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A Comparison of Undergraduate Poultry Science Programs1
A Comparison of Undergraduate Poultry Science Programs1 J. F. STEPHENS and E. C. NABER Department of Poultry Science, The Ohio State University, and The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 674 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (Received for publication January 10, 1978) ABSTRACT Information was requested from 31 departments relative to their undergraduate programs leading to a major in poultry science. Responses were received from 17 departments offering a major or major emphasis in poultry science. The number of credits in poultry science indicated as being required for a major ranged from 15 to 51 quarter-hour equivalents with an average of 3 2 hours. Coursework required or "taken by most" undergraduate poultry science students at the 17 universities offering a major, or major emphasis, in poultry science included: Introductory Poultry Science, 12 departments; Nutrition, 16; Physiology/Biology, 14; Diseases, 13; Incubation/Brooding, 6; Genetics/Breeding, 14; Products Technology, 14; and Production Management, 16 departments. The number of credits in each area varied considerably among departments. About one-third of the credits in nutrition and genetics/breeding were reported to be interdepartmental offerings. Eight of the 17 departments offer courses in poultry judging and 10 offer credit for internships or work experience programs. Among eight responding departments offering courses, but no major in poultry science, six offered an introductory poultry course, three a poultry nutrition course, and three a production/ management course. INTRODUCTION Little i n f o r m a t i o n was found in t h e recent literature pertaining t o coursework requirem e n t s for a major in p o u l t r y science or t o courses in p o u l t r y science taught at universities n o t offering a major program of s t u d y in poult r y science. S t e p h e n s et al. ( 1 9 7 3 ) r e p o r t e d on t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a prescribed curriculum for p o u l t r y science majors at T h e Ohio State University. In t h e same year Bletner et al. r e p o r t e d on changes involved in p o u l t r y science offerings associated with t h e integration of p o u l t r y science into t h e animal science d e p a r t m e n t at t h e University of Tennessee. T h e p u r p o s e of our s t u d y was t o c o m p a r e requirements of various d e p a r t m e n t s for a major in p o u l t r y science a t t h e baccalaureate level. PROCEDURES In p r e p a r a t i o n for a n internal review of o u r total instructional program in p o u l t r y science a t T h e Ohio S t a t e University, we requested inform a t i o n in April 1 9 7 6 , from 31 selected academic d e p a r t m e n t s t h o u g h t t o offer courses in
'Approved for publication as Journal Article No. 185-77 of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. 1978 Poultry Sci 57:875-882
p o u l t r y science (Table 1). N o a t t e m p t was m a d e t o c o m p a r e requirements of t h e various universities for B.S. degrees in agriculture, b u t requirements in selected programs a t T h e Ohio State University are provided for illustrative purposes (Table 2). T h e area of investigation in this s t u d y centers u p o n t h e " m a j o r c o u r s e s " category in this illustration. Responses t o t h e questions were t a b u l a t e d for c o m p a r i s o n , with course titles being used t o identify credits required in various subject m a t t e r areas. This compilation (Tables 3 and 4) was r e t u r n e d t o representatives of each of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s listed in Table 3 for validation or corrections in August 1 9 7 7 .
RESULTS A t o t a l of 2 7 questionnaires was r e t u r n e d : 17 from d e p a r t m e n t s offering a major in poult r y science or major emphasis in p o u l t r y science, and 10 from d e p a r t m e n t s n o t offering this major. T w o of t h e 10 d e p a r t m e n t s having n o major offered n o courses in p o u l t r y science, as best w e could determine, so n o further use was m a d e of their responses. Responses t o t h e request for validation of the i n f o r m a t i o n presented in Tables 3 and 4 were received from 14 of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 . P o u l t r y science credits required for t h e
875
STEPHENS AND NABER
876
TABLE 1 .—Questionnaire for selected
departments
1. How many ( ) quarter, ( ) semester hours of Poultry Science are required for a major? 2. How many credits toward a B.S. degree are allowed for internship or work experience programs? Duration of internship = weeks. 3. Titles of Poultry Science courses ( ) required of, ( ) taken by most undergraduate Poultry Science majors. Credit hours
Course
4. Are graduate students who have not previously taken poultry science courses required of undergraduate majors required to take these courses? ( ) yes, ( ) no, ( ) no policy established. 5. If answer to question 4 is "yes", do graduate students received graduate credit for these courses? ( ) yes, ()no.
