students with sheep

Animal Science

Available as

Explore our Animal Science Program

Let’s get you ready for careers that literally range from A-Z? Large animals. Small animals. We are talking about A (Animal Nutrition) to Z (Zoo Managers), and everything in between. Work with cattle, goats, sheep and horses located right here on our beautiful northwest Minnesota campus. What’s the best part?  Glad you asked. This is a major where your classrooms are barns, labs, paddocks, and stables. There’s nothing quite like it, and you’ll be hands-on from day one. 

Animal Science is a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.

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Questions?

Amberly Cox

Official Position Title: 
Assistant Dir. of Recruitment

umcinfo@crk.umn.edu | (218) 281-8569

I AM

Crookston

  • Title: 
    Earn a University of Minnesota Degree
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    students with goats
  • Title: 
    VetFAST Program
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    students with bird
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    student looking at horse
  • Title: 
    Go Straight Into the Workforce
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    student with a cow
  • Title: 
    4X National Placement Rate into Vet Schools

Major in the making of you

Learn about the Animal Science program from faculty member Terrill Bradford.

Want to go to Vet School?

UMN Crookston pre-veterinary program has a placement rate for veterinary school that is nearly FOUR TIMES the national average.

Animal Science minor

The animal science minor allows students to attain valuable information with regard to the essentials of livestock (meat) and dairy production principles. Students earning this minor are trained for careers in areas such as ranching, herdsmen, dairymen, and other allied industry positions. Learn more about our Animal Science minor.

As an animal science major you'll have career options that allow you to go straight into the workforce or continue on to graduate school.

Emphasis Areas

  • Animal Science
  • Pre-Veterinary Medicine

Career Options

Agricultural lending, Animal health sales/marketing, Animal sales, marketing, and research, Animal nutrition, Artificial insemination, Breeder consultation, Corporate livestock or dairy operation, Dairy/livestock and farm equipment sales, Dairy/livestock farm or ranch ownership, Dairy inspection, Feed production, Feedlot environmental systems, Reproduction systems production and management, Research and lab technician, Small animal entrepreneurship, Veterinary assistantship, Zoos and kennels

Learn about our VetFAST Program

Across the nation, there is a shortage of veterinarians for food animals. Vacant positions in rural areas or in the food industry are difficult to fill. More veterinary staff are needed in state and federal agencies to protect livestock from disease, and ensure food safety and security. To meet this demand, the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine created the Veterinary Food Animal Scholars Track (VetFAST), an opportunity for accelerated acceptance into its doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) program. Learn more about the program requirements and benefits.

ON-CAMPUS

Animal Science

AT A GLANCE...

  • Class field trips include visits to approximately 30 farms where tours and labs are conducted.

  • Hands on experience with ultrasounds, lamb out sheep and calve out cows, giving injections and draw blood, handle and restain animals, equipment use, terminology, and reproduction and feeds.

  • Develop and conduct original research with animal science faculty including reproductive management of livestock species and cost effective/nutritious feed alternatives for cattle.

  • International opportunities to visit farms in other countries to see how they operate, including trips to France.

  • Gain VetFAST program acceptance to the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine at the end of the freshman or sophomore year in college.

  • Join a club: Animal Science Association (ASA), Pre-Veterinary Medical Association, Dairy Club, Ag Arama Club, Collegiate FFA

REAL. HANDS-ON. READY.

At the U of M Crookston, you won’t spend all your time behind a desk. Our curriculum is designed around experiential learning, which means we want you to have as much hands-on learning as possible. Depending on your major, you’ll find opportunities to be in the field, the lab, the classroom, or engaging in simulated scenarios that give you a competitive edge when you enter the workforce or head to grad school. You’ll learn the concepts and then actively apply them through projects, field trips, site visits, internships, and interactions with professionals in the field.

Meet your future professors

  • Terrill Giannonatti-Bradford

    Instructor
  • Leslie Lekatz

    Leslie Lekatz

    Assistant Professor
  • Harouna Maiga

    Professor

Student Stories

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    Kennedy Resendiz
    Content: 
    For Kennedy Resendiz, choosing the University of Minnesota Crookston was the perfect choice for her. She knew she wanted to major in animal science with a pre-vet emphasis, and attending the U of M Crookston offered her the preferred degree as well as the scholarships to help make it work. An added bonus has been the opportunity to study abroad on four trips.
  • Image: 
    Mazie Pini
    Content: 
    For University of Minnesota Crookston student Mazie Pini, riding is second nature and riding competitively is something she has enjoyed since she was an early teen. When it came time for Pini to go to college, she had two primary selection criteria: She wanted to attend a college with a hunt seat team and one with a major in animal science that would lead to her goal to study veterinary medicine. The U of M Crookston offered both.