Master's degree in Veterinary Sciences
The Master of Science degree in veterinary sciences prepares students for careers in the veterinary and biomedical field. Students may align their interests with one of three degree options. All options require completing Responsible Conduct of Research (Ethics) during the first term in which a student is enrolled.
Option I
This option is designed to provide postgraduate education in veterinary/biomedical disciplines, and training in research technology and philosophy. Completion of a research project and thesis is required. A minimum of 30 credit hours is required for the degree.
Option II
This option provides a broad-based graduate program for students with special interest in diagnostic or clinical veterinary medicine, animal production or other interest with lesser research objectives. The Option II MS does not require a thesis but requires more coursework and either one or two minors. A minimum of 36 credit hours is required for the degree.
This program must include a "creative component" demonstrating substantial evidence of individual scholarly accomplishment; for example, a case report, a literature report or a research project. The MS report must be prepared in the format of a manuscript suitable for publication in a refereed journal and must be approved by the Supervisory Committee as a part of the final exam.
Option III
This option is for veterinarians interested in pursuing formal graduate education in areas related to beef cattle production management. Coursework may involve information management, veterinary epidemiology, statistics, critical review of scientific literature, animal breeding and selection, ruminant nutrition, forage resources, marketing, business finance and agricultural economics. The student is expected to design and conduct a clinical related research project resulting in a publishable paper. A total of 36 credit hours is required for the degree.
Ph.D. in Integrative Biomedical Sciences
The Ph.D. program provides training in veterinary sciences, human and animal health with emphasis on comparative relationships to the biomedical sciences, especially host-pathogen relationships and pathogenesis of human diseases.
The program is designed to provide individualized instruction with a strong emphasis on health and disease. The School has a primary focus on infectious diseases, including biomedicine, bacteriology, immunology, pathology, epidemiology, virology and mechanisms of disease.
Students on 0.49 FTE graduate assistantships are required to work 20 hours per week and register for 9 credit hours each semester and 6 hours during the summer sessions. The student must also register for the seminar series each semester until the degree is completed.
Students are required to complete a dissertation, have one or more first-author articles accepted for publication in a peer reviewed scientific journal and complete a thesis and final exams.