major designation were found t o range from 15 t o 51 q u a r t e r hr o r t h e equivalent thereof (Table 3). Mississippi S t a t e University and t h e University of Arkansas require t h e greatest n u m b e r of credits of p o u l t r y majors while t h e University of Florida requires t h e fewest. T h e average r e q u i r e m e n t of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s offering a p o u l t r y science major was found t o be 32 hr o n a q u a r t e r basis (21.3 semester hr). Ohio State University (OSU) requires 35 q u a r t e r hr of credit in p o u l t r y science for a
major, b u t 10 of t h e 35 hr are nutrition courses cross-listed w i t h o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s . Inform a t i o n presented in these courses is n o t limited to p o u l t r y and m o s t sections of t h e courses are t a u g h t b y n o n - p o u l t r y science faculty. This situation exists in p o u l t r y science d e p a r t m e n t s at several o t h e r universities as well. In some cases s t u d e n t s register for courses with titles such as " A n i m a l I n d u s t r i e s " or " A n i m a l Nutrit i o n " which carry n o d e p a r t m e n t a l designation. Introductory Poultry Science. According t o
TABLE 2.—Requirements for B.S. degree in Agriculture The Ohio State University Selected programs
Agriculture
University college 100 Humanities Social sciences Communications Physical education Agriculture core courses Biological sciences Chemistry Mathematics Additional mathematics, statistics, computer science, and accounting Agriculture electives Business core courses Physics "Major" courses Electives Total credits required Quarter hr.
Agricultural industries
Agricultural science
1 15 15 13 3 15 15 10 5
1 15 15 13 3 15 10 10 5
1 15 15 13 3 15 20 23 15
4 15
8
4
24 25- -45 40- -60 196
25-45 32-52 196
10 25-45 17-37 196
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS
TABLE 3 .—Credits in poultry science required for major Quarter hr or equivalent University of Arkansas Auburn University Clemson University Colorado State University University of Florida University of Georgia Michigan State University University of Maryland Mississippi State University University of Missouri University of Nebraska North Carolina State University Ohio State University Pennsylvania State .University Texas A&M University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University University of Wisconsin Average
46.5 24 39 39 15 31 21 18 51 34.5 30 39 35 19.5 39 35 27 32.0
our interpretation of information provided, twelve of the 17 departments offering a major, or major emphasis, in poultry science have their students take an introductory poultry course (Table 4). An introductory course is offered by the University of Georgia, but poultry majors are not required to take it. Most, if not all, of the universities without an introductory poultry science course offera basic animalsciences course providing some introductory information in poultry science. The average number of credits allocated to the introductory course by the 12 departments is 4.4 quarter hr with a range of 3 to 6 hr. Production/Management. Courses counted as production/management include such titles as broiler production, turkey production, egg production, as well as poultry management. Of the 17 departments offering a major, or major emphasis, in poultry science, only OSU does not require a production/management course. At OSU attempts have been made to incorporate poultry production and business management into other courses that all poultry majors are required to take. A separate management course has now been prepared. The average number of credits indicated by the 16 departments is 7.1; the range being from
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4 to 13.5 quarter hr (Table4). Three of the 8 departments not offering a poultry major also listed poultry production/management courses (Table 5). Diseases and Parasites. Considerable emphasis is placed on poultry health in departments offering a major in poultry science. Thirteen of the 17 departments have their students take a course in poultry diseases and parasites. Courses such as "Avian Diseases" taught as veterinary science courses were included in this category. The number of credit hours offered ranges from 3 to 6, with the average being 4.6 quarter hr. The Universities of Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania State University did not indicate the requirement of a poultry diseases course in their programs (Table 4). Of the 8 universities offering poultry courses, but not a major in poultry science, only the University of Tennessee offers a poultry diseases and parasites course (Table 5). Obviously, some of the departments not having poultry diseases, and parasites courses may require that their students take animal health courses offered by colleges of veterinary medicine or other departments within the university. Incubation/Brooding. Only 6 of the 17 departments have students take a course devoted entirely to incubation and/or brooding (Table 4). The range in credits offered is from 1.5 at the University of Maryland to 7.5 credits at Mississippi State University. The average number of credits offered by the 6 departments is 3.8. At OSU, incubation and brooding are discussed in the introductory poultry science course and are given further attention in the department's physiology-based courses. Obviously, these areas may be given attention in production/management courses by some departments. Poultry Products Technology. A poultry products technology course is taken by poultry majors at 14 of 17 universities with a range of only 3 to 5 quarter hr (Table 4). The offering at the University of Wisconsin included in this category has the title of "Marketing Poultry Products". Titles of courses offered at other universities and included in this category clearly indicate that the subject matter deals with the processing, chemistry, and microbiology of eggs and poultry meat. The average number of credits offered in this category by the 14 departments is 4.2 quarter hr. Purdue University, which does not offer a poultry science major, offers a 3credit course in egg products technology.
