Animal Science Core Concepts Certificate

Career Description

Students completing this certificate could be eligible for an animal technician position in any of the following animal industry segments: an animal production or care facility, humane society, COOP, zoo, farm retail sales, or any agriculturally related industry that serves or works with animals, including companion animals. The courses included in this certificate DO NOT include the hands-on experience required for a student to become a Veterinary Technician or to qualify to take the Veterinary Technician certification exam.

Program Information

The Animal Science Core Concepts Certificate provides students with a broad introduction to the basic science and management behind raising healthy, content, agricultural production animals, profitably and humanely as well as how to care for companion animals including: reptiles, amphibians, birds, rodents, dogs, cats and horses. Specific topics included in the certificate are: nutrition, animal anatomy & physiology, animal health, companion animal biology and care, animal behavior, biosecurity on the farm, zoonotic diseases and food safety.

Program Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate a general understanding of the scientific and management practices involved in the agricultural animal production industries: dairy industry, beef industry, swine industry, poultry industry, aquaculture industry, rendering industry and feed industry;
• Locate and identify common anatomical features of domestic animals and explain the physiological function of the 11 major body systems and their primary organs;
• Read and interpret a feed tag or nutrition label and determine if the product is adequate to meet nutritional requirements of a specific species and class of animal;
• List the major causative agents of disease in domestic animals, the organs/tissues/systems they affect and diseases they result in and explain the function of the basic body defense systems and the principals of prevention of disease;
• Explain how to choose, feed, house, breed, care for and manage the major species of companion animals kept as pets in the U.S.; and
• Describe the types of substances that fall into the three categories of food contaminants and the risk factors associated with each sector of the food chain – production, harvest, transporting, processing, distribution, retail sale and home use.

Special Program Requirements

In addition to the program requirements, students must meet the following conditions in order to graduate:

• College Cumulative GPA Requirement: cumulative grade point average (GPA) of credits attempted and completed at CLC must be at least 2.0;
• College Technical Core GPA Requirement: cumulative GPA of credits attempted and completed towards the technical core of the diploma or degree must be at least 2.0;
• Residency Requirement: students must complete 25% of their credits at Central Lakes College.

Accreditation

None

Admissions

All but one Animal Science course is open to students satisfying general admission requirements for Central Lakes College.

Transfer Opportunities

Many animal science courses can be transferred to a variety of four year colleges and universities that offer agriculture or animal related degrees including: Agricultural Education, Animal Science, pre-Veterinarian, an pre-Veterinary Technician degrees. No articulation agreements or specific transfer pathways have been established at this time.

Advisory Board

Members Include: Todd Marotz – Wakefield Pork Gerald Toland – SMSU, Marshall John & Deb Chute – Cattlemen’s & Cattlewomen’s, Farm Bureau Brandon Severns – MN Turkey Growers Chuck Horsager – Wadena Co. Commissioner – retired Cory Detloff – Staples Ag. Program Director Randy Arnhalt – Land O Lakes Keith Olander – AgCentric Director

Employment Statistics

For more information regarding employment statistics, career salary information and estimated job growth, follow the resource links below:

https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/ces/
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm
Salary information from indeed.com