We have a variety of options for students to receive their ANSC 398 credit. Please use the list below to get some ideas of different options for your experience. Remember your experience should be meaningful to you, add to your skills, and deepen your understanding of what it means to be an animal scientist. Enroll in the section that aligns with your experiential learning goals.

Undergraduate Research Project

Research experience should be tailored to your interests and will be advised by the faculty instructor you choose to work with. Assisted by graduate students, postdocs, staff or faculty members, you will carry out research in an area of animal science and document your research.

Honors Undergraduate Research Project

Research experience should be tailored to your interests and will be advised by the faculty instructor you choose to work with. Assisted by graduate students, postdocs, staff, or faculty members, you will carry out research in an area of animal science and document your research. The poster or other publication required for the James Scholar program will be the work product in this section.

Evaluation Team Experience

Students participating on departmental evaluation teams (dairy, poultry, horse, meats, meat animal, or livestock) may choose to enroll in ANSC 398 for one credit hour during the semester of their participation with the team.

Domestic or International Travel Experience

Travel experiences may include semesters abroad, short trips in the summer or during the semester, or work experience abroad. In this option, you are also able to design your own study abroad trip. If you find an internship experience, research opportunity, or travel experience which is not offered through a designated study abroad program, we can assign you ANSC 398 credit for your experience.

Internships

Off-campus Internship

Internships which take place with private companies or non-profit organizations during the summer can be used for experiential learning credit. You should work with a faculty instructor and the supervisor of their internship to determine the learning goals of the internship and appropriate documentation.

On-campus Internship

Unpaid or paid employment on campus may sometimes be used for experiential learning credit. You need to identify skills or experiences you plan to attain, and propose a plan for documenting this attainment.

Champaign County Humane Society (CCHS) Internship

This section pertains specifically to internships at CCHS in the following areas:

  • animal behavior
  • adoptions
  • animal care
  • the medical lab
  • volunteer coordination

Veterinary Assistant Internship

At times, internships with veterinarians may be applicable to experiential learning; however, not all situations of job shadowing will reach the threshold for inclusion in experiential learning. You will work with a faculty instructor and the veterinarian supervising the internship to identify the learning goals and appropriate documentation.

Study Abroad South Africa Summer Trip

Participate in a summer trip to South Africa. You can view the Study Abroad listing, and if you have any additional questions, please contact Dr. Al Roca.

Companion Animal Spring Trip

The companion animal spring break trip is a 4-day experiential learning opportunity for students looking to explore potential career options working with companion animals, equine, and/or wildlife. Students will travel to various companies and organizations for behind the scenes tours, chances to ask employees questions, and otherwise learn more about available careers with these animals. Stops from previous years have included exotic animal sanctuaries, zoos, horse rescues, animal shelters, pet food companies, among others. Students must apply for the trip and pay a fee covering the cost of transportation, hotels, entrance fees, and some meals.

For more information, contact Sarah Richardson.

Dairy Challenge

Dairy Challenge class allows students to apply dairy science theory and learning to a real-world dairy while working as part of a team. It is an excellent opportunity to expose our students to a collaborative and competitive environment. Most importantly, it gives them a chance to engage the dairy community. Our students must establish early relationships with their peers in other universities. These are the relationships that will help them to develop a healthy professional network.

For more information, contact Dr. Phil Cardoso.