9 13.5
6 4.5
3 4.5
4.5 7.5 4 10 4.5 5 9 9 4.5 6
Production/ Management
4.5 4.5 6 5 3 4.5
4
5 4.5 4.5
Introductory Poultry Sci.
3
4.5
4.5 6 5
5 4.5 4 4.5
4.5 5 6 3
Poultry Diseases
Available but not taken by most poultry science majors.
First number represents poultry science listing; second represents interdepartmental listing.
Average
Arkansas Auburn Clemson Colorado Florida Georgia Maryland Michigan State Mississippi State Missouri Nebraska North Carolina State Ohio State Pennsylvania State Texas A&M Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Wisconsin
University
1.5
3 3 4
Incubation/ Brooding
3 4.5
4.5 4.5 5 3 4.5
4.5 3 4.5 4.5 4 5 4.5
Products Technology
2
3 3
6
3/0 5/0
3 3b
6/0 0/8 9/0
3/4
4.5/0
0/5
4.5/0
4.5/0 4.5/6 4.5/0 0/10 0/4.5
4/5 4/5
3/5 3/0 3/6 4/5 5/0
4.5/4.5
9/0
4.5/0
10/0
4.5/0 0/5
6/0
4.5/0
4/0
5/0 3/0
4.5/0 4.5/0
10.5/0
Biology/ Physiology3
4.5/0 4.5/0 4.5/0
4/3 9/0
4.5/0 4.5/4.5
0/5
4.5/4.5
Genetics/ Breeding3
3
4.5
Judging
TABLE 4. — Course-work required or taken by most poultry science majors (Quarter hours or equivalent)
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03
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z > z
M
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C/5
00
CO
879
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS TABLE 5 .—Coursework offered in poultry science with no major offered (quarter hours or equivalent) Basic course
University Cornell Illinois Iowa Maine Minnesota New Mexico Purdue Tennessee
Production/ Management*
4.5 4 6 4.5 4.5 4
Nutrition a
Biology/ Physiology
Judging
Diseases
1.5/0 6/4.5 6
6/0
4.5
3/0 0/4.5 0/3
First number represents poultry science listing; second number represents interdepartmental listing.
Judging Poultry and Poultry Products. Only 8 of the 17 departments offer credit-carrying courses devoted entirely to poultry judging or evaluation of poultry and poultry products. However the University of Georgia, Texas A&M University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU), and possibly others not listing any course offering in this category have judging teams participate in intercollegiate contests. At OSU, interested students may register for up to 5 credits of group studies devoted to the evaluation of poultry and poultry products and preparation for participation in intercollegiate contests. Despite the fact that this category of courses is listed in Table 4, it is questionable whether the courses are actually "required" for major designation. Response from the University of
Georgia specified a 3 credit elective offering, not taken by most poultry science students. The University of Tennessee, although not offering a poultry major, has a 3-credit course in this category (Table 5). Genetics/Poultry Breeding. Genetics and poultry breeding courses are required in the poultry major program at 14 of the 17 universities. At 6 of the universities offering a poultry major, courses in this category having interdepartmental listings are taken either exclusively or in addition to a poultry breeding course. At OSU, one 5-credit course in animal breeding is offered but is not required of poultry science majors. Currently, poultry science faculty do not participate in the instruction of this course. Of the remaining 13 departments listing courses in this category, only Auburn University and
TABLE 6.—Academic credit allowed for internships/work
University
Maximum duration (weeks)
Auburn Colorado Florida Georgia Michigan State Missouri Ohio State Pennsylvania State Texas A&M Wisconsin
10 15 12 8 10 Summer 10 10 20 16
Quarter hr or equivalent.
experience programs
Maximum credit a 6 24 4
5 10 9
5 10 12 3
Total poultry science credits required 3 24 39
15 31 21 34.5 35 19.5
39 27
880
STEPHENS AND NABER TABLE 7 .—Summary of poultry science courses required for major3-
Introductory poultry science Production/management Diseases and parasites Incubation/brooding Poultry products technology Poultry breeding/genetics c Poultry biology/physiology c Poultry nutrition 0
Depts. requiring course a
Avg. credits 0 quarter hr
Ohio State requirement
12 16 13 6 14 14 14 16
4.4 7.1 4.6 3.8 4.2 5.7 5.8 7.0
5.0 0 5 0 5 0 10 10
Of 17 departments responding. Total credits dividied by the number of departments requiring course. Includes credits for courses cross-listed with other departments.
