The departmental-level academic course plan for each student will be developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. The committee will include the student’s major advisor and at least two additional members of the graduate faculty such that the Louisiana State University Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied.

The PhD degree in Animal and Dairy Sciences from Louisiana State University is a research degree requiring a dissertation project. Coursework to be taken for the PhD degree must be approved by the student’s advisory committee and the graduate dean. A minimum of 9 hours of dissertation (ANSC 9000) is required; a minimum of 54 credit hours of graduate coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree must be taken, which can include up to 30 hours of credit transferred en bloc from a master’s program at another institution. 

Research is performed with beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, and various laboratory species. Interactions of school faculty with scientists in the School of Veterinary Medicine, Pennington Biomedical Research Institute, and units of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station (LAES) throughout the state provide a vast array of research opportunities for graduate students in the animal sciences.