Animal and Food Sciences, PhD

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is available in Animal and Food Sciences. Degree programs in Animal & Food Sciences provide advanced study and are divided into the disciplinary areas of animal nutrition, behavior, reproductive physiology, or food science. Special interests in beef or dairy cattle, horses, poultry, sheep, and swine may be pursued within many of these areas. Programs in food science offer specialization in food chemistry, food microbiology, food safety, meat biochemistry, and meat processing.  

The Ph.D. in Animal & Food Science (PhDASC) degree requires an M.S. plus 18 additional credit hours.  

Admission Requirements  

• Applicants to the Ph.D. program must be in the process of completing, or have already completed, an M.S. degree or equivalent. They must have completed a four-year degree at an accredited institution of higher education, must have achieved at least a 3.00 GPA for all undergraduate courses, and must submit scores from the verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Applicants must have completed: 1 semester calculus or physics, 3 semesters biology/ physiology, 3 semesters chemistry (including 1 semester of organic chemistry or biochemistry). Additional courses in physiology, cell biology, microbiology, and anatomy are encouraged. 

Degree Requirements  

• ASC 771 ANIMAL SCIENCE SEMINAR   Section 1  

• ASC 771 ANIMAL SCIENCE SEMINAR   Section 2 

• Students must complete the requirement of 36 credit hours of graduate coursework within five years of entry into the doctoral program.

• An awarded master’s degree from the University of Kentucky or from another accredited school may satisfy 18 of this 36-hour pre-qualifying requirement.