What is Animal and Poultry Sciences?

Animal and Poultry Sciences is the study of horses, beef cattle, sheep, poultry and swine. The program includes the feeding, breeding and management of livestock using modern scientific principles and technology. Its strength lies in the unique combination of strong science coursework and the applied, "hands-on" experience with farm animals and birds.

Who Studies Animal and Poultry Sciences?

No single description fits all or even most of our majors. Both men and women study Animal and Poultry Sciences, and they come from farm, suburban and urban backgrounds. Students have diverse interests, from livestock production and management to marketing, sales, and public relations; from public education and extension to graduate training in research, teaching, and veterinary medicine.

Despite differing backgrounds and career goals, majors in Animal and Poultry Sciences share a love for animals, for applied biology, for the outdoors, and for working with both animals and people.

Career Opportunities

To address the wide variety of interests and career choices in the animal and poultry sciences, students are given the opportunity to choose one of three options: Production/Business, Science, or Biotechnology. They can choose an emphasis within each option. Two of the emphases are species-specific (Poultry and Equine) while the third (Livestock) is designed to allow students flexibility in their species interest. The well rounded curriculum includes training in the basic sciences and liberal arts, in the applied sciences of nutrition, physiology and genetics, and in the practical management of livestock and poultry.
(Also see the Career Services Undergraduate Guide to Majors.)

Graduates of the Production/Business Option may elect to pursue a career in animal production, such as operating and managing a farm with responsibility for the feeding, management and breeding of farm animals or birds. In addition, they may work in sales and marketing of livestock and agricultural products including feed, supplements, and equipment for handling livestock, or in the sale of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Public relations positions, like representative of a breed association, livestock market or farm cooperative, are available to graduates. Others may work with banks, or with state and federal lending agencies. Other government agencies such as the USDA and the Soil Conservation Service hire qualified students as well. Still other graduates find careers as high school agriculture teachers, or as cooperative extension agents, who advise farmers and consumers on current practices in livestock production, management, and marketing.

Many students who choose the Science or the Biotechnology Option will pursue graduate research in nutrition, physiology, or genetics, or a career in human or veterinary medicine. Animal and Poultry Sciences is one of the most popular majors to prepare for veterinary school because of the natural tie of science with animals. It also is possible, and relatively easy, to double major or minor in Biology or Biochemistry in preparation for employment in a research laboratory, either in private industry, or with a government agency. Students electing to follow the university Biotechnology Option will receive state-of-the-art training in molecular and cellular biology that will make them very competitive for jobs in this expanding area.

The Animal and Poultry Sciences Program at Virginia Tech  [Back To Top]

Virginia Tech offers the Bachelor of Science degree in Animal and Poultry Sciences and allows students to choose among six option/emphasis combinations. The curriculum includes training in the basic sciences and humanities; in the applied animal sciences of nutrition, genetics, and physiology; and in the practical management of farm animals and birds.

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences offers students:

• Hands-on experience with beef cattle, swine, horses, sheep and poultry located on campus;
• Excellent training in the sciences of biology, chemistry, math and economics;
• Opportunities to work in research labs andon undergraduate research projects;
• Modern teaching and computer laboratories and classrooms housed in Litton Reaves Hall;
• A qualified and enthusiastic faculty engaged in teaching, research and extension to ensure coursework that is in touch with scientific achievements in today's industry;
• Opportunities for service, leadership and industry contacts through student organizations like Block and Bridle, Poultry Science Club, Pre-Vet Club, and Alpha Zeta, among others;
• The chance to sharpen livestock selection and communications skills on highly successful intercollegiate judging teams;
• A cooperative education program through which students alternate study with employment, thereby gaining technical and business experience as part of the regular academic program;
• Internship and summer employment opportunities to enhance career preparation.

Mission  [Back To Top]

The mission of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences is to provide comprehensive teaching, research, and extension programs for our students and the seven major livestock and poultry industries that we serve including beef cattle, broilers, horses, layers, sheep, swine, and turkeys.

Departmental programs strive to improve the performance, efficiency and profitability of animal production while enhancing food safety, environmental quality, and animal well-being. The Department offers relevant programs in biotechnology, muscle biology, genetics, nutrition and physiology that will enhance the production of domestic animals and provide rewarding careers for our graduates in animal agriculture. Graduates of the Department find a wide range of employment in science, agribusiness, animal production and public service jobs as well as pre-professional preparation for graduate school and. veterinary medicine.

Overview of the Department

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences is in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech that offers a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degree programs of study. The Department consists of nationally and internationally recognized faculty and a dedicated support staff.

The Department maintains herds and flocks for research and teaching purposes. The animals are maintained at six livestock and poultry centers on-campus and at the Kentland Research Farm 15 minutes from the University.

Department faculty, staff, and graduate students are housed on the second and third floors of Litton Reaves Hall on-campus that was constructed in 1980. Research laboratories are located on the second and third floors of Litton Reaves along with small animal research facilities in the basement. Many of the Department courses are taught in classrooms and laboratories located on the first and second floors of the Litton Reaves. Considerable research is also carried out at the Middleburg, Steeles Tavern, Glade Spring, and Tidewater Agriculture Research and Extension Centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

History of the Department

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech has long been recognized by its peers at other Land Grant Universities and on-campus for delivering a high quality and balanced teaching, research, and extension program for its students, livestock and poultry industries and the professions that it serves.

The Department of Animal Husbandry was one of the first departments established at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1904 and was followed not long after with the formation of the Department of Poultry Husbandry in 1921. During the next 40 years strong teaching and extension programs were established in the areas of animal and poultry production.

In the late 50's and early 60's, the two departments developed strong research programs in genetics, physiology, and nutrition and appropriately changed their names to the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Poultry Science, respectively in 1963.

Over the next 30 years the two departments conducted balanced teaching, research, and extension programs that gained national and international stature. In July of 1993, the two departments merged into the current Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. The new Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences has since become one of the largest, most productive and best respected academic programs at Virginia Tech.