Animal Science Major, BS in Animal Science – Five-Year BS/MS Program

For qualified students, the Department of Animal Science offers a Five-Year BS/MS accelerated degree program with a BS major in Animal Science and a thesis-based MS major in Animal Science. Central to this program is that a qualified student may take up to nine hours of graduate level courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both the BS degree and the MS degree. Students are typically considered for conditional admission to the program during, or immediately following, their third year of undergraduate study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Because the MS program requires that a student write a thesis based on original research, efforts related to developing and starting a research-based project in consultation with a graduate advisory committee (that meets MS committee requirements) is required immediately following their third year of undergraduate studies.

To be considered for conditional admission to the program:

• A student must be a declared Animal Science major with a minimum GPA of 3.4, must have completed at least 15 hours of credit in Animal Science, and must have completed at least 90 hours of the 120 hours of coursework required for the BS degree with a major in Animal Science.
• A student must provide three letters of recommendation and complete a personal interview with individuals comprising the Graduate and Undergraduate Committees in the Department of Animal Science. 
• A student must obtain a commitment from an Animal Science graduate research faculty member to serve as his/her graduate mentor-advisor (i.e., major professor) and at least two other graduate research faculty members to serve on his/her graduate advisory committee.

Applicants are required to have completed at least six credit hours from the following Animal Science core courses (i.e., ANSC 320 , ANSC 330 , ANSC 340 , ANSC 380  or their Honors counterparts). The department may consider other relevant factors such as an applicant’s work experience and level of maturity before conditionally admitting a student to the BS/MS program. Conditional admission of a student into the Five-Year BS/MS program must be approved by the Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, and the Graduate School. Students will be typically informed of the outcome of their application before the beginning of their fourth year of undergraduate study.

Any graduate course that is to be counted towards both the BS degree and the MS degree must be approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee, the departmental Graduate Director, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and by the Graduate School. These courses must be identified in consultation with the graduate advisory committee members. The form “Animal Science Conditional Admission Five-Year BS-MS” is available from the Graduate Director and must be completed, signed by the student, the student’s graduate advisory committee, the Graduate Director, and College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources before submitting to the Graduate School for approval and processing.”

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Senior Privilege rule imposes a maximum limit of nine hours on the number of graduate-level hours that an undergraduate student may complete before completing an undergraduate degree and being formally admitted to the Graduate School. A student that is conditionally admitted to the BS/MS program, completes nine credit hours of graduate level coursework during the student’s undergraduate study, and applies those nine credit hours to satisfy BS degree requirements may also apply the nine credit hours towards MS degree requirements.

Conditional admission into the BS/MS program does not guarantee acceptance into either the Graduate School or the MS program. Students in the BS/MS program must apply for admission to the Graduate School and to the MS program during their fourth year of undergraduate study, following the same procedures that all other student applicants follow. A GRE score must be submitted as part of the application for admission into any graduate program in the Department of Animal Science. Students will be fully admitted to the MS program after they have been accepted both by the Graduate School and by the Animal Science MS program. Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate students in the Graduate School.