The graduate major in animal science offers students the option of pursuing MS- and PhD-level study with a broader focus than the department's other majors. Students in this major take courses in the five main sub-fields of animal science: breeding, nutrition, physiology, reproduction, and meat science, while focusing on one species of domestic animals. Animal science majors frequently focus on research problems related to livestock production systems.
Over the past five years, the vast majority of graduates from this major have taken jobs in agricultural industries and agribusiness, while the balance have pursued additional degree work or assumed appointments in extension services around the country.