GENERAL INFORMATION

K. E. Webb, Jr., Interim Department Head

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech offers the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Students may specialize in the areas of genetics, genomics, immunology, management, molecular biology, muscle biology, nutrition, physiology, and product quality assurance. M.S. students may also specialize in the area of livestock or poultry management. Interdisciplinary and interdepartmental programs are encouraged and students are given wide latitude to develop customized programs of study directed toward specific career goals. The department has 27 faculty members who serve the needs of about 500 undergraduate and about 40 graduate students.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech has a total enrollment of 1,372 undergraduate and 233 graduate students. The College is composed of 10 academic departments and offers comprehensive programs in instruction, research and extension.

Virginia Tech is a Land-Grant University. Founded in 1872, it has the largest student body in Virginia with more than 21,000 undergraduate students. As a comprehensive research university, Virginia Tech is committed to serving the needs of people within the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond. Graduate education is an integral part of Virginia Tech's overall mission with a graduate enrollment of more than 3,600 students. With an instructional faculty of 1,410 in eight academic colleges and an annual research budget of more than $130 million, Virginia Tech is nationally recognized for its programs in teaching, research and public service.

International programs are an important part of the mission of Virginia Tech. Currently more than 1,500 international students representing 108 countries are enrolled at the University. Cooperative programs between Virginia Tech faculty and international colleagues abound as the University seeks to take advantage of unique educational opportunities that arise from international collaboration. The Office of International Research and Cooperation, located in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, provides leadership in this area, and the Cranwell International Center serves as a focal point for meeting the needs of international students.

Blacksburg, VA, the home of Virginia Tech, is a town of 41,000 people located on a high plateau between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. The area is noted for its natural beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities. Comprehensive airline service is provided through Roanoke, VA, 40 miles away. Virginia is a diverse state encompassing Atlantic beaches, forested mountains, areas of great historical significance and thriving urban and cultural centers. Although often thought of in terms of its urban areas, the state produces large numbers of feeder cattle and slaughter hogs, has a thriving horse industry and is one of the largest sheep-producing states in the Eastern U.S. The state also ranks fourth nationally in turkey production, eighth in broiler production and twenty-fourth in egg production. Virginia has a long tradition of national leadership in agriculture, and agriculture remains the state's largest industry.

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences is located in Litton-Reaves Hall which was constructed in 1981. The Department shares that building with the Department of Dairy Science and maintains close relationships and active collaboration with that department. Laboratory and animal handling facilities in Litton-Reaves Hall provide support for the more intensive elements of the Department's research programs.

State of the art research laboratories supporting all areas of graduate research are located in Litton Reaves on campus. Livestock facilities are located on the campus, at the nearby Kentland farm and at outlying agricultural research and extension centers across the state. Biosafety Level 2 animal research facilities are located in Litton Reaves on campus. On campus, a 200-ewe sheep flock, a 150-cow beef herd, a 40-sow swine herd, a five-building turkey center with facilities for >2,000 young and 1,500 adult chickens, and a herd of 75 to 120 horses provide resources for teaching and research. The historical Kentland Plantation, 20 miles from campus, provides resources for grazing and animal research. The Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, each 100 miles from campus, provide additional resources for beef cattle forage nutrition and management. The Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Suffolk supports an active off-campus program in swine research and extension. The Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center, near Washington, D.C., is the centerpiece for a unique program in equine forage nutrition.

Extradepartmental facilities also contribute importantly to the overall program of the Department. These include comprehensive data processing facilities maintained by the Computer Center, an electron microscopy laboratory, DNA sequencing facility, animal health and physiology laboratories in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and embryo manipulation and microinjection facilities for production of transgenic animals in the Department of Dairy Science. The Fralin Biotechnology Center has a shared confocal microscope facility.

For further information about the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, visit our web page at http://www.apsc.vt.edu.