Department of Animal and Food Sciences

Animal and Food Sciences (MS, PhD)

Telephone: (302) 831-2524
http://canr.udel.edu/anfs/
Faculty Listing: http://canr.udel.edu/our-faculty/anfs/

Program Overview

The Department of Animal and Food Sciences offers a total of six graduate degrees:

Thesis/Dissertation-requiring Degrees

The Master of Science (MS) degree in Animal Science
The MS degree in Food Science
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Animal and Food Sciences

In Animal Science, these research-focused programs are offered in bioinformatics, genomics, gut-health, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, molecular biology, nutrition, pathology, physiology, and virology.

In Food Science, research-focused programs are offered in food bacteriology, biochemistry, nutraceuticals, parasitology, processing, toxicology, and virology.

Non-thesis Degree Concentrations

The Department of Animal and Food Science also offers two non-thesis degree programs. There are three degrees offered in two concentrations:

Non-thesis MS in Animal Science: Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership Concentration
Non-thesis MS in Food Science: Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership Concentration
Non-thesis MS in Animal and Food Sciences: Veterinary Biosciences, Biotechnology, and One Health (VBBOH) Concentration.

These degrees are primarily course-based and include in-depth, independent projects rather than a thesis or dissertation.

Research Facilities

Well-equipped laboratories for conducting research are located in Worrilow and Townsend Halls, the Allen Biotechnology Laboratory, and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI). The Allen Biotechnology Laboratory is a state-of-the-art, biosafety level 2 and 3 facility for the study of conventional and highly pathogenic avian disease agents and recombinant poultry microorganisms. The Department maintains dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, horses, and poultry for instruction and research on the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station Farm.

Requirements for Admission

An applicant for graduate study in Animal and Food Sciences should have an appropriate background from a baccalaureate degree, with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75, and a 3.00 average in his/her major. Undergraduate preparation for most areas of study should include general and organic chemistry, biology/microbiology, biochemistry, physics, and calculus. For students lacking appropriate preparatory course work, additional courses applicable to certain areas of study may be required prior to admission. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General test (Verbal and Quantitative) is required. Competitive scores are approximately 150 (Verbal), 150 (Quantitative), and 3.5 (Writing), but faculty reserve the right to waive this requirement if students have relevant training and/or work experience. All students must provide three letters of recommendation from former professors, a completed Graduate Studies Application form, and a completed assistantship form if applying for financial aid. Foreign students must demonstrate competence in the use of the English language by a minimum score of 575/233/85 on the paper based/computer based/IBET TOEFL and provide evidence of sufficient financial support for the course of the degree program. Foreign students applying for a teaching assistantship must have a minimum score of 600/250/100 on the paper based/computer based/IBET TOEFL examination. Applicants may be requested to visit the department for a personal interview before a final decision concerning admission is made. Admission to the graduate program is dependent upon availability of an appropriate faculty advisor in the student’s area of study.

Financial Aid

Please refer to the Graduate Fellowships and Assistantships section for more information. Briefly, thesis/dissertation degree-seeking students are eligible for graduate research and/or teaching assistantships, as well as tuition waivers. For non-thesis MS degree-seeking students, the programs are tuition based and no financial aid is provided.

Programs

Master’s of Science

Doctor of Philosophy

Animal and Food Sciences (PhD)

Non-thesis Master’s of Science Degree Concentrations

Non-thesis MS in Animal Science, Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership Concentration
Non-thesis MS in Food Science, Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership Concentration
Non-thesis MS in Animal and Food Sciences, Veterinary Biosciences, Biotechnology and One Health Concentration

Programs

Master’s

Doctorate

Animal and Food Sciences (PhD)