The mission of the VDPAM PhD Program is to promote research, disseminate knowledge, and create future leaders in the area of Population Sciences in Animal Health.
By nature, research and training in Population Sciences is cross-disciplinary with other graduate programs at ISU, e.g., agricultural and biosystems engineering, animal science, animal behavior and welfare, bioinformatics and computational biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, economics, genetics and genomics, immunobiology, veterinary microbiology, veterinary pathology, statistics, and toxicology.
The purview of the program is broadly inclusive (wildlife, companion animal, livestock and poultry populations), with emphasis on Iowa livestock and poultry.
The objective of the program is to train future leaders and create/disseminate knowledge in the area of Population Sciences in Animal Health. Program graduates will be prepared to respond to health and welfare issues in animal populations through research, education, clinical medicine, extension, and outreach.
The Doctorate in Population Sciences in Animal Health program is structured and administered in accordance with the policies and rules established by the Iowa State University Graduate College. In brief, the student's work and progress will be under the supervision of a major professor and a Program of Study committee. Successful completion of the program will be achieved through the defense of a doctoral dissertation and completion of a minimum of 72 credits consistent with the tables below.
Required courses (minimum of 18 course credits):
A. Required core courses (select all)
|
Description |
Credits |
Semester |
|
|
GR ST 565 or |
Responsible Conduct of Research; Ethics in Scientific Research and Writing, respectively |
1 Cr |
S, F |
|
STAT 587 ON* |
Statistical Methods for Research Workers |
4 Cr |
S, SS, F |
|
VDPAM 527 ON |
Applied Statistical Methods in Population Studies |
3 Cr |
Alt F, Odd |
|
VDPAM 528 ON |
Principles of Epidemiology and Population Health |
3 Cr |
S |
|
VDPAM 529 ON |
Epidemiological Methods in Population Research |
3 Cr |
Alt F, Even |
|
VDPAM 699 ON |
Research |
Variable |
S, SS, F |
B. Required applied courses (select at least 2 out of 6):
|
Course |
Description |
Credits |
Semester |
|
VDPAM 560X ON |
Ecology of Infectious Disease |
3 Cr |
Alt S, Odd |
|
VDPAM 562X |
Applied Diagnostic Technologies |
3 Cr |
Alt F, Even |
|
VDPAM 564X ON |
Animal Welfare Science and Research |
2 Cr |
Alt S, Even |
|
VDPAM 650 |
Swine Diagnostic Medicine |
4 Cr |
F |
|
VDPAM 654 |
Comparative Antimicrobial Clinical Pharmacology |
2 Cr |
Alt F, Odd |
|
MIS 537 or IE 561 |
Project Management; Total Quality Management, respectively |
3 Cr |
F |
ON = available online. ON* = STAT 587 available online typically only in Summer. S = Spring, SS = Summer, F = Fall. Odd = offered in odd numbered years. Even = offered in even numbered years.
Elective courses: To be selected from ISU Graduate level courses in consultation with the student's Major Professor and Program of Study committee. At least 6 credits of elective courses are required, achieving a cumulative total of at least 26 course credits. The remaining credits for a total of 72 credits may be a combination of research credits (VDPAM 699) and graduate-level courses approved by the POSC.