Animal Health Minor

Program Coordinator/Contact

David Knudsen, Professor
Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences
Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory 1122, Box 2175
605-688-5171

Program Information

The Animal Health Minor provides students with coursework in veterinary and biomedical sciences in order to enhance their preparation for several different animal health related career paths. The coursework will augment pre-veterinary students’ preparation for enrollment in colleges of veterinary medicine, and will enable students to enhance their knowledge of valuable animal health concepts that they can put to use in careers involving animal care, animal production, and animal health product research, development, and marketing.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates with a minor in Animal Health will:

• gain an understanding of the scope, activities, and nomenclature of the veterinary profession as the pivotal field of study for animal health.
• achieve general skills and knowledge in the normal anatomy and physiology of common domestic animals, including cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, dogs, and cats.
• achieve general skills and knowledge in the spectrum of diseases that affect the health of domestic animals, together with prevention and control strategies used in minimizing the impact of animal disease.
• gain specialized understanding and knowledge in animal health through the completion of three (3) elective courses that focus on infectious disease and/or basic biomedical sciences.

Academic Requirements

A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for the courses in the minor.

Course Delivery Format

Coursework for the program is delivered on campus in classroom and laboratory-based settings.