Animal Science (Non-Thesis): Sustainable Agriculture (M.Sc.A.) (45 credits)
Offered by: Animal Science (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Master of Science, Applied
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
Climate change and rising human population have increased the need for sustainable agricultural practices. The Sustainable Agriculture option is taken with a M.Sc. Applied (Non-Thesis) program, and designed for students who wish to supplement their basic degree with graduate studies in animal science, with a specific focus on sustainability in agriculture. Students will be exposed to different approaches to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems through specialized coursework and a research project. The program aims to provide graduate training in applied areas of animal production with a view toward integrating technology and management in sustainable animal production with allied areas of agricultural resource utilization.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Research Project (15 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANSC 643 | Project 1. | 3 |
Project 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Review of the literature and design of the project. This project relates to the M.Sc. Applied (non-thesis) degree. | ||
| ANSC 644 | Project 2. | 3 |
Project 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Continuation of the review of the literature and design of project. This project relates to the M.Sc. Applied (non-thesis) degree. | ||
| ANSC 645 | Project 3. | 3 |
Project 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Execution and write-up of project. This project relates to the M.Sc. Applied (non-thesis) degree. | ||
| ANSC 646 | Project 4. | 3 |
Project 4. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Continuation of write-up and submission of project. This project relates to the M.Sc. Applied (non-thesis) degree. | ||
| ANSC 647 | Project 5. | 3 |
Project 5. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Seminar and project presentations. This oral presentation of the project relates to the M.Sc. Applied (non-thesis) degree. | ||
Required Courses (12 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANSC 555 | The Use and Welfare of Animals. | 3 |
The Use and Welfare of Animals. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Understanding the roles in which animals are used by Society, especially in food production, companionship, research, and recreation; application of the scientific approaches that are used in assessing and improving animal welfare; and use of ethical approaches that are invoked in the use of animals, often in controversial contexts. An interdisciplinary course, based on active participation and discussion-method learning. | ||
| BREE 533 | Water Quality Management. | 3 |
Water Quality Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The water phases of terrestrial ecological systems and the processes that link them. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of water, and water quality standards. The fate and transport of pollutants in rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands. Methods to quantify soil carbon and nitrogen cycle to predict nutrient leaching. Impacts of human activities (e.g., agricultural drainage) on water quality and measures to improve drainage water quality. Assess the effectiveness of proposed engineering measures or management practices in improving or maintaining water quality of a real site/water body using numerical methods or a computer modelling approach. | ||
| IGFS 611 | Advanced Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture. | 3 |
Advanced Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A comprehensive view and understanding of world issues (agronomic, environmental and socio-economic) affecting development, poverty, hunger and food security. Topics cover rural development; soil and water management; climate change; demographic issues; gender equality; fair-trade food; plant and animal resources conservation; bio-products and biofuels; and economic and environmental issues - especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globalization, sustainable development in agriculture, technology transfer and human-resources needs for rural development. Students attend guest lectures, interact with domain experts, and participate in round-table discussions. Students prepare a development project in the form of a funding application, following the norms of an established agency. | ||
| PLNT 602 | Advances in Agronomy. | 3 |
Advances in Agronomy. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Current topics related to the growth and development and quality of crops. Topics to be covered may include factors affecting crop growth, yield and advances in plant breeding. | ||
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
0-6 credits of sufficient 500-, or 600-level courses (with Adviser's approval) to bring the total credits to 45.
3 credits from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEMA 610 | Statistical Methods 2. | 3 |
Statistical Methods 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles of linear models, multiple regression equations and classification models. Introduction to Analysis of Variance and common statistical designs used in agricultural and environmental sciences. Emphasis on balanced and unbalanced designs and data structures; their analysis and tests of statistical significance. | ||
| AEMA 611 | Experimental Designs 1. | 3 |
Experimental Designs 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 General principles of experimental design, split-plot designs, spatial heterogeneity and experimental design, incomplete block designs and unbalanced designs, analysis of repeated measures, multivariate and modified univariate analyses of variance, central composite designs. | ||
| AEMA 614 | Temporal and Spatial Statistics 1. | 3 |
Temporal and Spatial Statistics 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Temporal statistics: analysis in the time domain, Box-Jenkins forecasting methodology, analysis in the frequency domain, periodogram analysis. Spatial statistics: mapping, autocorrelogram analysis, geostatistics. Statistical inference with autocorrelated sample data. | ||
9-15 credits from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANSC 530 | Experimental Techniques in Nutrition. | 3 |
Experimental Techniques in Nutrition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Design and conduction of animal studies, selection of experimental animals, chemical and biological assays, statistical analysis, interpretation of data and preparation of technical reports. | ||
| ANSC 551 | Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism. | 3 |
Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of carbohydrate and lipid from the cellular level through the multi-organ of the whole organism. Main topics will include biothermodynamics, calorimetry, cellular metabolism and functions of carbohydrate and lipid, digestion, absorption and utilization of dietary carbohydrate and lipid. | ||
| ANSC 552 | Protein Metabolism and Nutrition. | 3 |
Protein Metabolism and Nutrition. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of amino acids and proteins from the cellular level on through the multisystem operation of the whole organism. Main topics include cellular metabolism and functions of amino acids and proteins, digestion, absorption and utilization of dietary protein. Comparison between farm animals and humans. | ||
| ANSC 560 | Biology of Lactation. | 3 |
Biology of Lactation. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An interdisciplinary approach to the study of mammary development, the onset of lactation and its cessation, comparing the differences in mammalian species in mammary development from embryological, pre- and post-pubertal and pre- and post-partum aspects. Lactation at the cellular and biochemical levels. | ||
| ANSC 604 | Advanced Animal Biotechnology. | 3 |
Advanced Animal Biotechnology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 New concepts and applications of animal biotechnology in agriculture, biomedicine, environmental preservation. | ||
| ANSC 611 | Advanced Reproductive Biology. | 3 |
Advanced Reproductive Biology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An introduction to key concepts in reproductive biology and principles of emerging reproductive technologies. Modules covered include oogenesis and folliculogenesis, fertilization, embryo development, reproductive biotechnology and new directions in reproductive biology. | ||
| FDSC 545 | Advances in Food Microbiology. | 3 |
Advances in Food Microbiology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An advanced level food microbiology course providing a perspective on advanced topics in food microbiology (microbial biofilms, antimicrobial resistance, bacterial endospores) and describing the fundamental principles of advanced techniques in food microbiology (microbiological, biochemical, immunological, genetics methods). | ||
| PLNT 635 | Advanced Plant Breeding. | 3 |
Advanced Plant Breeding. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Improving crop traits to meet the needs of feeding a growing population under the threat of climate change and other factors. Quantitative genetic variation and inheritance. Fundamental and advanced topics in breeding for quantitative traits. Use of cutting-edge tools to solve plant breeding problems. Study quantitative trait variation at various levels (e.g., genomic to phenomic) | ||
| PLNT 662 | Advances in Plant Biotechnology. | 3 |
Advances in Plant Biotechnology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Current techniques used in plant molecular biology. Topics to be covered may include plant biotechnology, recombinant DNA techniques, transgenic plants as well and gene and gene product analysis. Review of current literature on selected topics in plant molecular biology and genetics. | ||