | Genetics (May satisfy general education category S) | 3 |
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Fundamentals of Physics and Fundamentals of Physics Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | ||
| Biomedical Science Elective (choose from 300+ level ANSC, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, MICR, PHYS OR ZOO) | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 44 | |
- 1
Accelerated Undergraduate Animal Science Biomedical Sciences option to Master of Public Health Degree
- Students enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences option may participate in an accelerated undergraduate to graduate program (B.S. Animal Science degree to Master of Public Health degree).
- Students will complete and submit a required Accelerated Degree Program Declaration form identifying no more than 15 credits of graduate coursework to be counted towards their B.S. degree.
- A minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA must be maintained by students in the accelerated degree program.
Degree Requirements and Notes
- Students must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for courses that satisfy major requirements
- Transfer grades must be ‘C’ or higher to count toward major requirements
Minor Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ANSC 114 | Introduction to Animal Sciences | 3 |
| ANSC 223 | Introduction to Animal Nutrition | 2 |
| ANSC 220 | Livestock Production | 3 |
| ANSC 240 | Meat Animal Evaluation and Marketing | 3 |
| Elective Courses * | 5 | |
| Must include one of the following courses: | ||
| Domestic Animal Behavior and Management | ||
ANSC 314 | ||
| Fundamentals of Nutrition | ||
| Applied Animal Nutrition | ||
| Principles of Meat Science | ||
| Animal Genetics | ||
| Fundamentals/Animal Disease | ||
| Livestock Muscle Physiology | ||
| Physiology of Reproduction | ||
| Growing and Finishing Cattle Management | ||
| Remaining credits may come from those listed above or the following courses: | ||
| Meat Grading and Evaluation | ||
| Livestock Evaluation | ||
| Dairy Cattle Evaluation | ||
| Fundamentals of Meat Processing | ||
| Livestock Sales and Marketing | ||
ANSC 426 | ||
| Total Credits | 16 | |
- *
Enrolling in two 2-credit courses will not fulfill elective requirements.
Minor Requirements and Notes:
- A minimum of 8 credits must be taken at NDSU.
- Students must earn a minimum 2.00 GPA for the minor requirements.