VPI & SU rely entirely upon interdepartmental courses for instruction in poultry genetics and breeding (Table 4). The average number of credits in this category indicated by the 14 departments, including interdepartmental courses, is 5.7. Poultry Biology/Physiology. Poultry biology/physiology courses are taken by poultry majors in 14 of the 17 universities (Table 4). The average number of credits taken, including cross-listed courses, is 5.8 with a range of from 3 to 10.5 quarter hr. At VPI & SU, the poultry majors take one course in poultry physiology and an additional 4-credit interdepartmental course. At OSU, two 5-credit courses in the past have been taken by poultry majors — one entitled "Avian Growth and Meat Production"
and the other "Egg Production and Reproduction". A new 5-credit poultry physiology course has been developed to replace these courses. Nutrition. Among the 17 departments offering a major in poultry science, only the University of Maryland indicated no minimum requirement in the area of nutrition for poultry majors. Of the remaining 16 departments only VPI & SU and OSU indicated dependence upon interdepartmental courses for all their instruction in poultry nutrition, but several indicated dependence on such sources for part of the instruction. The average number of credits in nutrition required or taken by most poultry science majors at the 16 universities was calculated to
TABLE 8.—Suggested minimum coursework in poultry science for major
Introductory poultry science Production/management Poultry diseases and parasites Poultry breeding Poultry physiology/biology Poultry nutrition Poultry products technology Total Quarter hr or equivalent. b
FromTable7.
Credits'1
Avg. credits now required''
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 35
4.4 7.1 4.6 5.7 5.8 7.0 4.2 38.8
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS
be 7.0 quarter hr. Three of the 8 departments not offering a major in poultry science offer courses in poultry nutrition. Two others reported offerings in animal nutrition including poultry nutrition (Table 3). Internship/Work-Experience Programs. Academic credit which may be counted toward fulfilling requirements for the B.S. degree is available for work experience/internship programs at 10 of the 17 universities (Table 6). The range in maximum allowable credit is from 3 to 24 quarter hr. The average of 8.8 credits for the 10 departments is skewed by the maximum of 24 credits allowed by Colorado State University. Among the remaining 9 departments offering credit for such programs, the maximum allowable credit permitted is 12 hr at Texas A&M and 10 hr at Pennsylvania State and Michigan State. Fewest credits are allowed at the University of Wisconsin, where students may earn 3 credits for a maximum of 16 weeks participation. Summary of "Major Courses" Requirements. A summary of the average major course requirements and a comparison of these with the OSU requirements are presented in Table 7. Utilizing both Tables 4 and 7, the average credits required in each area may be compared with those required or taken by most poultry science majors at each of the 17 universities offering the major. In comparison to the "average" requirements, Ohio State University's offerings appear deficient in the production/ management category, especially in consideration of the fact that no course devoted entirely to incubation and/or brooding is offered. We believe that poultry judging is at present adequately covered at OSU through a group studies course. The OSU offerings in avian biology/ physiology and in nutrition exceed the average requirements of all departments offering courses in these areas; however, some management aspects of incubation and poultry production have been included in the physiology courses. Both of the nutrition courses required of poultry majors are cross-listed with other departments and neither course is devoted entirely to poultry nutrition. As noted above, we have proposed a new poultry physiology course
2 These changes were approved by the University Committee on Academic Affairs effective spring quarter, 1978.
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and a poultry management course to replace the two poultry physiology-based courses previously offered 2 . Eight of the 17 departments have no established policy as to requirements for graduate students who have not previously taken poultry science courses required of undergraduate majors (Table 1). All of the remaining 9 departments indicated that graduate students must take some or all poultry courses required of undergraduates, and five of these allow graduate students to receive graduate credit for some or all undergraduate poultry courses required.
