Applied Animal Biology - Master of Science - MSC - Postgraduate / Graduate Program - UBC Grad School

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Overview

Applied Animal Biology offers opportunities for advanced study and research leading to a M. Sc. degree in animal physiology, behaviour, welfare, and management of livestock, companion animals, research animals, wildlife species, aquaculture, and on the human-animal relationship.

The program is enriched through collaboration with colleagues in other UBC graduate programs such as Zoology, Population and Public Health, and with agencies such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Dairy Farmers of Canada and other livestock agencies and the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA).

On-campus teaching and research facilities are located in the MacMillan Building. Off-campus research facilities available to students include: the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz; shared research facilities at Fisheries and Oceans Canada at West Vancouver; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the BC SPCA.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

UBC is uniquely equipped to offer you a rich and well-rounded graduate degree in Applied Animal Biology. After all, we have been honing our expertise for over a century: The Faculty of Agriculture (now LFS) was one of UBC’s three founding faculties back in 1915, with Animal Husbandry as one of Agriculture’s first four programs. Still today, our MSc and PhD programs benefit from state-of-the-art on-campus teaching and research facilities, as well as off-campus research facilities. The Applied Animal Biology program is also home to the UBC Animal Welfare Program, the Dairy Education and Research Centre, and a graduate certificate in Aquaculture.

The Animal Welfare Program is one of the largest and most respected programs in the world in the field of animal welfare science. Since its inception in 1997, the Program’s research has led to improvements in the lives of animals in British Columbia and around the world. The mission of the program is to improve the welfare and humane care of animals in agriculture, research, companionship and other areas through active efforts in research, education and public outreach. For additional information visit: https://awp.landfood.ubc.ca/

My supervisory committee was formed by some of the most amazing mentors in my career.

Erin Ryan

Program Structure

Graduate training at the M.Sc. level in applied animal biology requires that the student completes a body of research leading to a thesis. Students are expected to publish their research results in relevant leading international refereed journals.

Completion of the MSc program requires a thesis (12 or 18 credits) plus coursework, for a total of 30 credits. With a 12-credit thesis, students can include a maximum of 6 credits of senior undergraduate courses. With an 18-credit thesis, students can include a maximum of 3 credits of senior undergraduate courses.

Students who are planning a professional career will typically enrol in the 12-credit thesis option. The 18-credit value option requires a more intensive research experience and is more appropriate for students considering the PhD program or a research career. The thesis credit decision should be determined in consultation with the student and research advisor at the start of the program.

Additional coursework may be recommended upon consultation with the student’s supervisory committee.

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components

Coursework + Thesis required

Academic Unit Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Specialization Applied Animal Biology

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: $5,626.02 | International: $9,883.98

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Program Enquiries

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

All full-time doctoral students within the AANB program will be provided with a funding package of at least $22,000 for each of the first two years of their M.Sc. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships.

Funding Statistics

Based on the criteria outlined below, 7 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $33,982 and a median of $34,124.

This results in a net balance (any funding provided to the student minus tuition and fees) mean of $25,889 and median of $25,752.

3 students received Teaching Assistantships. Median TA funding based on 3 students was $4,132.
7 students received Research Assistantships. Median RA funding based on 7 students was $11,950.
1 student received Academic Assistantships valued at $10,407.
7 students received internal awards. Median internal award funding based on 7 students was $6,064.
2 students received external awards. Median external award funding based on 2 students was $14,583.

Study Period: Sep 2023 to Aug 2024 - funding for full-time Thesis-Required Master's students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-2. Mean and median values might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 2, funding packages become even more individualized.
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Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	9	6	9	9	11
Offers	8	2	4	6	4
New Registrations	7	2	4	6	3
Total Enrolment	15	11	13	12	13

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Science in Applied Animal Biology (MSc)

All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

Cerri, Ronaldo (Animal and dairy sciences; Animal behaviour; Animal developmental and reproductive biology; Animal physiology; Agricultural Machinery and Technology; Animal Production; Animal Reproduction; Biotechnology and Activity monitors; Dairy cattle reproduction; Endocrine Regulation; Endometrium-conceptus cross communication; Estrous cycle physiology in cattle; Inflammation and stress; Production medicine in dairy cattle)
Frommel, Andrea (Animal physiology, environmental stress; Sustainable Aquaculture; climate change; Early development in fish; Alternative feeds in aquaculture; Fish physiology)
Guan, Leluo (Functional Genomics, Animal Microbiome)
Protopopova, Alexandra (Other biological sciences; Social structures; rabbit housing; dog training; cultural differences in human-companion animal relationships; Animal behaviour; animal shelter; Animal welfare; community initiatives)
Taye, Zelalem (Plant and soil microbiome; Synthetic Microbial Communities; Plant and Soil Health; Genomic Tools and Ecological Modeling; Non-Wood Forest Products & Sustainable Forest Management)
von Keyserlingk, Marina (animal welfare, ethics of animal use, farm animals, dairy cattle welfare, Animal Welfare Behavior, housing and management and how these contribute to animal health and welfare of dairy cattle)
Weary, Daniel (Animal and dairy sciences; Animal welfare; Applied animal behaviour; Dairy cattle; Laboratory animals)

Sample Thesis Submissions

Further Information

Program Website