The official count for the Department of Animal Science fall 2020 enrollment is 1,029 undergraduate students majoring in Animal Science or Dairy Science, or enrolled in the General Pre-Veterinary option.
“We are very excited to continue the tradition of a student-centered education with our current students! The students enrolled in the fall semester of 2020 represent 32 states, plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, 4 countries and 95 of the 99 counties in Iowa. With a 99% placement rate of our graduates, it is vitally important that we continue developing the next generation of industry leaders,” said Jodi Sterle, professor and undergraduate teaching coordinator.
Last fall, the department had 1,041 undergraduate students, holding steady with only a 1.15% decline. While universities across the U.S. struggle with attendance due to the COVID-19 virus and immigration challenges, we have seen how important the food animal supply chain is during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have shown the desire for hands-on learning opportunities from the animal science department’s exceptional faculty to prepare them for these real-world challenges.
With the ongoing pandemic, student education and recruitment efforts had to be moved online. The teaching and advising office held virtual campus visits and freshman orientation. They also worked to create new support materials including parent and student webinar options to field questions, and allowed students to work with their advisors virtually to choose and register for classes.
“Freshmen and transfer student orientation looked a little different this summer, but our team was able to quickly adapt to the online format and absolutely knocked it out of the park! Through communication and teamwork we helped our new, incoming students feel comfortable and welcomed,” said Jennifer Bundy, assistant professor and advising coordinator.
"We have a great, great faculty that care about our students. We continue to invest and build modern world-class teaching farms with managers engaged in education. All of this adds up to attracting students that want to take agriculture to the next level," said Dan Thomson, department chair.
Prospective students and their parents can visit our website for more information on courses, excellent faculty, student visits and orientation information.