DISCUSSION Considerable variation exists in requirements for a major in poultry science between universities offering the B.S. degree with a major in poultry science. No attempt has been made in this study to determine what overall program is best since this study centers only upon "major" courses required and does not consider requirements in supporting areas. It is obvious that low enrollment in poultry science courses at some universities necessitates cooperation with other departments in the offering of interdepartmental courses not devoted entirely to poultry science and perhaps not emphasizing poultry science. Courses in some disciplines may also be more efficiently taught by an interdepartmental approach. Further, we suspect that in some instances attempts are made to utilize the expertise of existing faculty rather than to teach courses based entirely upon providing a total program of coursework to prepare students for careers in poultry science and the poultry industry. If given the freedom to develop a program of minimum coursework for a major in poultry science, we believe that the program outlined in Table 8, which conforms rather closely to the average requirements of the 17 departments offering a major in poultry science, would provide excellent preparation for careers in the poultry industry. The poultry science offerings should, of course, be well-coordinated and adequately supported with additional agriculture courses, as well as coursework in the life sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Also, our experiences suggest that internships or some work in poultry production enterprises is of considerable benefit whether or not college credit is awarded.
882
STEPHENS AND NABER REFERENCES
Bletner, J. K., H. V. Shirley, and H. C. Goan, 1973. Poultry in the new undergraduate animal science
curriculum at the University of Tennessee. Poultry Sci. 52:1999. Stephens, J. F., E. C. Naber, G. A. Marsh, and J. D. Latshaw, 1973. A prescribed curriculum for poultry science majors. Poultry Sci. 52:2090.
'Approved for publication as Journal Article No. 185-77 of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. 1978 Poultry Sci 57:875-882
p o u l t r y science (Table 1). N o a t t e m p t was m a d e t o c o m p a r e requirements of t h e various universities for B.S. degrees in agriculture, b u t requirements in selected programs a t T h e Ohio State University are provided for illustrative purposes (Table 2). T h e area of investigation in this s t u d y centers u p o n t h e " m a j o r c o u r s e s " category in this illustration. Responses t o t h e questions were t a b u l a t e d for c o m p a r i s o n , with course titles being used t o identify credits required in various subject m a t t e r areas. This compilation (Tables 3 and 4) was r e t u r n e d t o representatives of each of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s listed in Table 3 for validation or corrections in August 1 9 7 7 .
RESULTS A t o t a l of 2 7 questionnaires was r e t u r n e d : 17 from d e p a r t m e n t s offering a major in poult r y science or major emphasis in p o u l t r y science, and 10 from d e p a r t m e n t s n o t offering this major. T w o of t h e 10 d e p a r t m e n t s having n o major offered n o courses in p o u l t r y science, as best w e could determine, so n o further use was m a d e of their responses. Responses t o t h e request for validation of the i n f o r m a t i o n presented in Tables 3 and 4 were received from 14 of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 . P o u l t r y science credits required for t h e
875
STEPHENS AND NABER
876
TABLE 1 .—Questionnaire for selected
departments
1. How many ( ) quarter, ( ) semester hours of Poultry Science are required for a major? 2. How many credits toward a B.S. degree are allowed for internship or work experience programs? Duration of internship = weeks. 3. Titles of Poultry Science courses ( ) required of, ( ) taken by most undergraduate Poultry Science majors. Credit hours
Course
4. Are graduate students who have not previously taken poultry science courses required of undergraduate majors required to take these courses? ( ) yes, ( ) no, ( ) no policy established. 5. If answer to question 4 is "yes", do graduate students received graduate credit for these courses? ( ) yes, ()no.
major designation were found t o range from 15 t o 51 q u a r t e r hr o r t h e equivalent thereof (Table 3). Mississippi S t a t e University and t h e University of Arkansas require t h e greatest n u m b e r of credits of p o u l t r y majors while t h e University of Florida requires t h e fewest. T h e average r e q u i r e m e n t of t h e 17 d e p a r t m e n t s offering a p o u l t r y science major was found t o be 32 hr o n a q u a r t e r basis (21.3 semester hr). Ohio State University (OSU) requires 35 q u a r t e r hr of credit in p o u l t r y science for a
major, b u t 10 of t h e 35 hr are nutrition courses cross-listed w i t h o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s . Inform a t i o n presented in these courses is n o t limited to p o u l t r y and m o s t sections of t h e courses are t a u g h t b y n o n - p o u l t r y science faculty. This situation exists in p o u l t r y science d e p a r t m e n t s at several o t h e r universities as well. In some cases s t u d e n t s register for courses with titles such as " A n i m a l I n d u s t r i e s " or " A n i m a l Nutrit i o n " which carry n o d e p a r t m e n t a l designation. Introductory Poultry Science. According t o
TABLE 2.—Requirements for B.S. degree in Agriculture The Ohio State University Selected programs
Agriculture
University college 100 Humanities Social sciences Communications Physical education Agriculture core courses Biological sciences Chemistry Mathematics Additional mathematics, statistics, computer science, and accounting Agriculture electives Business core courses Physics "Major" courses Electives Total credits required Quarter hr.
