Central to this program is that a qualified student may take up to nine hours of graduate level courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both the BS degree and the MS degree. Students are typically considered for conditional admission to the program during, or immediately following, their third year of undergraduate study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Because the MS program requires that a student write a thesis based on original research, efforts related to developing and starting a research-based project in consultation with a graduate advisory committee (that meets MS committee requirements) is required immediately following their third year of undergraduate studies.

To be considered for conditional admission to the program:

• A student must be a declared Animal Science major with a minimum GPA of 3.4, must have completed at least 15 hours of credit in Animal Science, and must have completed at least 90 hours of the 120 hours of coursework required for the BS degree with a major in Animal Science.
• A student must provide three letters of recommendation and complete a personal interview with individuals comprising the Graduate and Undergraduate Committees in the Department of Animal Science.?
• A student must obtain a commitment from an Animal Science graduate research faculty member to serve as his/her graduate mentor-advisor (i.e., major professor) and at least two other graduate research faculty members to serve on his/her graduate advisory committee.