Animal Science: Introductory Animal Sciences

An overview of the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, and management of livestock and recreation species; introduction to animal behavior, animal disease, and biotechnology. Prerequisite: Animal Science major, minor, or Instructor permission.

Must register for an ASCI 1000 lab; ASCI first-year students only; Materials fee: $51; One mandatory Wed seminar Open to degree and PACE students

***Please note that ASCI 1000 in the fall is only open to first year ASCI majors (the spring section of ASCI 1000 is open to other ASCI majors, ASCI minors, and those who simply have an interest in the course, if there is space). If you are not a first year ASCI major but feel that you need to take this course this semester, please email amaucieri@uvm.edu and jplatzer@uvm.edu for consideration. Note that the course capacity was set higher than labs can actually accommodate, so the number of open seats may not accurately reflect availability.*** ASCI 1000 offers an introduction into animal science fields such as behavior, nutrition, breeding/reproduction, and welfare as well as an introduction to species-specific animal science industries such as the dairy, beef, swine, poultry, equine, and companion animals. It also includes an emphasis on career options and readiness and UVM opportunities in Animal Science. The course is designed to feature guest lecturers of many different backgrounds to lecture on their area of expertise. By the end of the semester, students should be able to: • Define vocabulary terms used in the animal sciences. • Summarize a variety of animal science sub-disciplines, including animal nutrition, genetics, behavior, welfare, reproduction, behavior, and health. • Describe the basics of how and why various animal species are kept in animal agriculture systems. • Provide at least 10 examples of careers that support how animals and animal agriculture contribute to our society.

This 3 credit course meets twice a week for 50 minutes of lecture and then has a once-a-week, 3 hour lab component for experiential learning. These lab sections sometimes feature travel (provided) to different field trip locations, including but not limited to the Miller Farm (some are outside). Lab sometimes includes direct and indirect contact with different species of animals, so the ability to be around (and follow directions around) live animals is required. One week in the semester the regularly scheduled lab section is replaced by a mandatory lab session on Wednesday night from 7:00 to 8:30pm, which will be in a classroom on campus (you must meet there on time). The Tuesday morning lab section will only open if there is not enough space for all students in the other lab sections (so it likely will not open). Students should expect to spend up to six hours a week (approximately, though exact time requirements will vary by week) outside of lab/lecture time on this course, per University policy regarding work required for a three credit hour course.

This course utilizes a points-based grading system. Students earn points through exams (based on both lectures and textbook content, which are complementary but do not always overlap), lecture attendance and homework assignments, and lab attendance and assignments. The (closed book) exams are taken on Brightspace during the regular class time in the classroom (on students' own computers with a lockdown browser).