Meeting the Educational Needs of Future Animal Science Students

THIS paper will discuss future directions for undergraduate curricula in agriculture and animal science. I will not speculate about future careers in animal science, and the requirements these occupations will place on tomorrow's animal science graduates. I could only make broad—perhaps meaningless— generalizations in this area. However, I do assert that the undergraduate curriculum in animal science will continue to serve an important role.The ideas that I will present are a synthesis of the recommendations of various committees, panels and conferences sponsored by the Commission on Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (CEANAR).In discussing future undergraduate curricula, I will look at four major segments of the agricultural curriculum: (1) biological sciences, (2) physical sciences and mathematics, (3) social sciences and humanities and (4) agriculture. Although I will give someattention to the number of courses in the various disciplines, I believe that it is more important to be concerned about the contentof the courses our student take.