Agricultural industries
Agricultural science
1 15 15 13 3 15 15 10 5
1 15 15 13 3 15 10 10 5
1 15 15 13 3 15 20 23 15
4 15
8
4
24 25- -45 40- -60 196
25-45 32-52 196
10 25-45 17-37 196
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS
TABLE 3 .—Credits in poultry science required for major Quarter hr or equivalent University of Arkansas Auburn University Clemson University Colorado State University University of Florida University of Georgia Michigan State University University of Maryland Mississippi State University University of Missouri University of Nebraska North Carolina State University Ohio State University Pennsylvania State .University Texas A&M University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University University of Wisconsin Average
46.5 24 39 39 15 31 21 18 51 34.5 30 39 35 19.5 39 35 27 32.0
our interpretation of information provided, twelve of the 17 departments offering a major, or major emphasis, in poultry science have their students take an introductory poultry course (Table 4). An introductory course is offered by the University of Georgia, but poultry majors are not required to take it. Most, if not all, of the universities without an introductory poultry science course offera basic animalsciences course providing some introductory information in poultry science. The average number of credits allocated to the introductory course by the 12 departments is 4.4 quarter hr with a range of 3 to 6 hr. Production/Management. Courses counted as production/management include such titles as broiler production, turkey production, egg production, as well as poultry management. Of the 17 departments offering a major, or major emphasis, in poultry science, only OSU does not require a production/management course. At OSU attempts have been made to incorporate poultry production and business management into other courses that all poultry majors are required to take. A separate management course has now been prepared. The average number of credits indicated by the 16 departments is 7.1; the range being from
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4 to 13.5 quarter hr (Table4). Three of the 8 departments not offering a poultry major also listed poultry production/management courses (Table 5). Diseases and Parasites. Considerable emphasis is placed on poultry health in departments offering a major in poultry science. Thirteen of the 17 departments have their students take a course in poultry diseases and parasites. Courses such as "Avian Diseases" taught as veterinary science courses were included in this category. The number of credit hours offered ranges from 3 to 6, with the average being 4.6 quarter hr. The Universities of Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania State University did not indicate the requirement of a poultry diseases course in their programs (Table 4). Of the 8 universities offering poultry courses, but not a major in poultry science, only the University of Tennessee offers a poultry diseases and parasites course (Table 5). Obviously, some of the departments not having poultry diseases, and parasites courses may require that their students take animal health courses offered by colleges of veterinary medicine or other departments within the university. Incubation/Brooding. Only 6 of the 17 departments have students take a course devoted entirely to incubation and/or brooding (Table 4). The range in credits offered is from 1.5 at the University of Maryland to 7.5 credits at Mississippi State University. The average number of credits offered by the 6 departments is 3.8. At OSU, incubation and brooding are discussed in the introductory poultry science course and are given further attention in the department's physiology-based courses. Obviously, these areas may be given attention in production/management courses by some departments. Poultry Products Technology. A poultry products technology course is taken by poultry majors at 14 of 17 universities with a range of only 3 to 5 quarter hr (Table 4). The offering at the University of Wisconsin included in this category has the title of "Marketing Poultry Products". Titles of courses offered at other universities and included in this category clearly indicate that the subject matter deals with the processing, chemistry, and microbiology of eggs and poultry meat. The average number of credits offered in this category by the 14 departments is 4.2 quarter hr. Purdue University, which does not offer a poultry science major, offers a 3credit course in egg products technology.
9 13.5
6 4.5
3 4.5
4.5 7.5 4 10 4.5 5 9 9 4.5 6
Production/ Management
4.5 4.5 6 5 3 4.5
4
5 4.5 4.5
Introductory Poultry Sci.
3
4.5
4.5 6 5
5 4.5 4 4.5
4.5 5 6 3
Poultry Diseases
Available but not taken by most poultry science majors.
First number represents poultry science listing; second represents interdepartmental listing.
