Graduate School applications for study in the Department of Animal Sciences are reviewed by the Department Graduate Review Committee which recommends acceptance or rejection to the Department Head. Graduate Research Assistantships are awarded to students who enter and which meet the requirements of the university, the Department of Animal Sciences, the Graduate School and the Meat Science Program. To be accepted into a graduate program of study, a student must attain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (A = 4.0) in appropriate course work at University-approved undergraduate institutions.

Other considerations used for persons with marginal GPAs are Graduate Record Examination Aptitude (GRE) Test scores, personal interviews, and letters of recommendation. All applicants must take the GRE Aptitude Test. Normally, when fellowships or scholarships are awarded to students with superior academic ability (based on Departmental recommendation), no work requirements are assigned so as to allow the student the capability to devote full time to studies and research.

Faculty in Meat Sciences actively recruit qualified, talented graduate students from all over the world. The Meat Science Program in Animal Sciences is extremely visible because of the widespread participation of its graduate students in scientific and industry meetings, and the amount of field work entailed in the research programs conducted by the Meat Science Program.

Many opportunities arise for graduate students in Meat Science to interact with industry leaders on a frequent basis; such opportunities are augmented because of Colorado State University's geographical proximity to the meat and food industry—many trade organizations and potential employers reside within a fifty-mile radius of the main campus. These opportunities are not available at most other institutions.

The Meat Science Program has been fortunate; success in placing graduating students in high-ranking, solid jobs upon completing their degree both domestically and internationally is a result of their contacts and geographical proximity to the meat industry. Because of the program of study, combined with enhanced opportunities for exposure, a student completing a graduate degree in Meat Science at Colorado State University will be highly marketable and qualified for employment.

Meat Science Research

The Program in Meat Science conducts and publishes applied industry research addressing significant and timely issues related to the global competitiveness of red meats, including red meat safety and product quality, and efforts to export more red meat products to international markets. Results and conclusions of these projects are beneficial to the red meat industry, consumers and regulatory agencies in the United States and around the world. Much of the technology developed through these efforts has a great impact on the safety and quality of US red meat products and, as a result, has been implemented extensively by companies in Colorado and across the US Some examples of technologies resulting from this research program that have had the greatest impact and that have been implemented across the red meat industry include: (a) Total Quality Management systems to improve the palatability of fresh beef, (b) instrument grading technology to effectively sort beef carcasses on the basis of projected carcass yields and eating quality, (c) Multiple Hurdles decontamination systems for improving safety of red meat, (d) decontamination technologies for beef and pork variety meats with emphasis on those exported to foreign countries, (e) management systems to reduce the incidence of dark cutting beef carcasses, (f) Beef Quality Assurance verification programs within Colorado and nationwide, and (g) dietary supplementation of feeder cattle with alpha-tocopheryl acetate to improve retail display life of fresh beef. Additionally, the Meat Science Program has been instrumental in developing quantitative information for use by meat packers and processors as they implement and maintain HACCP Plans.

Jeremy Adler
Alex Byelashov
Jessica Corron
Shivani Gupta
Lynn Jones
Jessica Meisinger
Ryan Murphy	Ryan Murphy is from Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada.  He grew up on a large purebred cattle operation raising Charolais and Red Angus cattle.  His family has an annual bull sale every spring in Bonnyville.  Ryan graduated high school in 1999 and attended Lakeland College in Vermilion, AB, for his diploma in Herd Health Technology before transferring to the University of Saskatchewan for his degree in Animal Science.  Originally studying with the goal of becoming a veterinarian, he quickly changed his mind after attending the 2004 International Livestock Congress in Houston, Texas; meeting Dr. Smith, in addition to a handful of past and current graduate students in the meat science program.  Ryan is pursuing a Masters of Science with a focus on slaughter plant safety and international trade.
Trevor Nunes
Katie Partyka
Jill Seabrook
Cang-Liang Shen
Travis Steiner
Hanaa Thigeel
Anna Van Stelten
Shanna Williams