Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) - Dairy Science Specialization

Program Coordinator/Contact

Joseph Cassady, Interim Department Head
Department of Dairy and Food Science
Alfred Dairy Science Hall 136, Box 2104
605-688-4116

Program Information

The Dairy and Food Science Department provides research opportunities leading to Masters and PhD degrees. SDSU is one of two universities in the US with a Dairy Science Program that offers Dairy Production and Manufacturing majors. It is equipped with excellent laboratories, and a state of the art dairy processing plant which has the capability of processing fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, concentrated and dried products, and other products. It also has a dairy research and training facility where a herd of 300 Holstein and Brown Swiss cattle for teaching and research is maintained. Metabolism and surgical facilities in the Animal Science Complex, and specialized laboratory equipment the Genomics Lab and other departments on campus, including, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, and Health and Nutritional Sciences Programs are also available. Graduate students accepted in the program will have opportunities to utilize these facilities to develop basic and/or applied research programs in dairy product processing, microbiology, chemistry, food safety, dairy cattle nutrition, metabolism, breeding, microbiology of the rumen, immunology, and management, while interacting with well qualified faculty.  The SDSU Dairy Science Program, in collaboration with the Food Science and Nutrition Program at the University of Minnesota and the Food Science and Human Nutrition Program at Iowa State University, is the Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center. This provides graduate students in the manufacturing area a unique opportunity to be involved with current issues and research needs.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Exhibit knowledge concerning dairy science, either manufacturing or production, at a level appropriate to a Ph.D. holder.
• Demonstrate adequate presentation and communication skills, including dissertation and journal article writing, poster and oral presentation skills, and grant/proposal writing skills.
• Demonstrate information literacy for science-based inquiry and critical review of existing knowledge sources.
• Demonstrate an understanding of scientific methods and application of analytical techniques for solving research problems.
• Develop a deep understanding of experimental design, statistical analysis and use of inferential statistics to make valid judgements based on scientific data.
• Specialize research focus in some area such as dairy manufacturing, dairy microbiology or dairy production, but still be broadly based in knowledge of dairy science.
• Be able to conduct and publish scholarly research.
• Demonstrate professional development and competence so that they may enter the work force in academia or industry. (Transferable Skill: Career Preparedness)

Course Delivery Format

Biological Sciences courses are delivered face-to-face and enhanced with web-based instruction. Online delivery may be offered for specific courses.

Student Support and Engagement Opportunities

An application to the graduate program serves as an application for a graduate assistantship. Qualified applicants may be eligible for financial aid in the form of departmental research assistantships for masters and doctoral students.