Agricultural and Industrial Sciences
Animal Science Program

Cooperative program leading to the Associate of Arts or Science Degrees and the Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture - Animal Science emphasis at Sam Houston State University.

The Department of Agricultural and Industrial Sciences at Sam Houston State University was originally established in 1910. Upon passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917 Sam Houston State was one of the first universities in the country and the first west of the Mississippi River authorized to train Vocational Agriculture and Industrial Technology teachers. Preparing teachers for Secondary Agriscience and Industrial Technology programs continues to be a major focus of the Department. However, in the 1950’s, the Department began offering a variety of other academic specialties and today offers emphases in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Horticulture and Crop Science, Animal Science, Agricultural Mechanization, Industrial Technology, Construction, Design and Development and Electronics. Students in any specialization may seek Secondary Teacher Certification in lieu of a minor. Additional undergraduate curricula are offered in Animal Science / Wildlife Ecology and Pre-Veterinary Medicine and the Department serves as the academic advisement center for students interested in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree.

There are currently 950+ students enrolled in Agricultural and Industrial Sciences at SHSU.  Enrollment in the program has grown by over 50% during the past 10 years. Career opportunities in agriculture are abundant and diverse.  United States Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce research predicts that the job opportunities will be abundant during the next decade for new graduates in the food, fiber, natural resources and ancillary industries, as well as in business and industry, construction, design, technology, banking, and a variety of public agencies.  There are literally hundreds of possible career opportunities for those graduating with a degree in agricultural and industrial sciences. Many graduates from SHSU seek additional formal education through pursuit of masters and doctoral degrees.

The following courses may generally be used as transfer credit for degrees in Agriculture.

Common Course #	SHSU Course
AGRI 1131	AGR 110
AGRI 2303	AGR 162
AGRI 2317	AGR 164
AGRI 1307	AGR 165
AGRI 1319	AGR 169
AGRI 1327	AGR 260
AGRI 2301	AGR 284
AGRI 2321	AGR 230
AGRI 1309	AGR 238
AGRI 1325	AGR 285

The Core Curriculum at Sam Houston State University contains 42 semester credit hours, encompassing six component areas. Each component area has a minimum credit hour requirement and a set of specific courses that may be used to satisfy the requirement. The chart below details the Sam Houston State University courses and their Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) equivalents that comprise SHSU's core curriculum.  Course requirements to meet the university foreign language component of the Bachelor of Arts degree have been included for convenience. 

Many departments require specific courses from core component areas to meet degree requirements. Selecting departmentally specifed core courses to complete university core requirements reduces the total number of hours required to graduate.

Component Area 1 Communication
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
ENGL 1301	English 164	3
ENGL 1302	English 165	3

 

Component Area 2 Mathematics
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
MATH 1332 OR 2312 or 2413 or 1316 or 1324	Math 164 or 170 or 142 or 163 or 199	3
MATH 1350 & MATH 1351 (both required)	MATH 184 & MATH 185	6

Credit for MATH 184 & MATH 185 is applicable only toward elementary/middle school certification.

Component Area 3 Natural Science
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select two courses with Labs		8
BIOL 1308 & 1108	Biology 134 & 114
BIOL 2306 & 2106 or 2406	Biology 137 & 117
BIOL 1311 & 1111	Biology 161 & 111
BIOL 1313 & 1113	Biology 162 & 112
BIOL 2401	Biology 245
CHEM 1305 & 1105	Chemistry 135 & 115
CHEM 1307 & 1107	Chemistry 136 & 116
CHEM 1311 & 1111	Chemistry 138 & 118
CHEM 1312 & 1112	Chemistry 139 & 119
GEOL 1305 & 1105	Geology 132 & 112
GEOL 1303 & 1103	Geology 133 & 113
GEOL 1304 & 1104	Geology 134 & 114
GEOG 1301	Geography 131 & Lab 111 (lab required @ SHSU)
PHYS 1311 & 1111	Physics 133 & 113
PHYS 1312 & 1112	Physics 134 & 114 -subject to THECB approval
PHYS 1305 & 1105	Physics 135 & 115
PHYS 1307 & 1107	Physics 136 & 116
PHYS 1301 & 1101	Physics 138 & 118
PHYS 1302 & 1102	Physics 139 & 119
PHYS 2425	Physics 141