Average
Arkansas Auburn Clemson Colorado Florida Georgia Maryland Michigan State Mississippi State Missouri Nebraska North Carolina State Ohio State Pennsylvania State Texas A&M Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Wisconsin
University
1.5
3 3 4
Incubation/ Brooding
3 4.5
4.5 4.5 5 3 4.5
4.5 3 4.5 4.5 4 5 4.5
Products Technology
2
3 3
6
3/0 5/0
3 3b
6/0 0/8 9/0
3/4
4.5/0
0/5
4.5/0
4.5/0 4.5/6 4.5/0 0/10 0/4.5
4/5 4/5
3/5 3/0 3/6 4/5 5/0
4.5/4.5
9/0
4.5/0
10/0
4.5/0 0/5
6/0
4.5/0
4/0
5/0 3/0
4.5/0 4.5/0
10.5/0
Biology/ Physiology3
4.5/0 4.5/0 4.5/0
4/3 9/0
4.5/0 4.5/4.5
0/5
4.5/4.5
Genetics/ Breeding3
3
4.5
Judging
TABLE 4. — Course-work required or taken by most poultry science majors (Quarter hours or equivalent)
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CO
879
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS TABLE 5 .—Coursework offered in poultry science with no major offered (quarter hours or equivalent) Basic course
University Cornell Illinois Iowa Maine Minnesota New Mexico Purdue Tennessee
Production/ Management*
4.5 4 6 4.5 4.5 4
Nutrition a
Biology/ Physiology
Judging
Diseases
1.5/0 6/4.5 6
6/0
4.5
3/0 0/4.5 0/3
First number represents poultry science listing; second number represents interdepartmental listing.
Judging Poultry and Poultry Products. Only 8 of the 17 departments offer credit-carrying courses devoted entirely to poultry judging or evaluation of poultry and poultry products. However the University of Georgia, Texas A&M University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU), and possibly others not listing any course offering in this category have judging teams participate in intercollegiate contests. At OSU, interested students may register for up to 5 credits of group studies devoted to the evaluation of poultry and poultry products and preparation for participation in intercollegiate contests. Despite the fact that this category of courses is listed in Table 4, it is questionable whether the courses are actually "required" for major designation. Response from the University of
Georgia specified a 3 credit elective offering, not taken by most poultry science students. The University of Tennessee, although not offering a poultry major, has a 3-credit course in this category (Table 5). Genetics/Poultry Breeding. Genetics and poultry breeding courses are required in the poultry major program at 14 of the 17 universities. At 6 of the universities offering a poultry major, courses in this category having interdepartmental listings are taken either exclusively or in addition to a poultry breeding course. At OSU, one 5-credit course in animal breeding is offered but is not required of poultry science majors. Currently, poultry science faculty do not participate in the instruction of this course. Of the remaining 13 departments listing courses in this category, only Auburn University and
TABLE 6.—Academic credit allowed for internships/work
University
Maximum duration (weeks)
Auburn Colorado Florida Georgia Michigan State Missouri Ohio State Pennsylvania State Texas A&M Wisconsin
10 15 12 8 10 Summer 10 10 20 16
Quarter hr or equivalent.
experience programs
Maximum credit a 6 24 4
5 10 9
5 10 12 3
Total poultry science credits required 3 24 39
15 31 21 34.5 35 19.5
39 27
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STEPHENS AND NABER TABLE 7 .—Summary of poultry science courses required for major3-
Introductory poultry science Production/management Diseases and parasites Incubation/brooding Poultry products technology Poultry breeding/genetics c Poultry biology/physiology c Poultry nutrition 0
Depts. requiring course a
Avg. credits 0 quarter hr
Ohio State requirement
12 16 13 6 14 14 14 16
4.4 7.1 4.6 3.8 4.2 5.7 5.8 7.0
5.0 0 5 0 5 0 10 10
Of 17 departments responding. Total credits dividied by the number of departments requiring course. Includes credits for courses cross-listed with other departments.
VPI & SU rely entirely upon interdepartmental courses for instruction in poultry genetics and breeding (Table 4). The average number of credits in this category indicated by the 14 departments, including interdepartmental courses, is 5.7. Poultry Biology/Physiology. Poultry biology/physiology courses are taken by poultry majors in 14 of the 17 universities (Table 4). The average number of credits taken, including cross-listed courses, is 5.8 with a range of from 3 to 10.5 quarter hr. At VPI & SU, the poultry majors take one course in poultry physiology and an additional 4-credit interdepartmental course. At OSU, two 5-credit courses in the past have been taken by poultry majors — one entitled "Avian Growth and Meat Production"
and the other "Egg Production and Reproduction". A new 5-credit poultry physiology course has been developed to replace these courses. Nutrition. Among the 17 departments offering a major in poultry science, only the University of Maryland indicated no minimum requirement in the area of nutrition for poultry majors. Of the remaining 16 departments only VPI & SU and OSU indicated dependence upon interdepartmental courses for all their instruction in poultry nutrition, but several indicated dependence on such sources for part of the instruction. The average number of credits in nutrition required or taken by most poultry science majors at the 16 universities was calculated to
TABLE 8.—Suggested minimum coursework in poultry science for major
Introductory poultry science Production/management Poultry diseases and parasites Poultry breeding Poultry physiology/biology Poultry nutrition Poultry products technology Total Quarter hr or equivalent. b
FromTable7.
