M.S. in Animal Science

The Animal and Veterinary Sciences Program is successful thanks to the great work of our graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. Your research contributions are very important to farmers,
extensionists, consumers, and our community. We invite you to join our program and share your experiences with a diverse community of researchers. Our M.Sc., M.P.S., and Ph.D. graduates have all
the background needed to succeed in the animal and biotechnology industry, academia, non-profits, and state and federal agencies.

 

Admission Requirements

• A B.Sc. degree in a life science major (e.g. Animal Sciences, Crop Sciences, Sustainable Agriculture, Zoology, Biology, among others).
• English proficiency requirements as indicated by the Graduate School.
• A minimum 300 GRE score. This can be waived by your faculty advisor.
• Required documents by UMaine graduate school https://umaine.edu/graduate/apply/application-checklist/. In your statement of purpose, please make sure to include information regarding the AVS faculty you are interested in working with.
• Admission application deadline: Rolling

 

Program Requirements

•  Obtain an AVS faculty advisor before admission into the AVS program, and submit a Program of Study form with the Graduate School within the first semester of admission.
•  A minimum of 30 credit hours, including credit given for the thesis, is required.
•  The student must take 1 credit of responsible conduct of research, see Graduate school guidelines: https://umaine.edu/graduate/students/progress/rcr/
•  A research thesis is required.
•  The student is expected to meet with their graduate committee within their first semester. The graduate committee consists of the advisor and at least two members of UMaine graduate faculty.
•  The minimum amount of credit for the thesis (AVS 699) is 6 credit hours, and in no case may it exceed 15 credit hours.
•  In addition, a minimum of 12 credit hours (exclusive of thesis) of 500- and/or 600-level coursework is required.
•  Students are required to present two Graduate Seminars. One of these seminars needs to be a graduate seminar course offered by SFA. The first graduate seminar to be taken needs to present the student proposed thesis research.
•  Courses selected must include a minimum of nine 500/600-level credit hours in the Animal and Veterinary Sciences.
•  A final examination conducted by the assigned graduate committee that consists of an oral defense of the thesis being presented
•  Although is not required, we encourage our students to take a course on research writing.
•  Take at least one statistics course from the list below (or other statistics courses approved by the student graduate committee).
  •  BIO 509 (Experimental Design)
  •  BIO 593 (Advanced Biometry)
  •  FSN 524 (Responsible Design, Conduct and Analysis of Research)
  •  STS 437 (Statistical Methods in Research).

 

M.S. of Professional Studies in Animal Sciences

This program is designed with flexibility in mind for full or part-time students and can be tailored to provide what you need for higher-level jobs in the animal industry and government agencies which do not require research experience. Also, this is a great option for students seeking to bolster their application to professional degree programs, including veterinary medicine. The program is designed to be finalized in as little as one academic year. For instance, UMaine undergraduates with interest in this program can obtain B.Sc. and M.P.S. degrees in a five-year period if they start their M.P.S. studies in their senior year.

 

Program Highlights

1) Can be obtained as early as one year.

2) Tailored for students seeking to strengthen their application to veterinary medicine programs

3) Tailored for professionals seeking higher level jobs in the animal industry

4) UMaine undergraduate students can take graduate courses in their senior year and finish all requirements in a fifth year.

5) Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

 

Areas of focus or concentration

Extension for livestock and applied animal health.

 

Degree and Admission Requirments

Degree requirements:

•  A minimum of 30 credit hours, including:
•  At least 15 credit hours must be 500 and/or 600-level.
•  A minimum of three credits in an “independent study” type course (e.g. AVS 699) agreed upon with their major advisor.
•  Courses selected must include a minimum of 12 credits in the Animal and Veterinary Sciences.

 

Prepare a literature review under the guidance of a faculty advisor and a studies committee of at least 2

members of UMaine graduate faculty.

• Obtain an AVS faculty advisor before admission into the AVS program, and submit a Program of Study form with the Graduate School within the first semester of admission.

Admission:

•  A B.Sc. degree.
•  English proficiency requirements as indicated by the Graduate School.
•  GRE is not required for this program.
• Application to the University of Maine Graduate School (Instructions are here) as a “Degree Applicant”, including an essay, resume, recommendation letters, transcripts, and test scores.

 

AVS Graduate Faculty

Timothy Bowden, Ph.D. (University of Aberdeen, 1998), Associate Professor. Aquatic animal health.

Robert C. Causey, Ph.D. D.V.M., (Louisiana State, 1985, University of Minnesota, 1989), Associate Professor. Equine reproduction, veterinary microbiology.

Suzanne L. Ishaq, Ph.D. (University of Vermont, 2015), Assistant Professor. Host-associated microbial communities and animal health.

Pauline Kamath, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley, 2011), Associate Professor. Ecology and evolution of infectious diseases in wildlife and livestock, population and phylogenetics/genomics.

Colt Knight, Ph.D. (University of Arizona, 2016), Associate Professor of Extension - State Livestock Specialist

David Marcinkowski, Ph.D. (The Ohio State University, 1982), Associate Extension Professor. Dairy Management.

Glenda M. Pereira, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota, 2021), Assistant Extension Professor. Dairy Management, animal genetics, and organic dairy production.

Juan J. Romero, Ph.D. (University of Florida, 2013), Associate Professor. Ruminant nutrition, forage quality, and hay and silage production.

 

Associate AVS Graduate Faculty

Gary W. Anderson, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech, 1982), Associate Extension Professor. Reproduction efficiency of livestock, dairy farm management, animal health.

Anne Lichtenwalner, PhD. D.V.M., (University of Idaho, 1995, Oregon State University, 1989), Associate Professor. Diseases of Livestock, poultry and fish.

Robert C. Bayer, Ph.D. (Michigan State, 1972), Professor. Fisheries and aquaculture nutrition, management and physiology.

James Weber, Ph.D., D.V.M., (University of Idaho, 1992, Washington State University, 1994), Associate Professor. Reproductive physiology of horses and sheep, parasite management of small ruminants, and medical implant design.