Master's degree programme in Animal Science Biology

Cathrine Strømø

120 credits, full time study, taught in Norwegian. Contact: Dept. of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences (IHA): www.umb.no/iha

Master\'s degree programme in Animal Science Biology Foto: Håkon Sparre

A Master`s degree in Animal Science Biology is designed for students who do not have the admission requirements for the Master`s degree in Animal Science, but have a more narrow background and would like to develop high scientific competence in an area within Animal Science. Society has a need for graduates with a more specialised education and good knowledge within one of the animal science areas combined with related biology courses.

The degree qualifies students to apply for PhD studies within the specialisation field of their choice, as well as a career in an area demanding specialised knowledge with a strong biology-related background.

Admission requirements
A Bachelor`s degree in Biology that includes courses at the 200 level within Etiology, Nutrition or Physiology. Alternative: Bachelor`s degree in Animal Science with a focus on Nutrition or Etiology. The Bachelor`s degree must contain basic courses in Math and Statistics, a minimum of 10 credits each.

Internationalisation, study abroad and cooperation
The course syllabus contains a lot of material in English. Studying abroad is possible if the courses taken abroad can be approved for the degree.

Related studies
The study is related to the Master`s degree programme in Animal Science, but builds on a more narrow scientific background from the Bachelor studies.

Learning goals
The student will become specialised in one of the Animal Science areas: Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Etiology, Molecular Genetics or a combination of these. Knowledge and understanding will depend on the chosen area of specialisation. The student will obtain a strong theoretical background within the area of specialisation, as well as be able to apply the acquired knowledge to practical situations. After completing their studies, students will have developed fundamental and focused scientific knowledge needed to make decisions within the field addressed by the study programme.

Teaching and evaluation methods
The programme of study uses several different teaching methods in the chosen courses, plus independent work in the form of the Master `s thesis. As such, the student will gain experience through different ways of working.

Evaluation methods differ for each course; the Master`s thesis is considered as one form of evaluation.

Programme content and structure
The Master `s degree programme in Animal Science Biology consists of two study areas:
• Etiology
• Animal science biology specialisation

A minimum of 40 credits within the study are needed (not including thesis work), where a minimum of 25 credits must be at the 300 level. Thesis projects are chosen in cooperation with relevant supervisors in the study area and consist of 30 credits, but a 60 credit thesis can be taken upon approval by the Study Committee. The following is an example of a study plan for the study branch of Etiology.
Obligatory and recommended courses:
Study area Etiology: HET300, HET301, HET302 are obligatory, plus HET201 if the corresponding course is not included in the Bachelor studies. Courses in Behaviour Ecology at the 200 and 300 level are recommended.

For the study area of Animal Science Biology with specialisation, students are required to develop a study plan to be approved by the Department. With the acceptance of the study plan it is presumed that students have the necessary knowledge to follow the courses contained in the study plan.

Student advising
The study advisor and study secretary give general guidance. The students will receive their own scientific supervisor for the Master`s thesis project.
Email:studieveileder-husdyrfag@umb.no


Course evaluation and student evaluation of the study
All courses are evaluated over the web. The results are commented on by the course leaders and considered by the Study Committee before being submitted with an action plan to the Board and to UMB’s Director of Academic Affairs. The contents of the programme of study, as well as how the students function in the programme, are evaluated annually in the Study Committee.

Updated: 31.05.05
Printer-friendly version : Archive : Notify a friend