Credits'1
Avg. credits now required''
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 35
4.4 7.1 4.6 5.7 5.8 7.0 4.2 38.8
UNDERGRADUATE POULTRY SCIENCE PROGRAMS
be 7.0 quarter hr. Three of the 8 departments not offering a major in poultry science offer courses in poultry nutrition. Two others reported offerings in animal nutrition including poultry nutrition (Table 3). Internship/Work-Experience Programs. Academic credit which may be counted toward fulfilling requirements for the B.S. degree is available for work experience/internship programs at 10 of the 17 universities (Table 6). The range in maximum allowable credit is from 3 to 24 quarter hr. The average of 8.8 credits for the 10 departments is skewed by the maximum of 24 credits allowed by Colorado State University. Among the remaining 9 departments offering credit for such programs, the maximum allowable credit permitted is 12 hr at Texas A&M and 10 hr at Pennsylvania State and Michigan State. Fewest credits are allowed at the University of Wisconsin, where students may earn 3 credits for a maximum of 16 weeks participation. Summary of "Major Courses" Requirements. A summary of the average major course requirements and a comparison of these with the OSU requirements are presented in Table 7. Utilizing both Tables 4 and 7, the average credits required in each area may be compared with those required or taken by most poultry science majors at each of the 17 universities offering the major. In comparison to the "average" requirements, Ohio State University's offerings appear deficient in the production/ management category, especially in consideration of the fact that no course devoted entirely to incubation and/or brooding is offered. We believe that poultry judging is at present adequately covered at OSU through a group studies course. The OSU offerings in avian biology/ physiology and in nutrition exceed the average requirements of all departments offering courses in these areas; however, some management aspects of incubation and poultry production have been included in the physiology courses. Both of the nutrition courses required of poultry majors are cross-listed with other departments and neither course is devoted entirely to poultry nutrition. As noted above, we have proposed a new poultry physiology course
2 These changes were approved by the University Committee on Academic Affairs effective spring quarter, 1978.
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and a poultry management course to replace the two poultry physiology-based courses previously offered 2 . Eight of the 17 departments have no established policy as to requirements for graduate students who have not previously taken poultry science courses required of undergraduate majors (Table 1). All of the remaining 9 departments indicated that graduate students must take some or all poultry courses required of undergraduates, and five of these allow graduate students to receive graduate credit for some or all undergraduate poultry courses required.
DISCUSSION Considerable variation exists in requirements for a major in poultry science between universities offering the B.S. degree with a major in poultry science. No attempt has been made in this study to determine what overall program is best since this study centers only upon "major" courses required and does not consider requirements in supporting areas. It is obvious that low enrollment in poultry science courses at some universities necessitates cooperation with other departments in the offering of interdepartmental courses not devoted entirely to poultry science and perhaps not emphasizing poultry science. Courses in some disciplines may also be more efficiently taught by an interdepartmental approach. Further, we suspect that in some instances attempts are made to utilize the expertise of existing faculty rather than to teach courses based entirely upon providing a total program of coursework to prepare students for careers in poultry science and the poultry industry. If given the freedom to develop a program of minimum coursework for a major in poultry science, we believe that the program outlined in Table 8, which conforms rather closely to the average requirements of the 17 departments offering a major in poultry science, would provide excellent preparation for careers in the poultry industry. The poultry science offerings should, of course, be well-coordinated and adequately supported with additional agriculture courses, as well as coursework in the life sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Also, our experiences suggest that internships or some work in poultry production enterprises is of considerable benefit whether or not college credit is awarded.
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STEPHENS AND NABER REFERENCES
Bletner, J. K., H. V. Shirley, and H. C. Goan, 1973. Poultry in the new undergraduate animal science
curriculum at the University of Tennessee. Poultry Sci. 52:1999. Stephens, J. F., E. C. Naber, G. A. Marsh, and J. D. Latshaw, 1973. A prescribed curriculum for poultry science majors. Poultry Sci. 52:2090.