 

Component Area 4 Humanities & Visual & Performing Arts
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 3 hrs from visual and performing arts:		9
ARTS 1301	AGR 299
ARTS 1301	Art 160
ARTS 1311	Art 161
ARTS 1316	Art 163
ARTS 1303	Art 260
DANC 2303	Dance 172
DANC 1301	Dance 176
MUSI 1308	Music 138
MUSI 1301	Music 161
MUSI 1310	Music 264
MUSI 1306	Music 265
DRAM 1330	Theatre 160
DRAM 1351	Theatre 164
DRAM 1310	Theatre 166
DRAM 1341	Theatre 230
DRAM 2336	Theatre 231
Select 3 hours from Literature or Philosophy:
ENGL 2331OR 2332	English 265
ENGL 2342	English 266
ENGL 2343	English 267
PHIL 1301	Philosophy 261
PHIL 2306	Philosophy 263
Select 3 hours from Cultural Studies:
NO TCCN	BSL 236
Foreign Languages 263 FREN, GERM, SPAN 2311/2312 (Sign and other languages may be substituted)	Foreign Languages 264 FREN, GERM, SPAN 2312
GEOG 1303	Geography 265
GEOG 1303	Geography 266
HIST 2311	History 265
HIST 2312	History 266
SOCI 2319	Sociology 168

 

 

Component Area 5 Social and Behavioral Sciences
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 9 hours from:		15
HIST 1301	History 163
HIST 1302	History 164
GOVT 2301 or 2306	Political Science 261
GOVT 2302 or 2305	Political Science 285
Select 3 hours from:
SOCI 1301	Agriculture 236
ECON 1301	Economics 230
ECON 2302	Economics 233
ECON 2301	Economics 234
GEOG 1300	Geography 161
PHIL 2303	Philosophy 262
PSYC 2301	Psychology 131
PSYC 2315	Psychology 289
SOCI 1301	Sociology 131
SOCI 1306	Sociology 264
NO TCCN Local Political Systems	Political Science 231
NO TCCN State Political Systems	Political Science 232
NO TCCN Politics of Ethnic Minorities and Gender	Political Science 235
NO TCCN Comparative Survey of World Political Systems	Political Science 265
NO TCCN Introduction to Public Administration	Political Science 266
NO TCCN American Foreign Policy	Political Science 281

 

 

Component Area 6 Institutionally Designated Option
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 1 hour from:
PHED 1164	KIN 215

 

B.A. Foreign Language Component
language 1411	Language 141
language 1412	Language 142
language 2311	Language 263
language 2312	Language 264

 

Degrees require a minimum of 120 hours with 42 advanced hours (300 and 400 level courses).  Some degrees require additional hours.  All students are required to complete at least six writing enhanced courses accumulating a minimum, of 18 semester hours towards degree completion.  Six of the hours must come from the student’s major field of study.  SHSU students MUST complete ENG 164, ENG 165, Core Composite Area 2, and one-half of Composite Area 3 prior to enrollment in any upper-level class.  In general, the Bachelor of Arts degree requires 8 hours of lab science and the Bachelor of Science degree requires 16 hours of lab science.  Applicants for the Bachelor of Arts degree should consult their major department web page for foreign language requirements.  Many colleges and programs have additional prerequisites for upper-level classes.
Prior to enrolling in core classes, students are encouraged to review specific degree requirements for their major.  Selection of major specified core courses may reduce the total number of hours required for graduation.
Students are encouraged to select the university catalog offering them the most advantages with respect to degree completion.  The respective university and/or college catalog selected for graduation determines final degree requirements.

Sam Houston State University
A Member of The Texas State University System