Education of Animal Production Systems

In the final stage of your study it is mandatory to complete a thesis, and an internship or research practice. This includes conducting research independently. Students have to demonstrate if all theory learned can be put into practice. To get some idea of possible topics at the Animal Production Systems group, have a look at our research projects on our website and check our Brightspace site.

Planning

Please contact in time! For a thesis, having an appointment 3 months in advance is convenient. Appointments for internships should be made 6 months in advance, because teachers are busy and communication with places for internships does not always run smoothly.

Make an appointment with the APS-secretariat (via mail to APS Office). Each student has 30 minutes consulting time on Tuesday morning between 9.00h and 12.00h only. Make an overview of your study in advance, including the courses that you did not pass yet. Think of possible topics and motivate your choice, so that the interview will run efficiently.

Any other questions about thesis, research practice and internship? Please contact Judith Zuijdwegt.

The courses of APS offer students the possibility to estimate, and understand the impact of, for example, nutritional, breeding or management measures on sustainability aspects, such as climate change, nutrient pollution, the economy of a farming household, biodiversity, and animal welfare. APS-students will learn to integrate knowledge from different scientific disciplines, since sustainability problems are complex and can often not be solved by one scientific discipline alone. This interdisciplinary knowledge enables APS-students to participate in scientific and political debates about the future of livestock production across the world.

APS offers three core courses, which APS-students need to follow in the following order:

     Course code    Course title

• APS20806    System Approach in Animal Sciences
• APS30306    Sustainability Assessment of Animal Systems
• APS40306    Future Livestock Systems

In addition, the courses Functional agricultural resource management, The role of livestock in future food systems, and Sensor data in animal sciences are important courses for students who want to specialise in animal production systems.