PhD program 

Overview

Students in the Ph.D. program must pass a comprehensive general exam on coursework, general knowledge, and critical thinking ability; an oral exam is required, and a written exam may also be administered at the examining committee’s discretion. A dissertation is required. Students are required to present a 30-45 minute public seminar in defense of their dissertation research prior to a comprehensive final oral exam with the student’s examining committee.

Animal Sciences, PhD

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 LSU Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied. At least one of the graduate faculty members in addition to the major advisor must be from the school.

The PhD degree 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 54 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree which can include up to 30 hours of credit transferred from a masters program at another institution is required. All credits earned at LSU while enrolled in a graduate program (excluding thesis research hours) can be applied to the Ph D program.  The minimum requirement of 54 hours must include at least 30 hours of graded course work and 9 hours of dissertation (ANSC 9000).  The graded course work must include at least 15 hours at or above the 7000 level.

The curricular requirements include:

• At least two hours of seminar (ANSC 7091 or equivalent)
• No more than 6 hours of ANSC 7061 can be applied to the degree

Students in the PhD program must pass a comprehensive general exam on coursework, general knowledge, and critical thinking ability; an oral exam is required, and a written exam may also be administered at the examining committee’s discretion. A dissertation is required. Students are required to present a 30-45 minute public seminar in defense of their dissertation research prior to a comprehensive final oral exam with the student’s examining committee.

Admission

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the School of Animal Sciences for each semester (fall, spring, summer). Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, acceptable GRE scores, and three letters of recommendation. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

When all admission requirements are met, full admission will be considered by the graduate faculty members in the prospective student’s area of interest. Final admittance to the program must be supported by a member of the graduate faculty in the school, thus students are encouraged to communicate with faculty directly about the possibility of working in a faculty member’s program. If a student does not meet all requirements, he or she may be admitted provisionally (e.g., on probation if the GPA is not 3.0 or better).

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Support may be available through the school or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. Assistantships are awarded through faculty members, so applicants should contact individual faculty members concerning the availability of funding. Students on assistantship receive full tuition waivers but are responsible for university fees. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted as early as possible before the actual admitting semester.