Category: courses

Course Description

This course explores One Welfare, as an integrative framework that recognizes the fundamental interconnectedness among animal health, welfare & human health & well-being, as well as environmental sustainability. This course explores how improvements in one domain generate positive cascading effects across others, and conversely, how neglect in any area undermines the whole system. Rather than treating these domains as separate silos, students will develop systems-level thinking to understand complex, real-world welfare challenges. The course emphasizes evidence-based problem-solving grounded in policy, ethics, science, and practice—examined through a global lens that honors diverse cultural, economic, and environmental contexts.

Course Goals

Apply the One Welfare framework to critically analyze and address complex welfare challenges at the intersection of animal welfare, human well-being, and environmental sustainability.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Define and critically evaluate the One Welfare framework using peer-reviewed literature.
• Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to propose evidence-based solutions to global welfare challenges.
• Assess environment, societal, cultural, ethical and policy dimensions of welfare-related challenges across disciplines.
• Critically evaluate real-world case studies and propose evidence-based, context-sensitive interventions.
• Apply systems thinking tools (e.g., causal loop diagrams, stakeholder maps) to analyze links among animal welfare, human health, and environmental sustainability.

Course Topics

The following topics will be covered:

• Foundations of One Welfare Systems Thinking
• Environmental Sustainability and Ecosystem Health
• Animal Welfare Science and Measurement
• Human–Animal Relationships in Society
• Human Well-Being and Social Sustainability
• Violence, Vulnerability, and Welfare Linkages
• Zoonotic Disease and One Welfare Interfaces
• Food Systems, Biosecurity, and Global Trade
• Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Conflict Systems
• Natural Disasters and Emergency Response Systems
• Climate Change and Welfare Disruption
• Inequality and Global Welfare Gaps
• Governance and Policy Systems
• One Welfare in Practice: Farm-to-Fork Systems Audit

Course Description

This 8‑week course introduces core business strategy concepts commonly taught in business schools, adapted for decision‑making in the livestock production industry. Students evaluate their current business by analyzing internal and external factors, performance measures, and competitive positioning. Building on this assessment, learners develop a practical strategic plan aimed at improving future business outcomes.

On‑demand lectures from Professor Peter Foreman provide foundational business frameworks, while weekly applied sessions with Dr. Jim Lowe connect these concepts directly to real‑world livestock production systems.

Course Goals

This course equips students with foundational business strategy concepts and demonstrates how to apply them within the livestock production industry to build a stronger, more effective business strategy.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the basic business strategy concepts.
• Ability to conduct an external and internal analysis of an industry.
• Develop a business strategy and implementation plan.

Course Topics

Course Description

A systems‑focused exploration of respiratory health in food‑animal species, integrating physiology, pathology, diagnostics, therapeutics, immunity, environment, and herd‑level management to equip students with the skills to design effective, sustainable strategies for preventing and controlling respiratory disease across production settings.

Course Goals

This course enables learners to design, justify, and evaluate integrated, evidence‑based respiratory health programs that prevent, detect, treat, and control disease at herd and system scales—optimizing welfare, productivity, antimicrobial stewardship, and sustainability across food-animal species.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Analyze how respiratory anatomy, physiology, and immune function influence disease expression and management across food‑animal species.
• Evaluate clinical, diagnostic, and population‑level data to develop accurate case definitions and interpret respiratory disease patterns at the herd level.
• Design concept maps that synthesize host, pathogen, environmental, and management factors into integrated models of respiratory disease systems.
• Assess therapeutic, immunological, and antimicrobial strategies for respiratory disease control using evidence‑based and stewardship‑aligned principles.
• Apply systems thinking to case‑based scenarios to propose effective, sustainable respiratory health interventions for diverse production settings.

Course Topics

Course Description

Veterinary scientists today are called to solve complex, interconnected challenges that impact animals, humans, and the environment. This course integrates One Welfare, veterinary ethics, and animal and human behavior to prepare students to engage in projects that address these problems. In the course students will critically evaluate the One Welfare framework, applying systems thinking to global issues that link animal welfare, public health, and environmental sustainability. Through case-based learning and multidisciplinary collaboration, they will assess cultural, ethical, and policy dimensions of real-world welfare challenges and design practical, welfare-sensitive interventions. Students will also explore veterinary moral philosophy, from deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics to the AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, to navigate professional dilemmas, reduce moral stress, and promote well-being for both animals and care providers. A deep dive into animal and human behavior will illuminate the biological, psychological, and social drivers of behavior, equipping students to improve animal management, husbandry, training, and welfare outcomes.

In this course, students will develop a framework for developing skills in ethical reasoning, behavioral science, and One Welfare principles that will help them contribute to teams that are engaged in driving meaningful change across clinical practice, research, and public health.

Learning Format

This three-credit course is designed as an integrated sequence composed of three one-credit modules: One Welfare, Veterinary Ethics, and Animal and Human Behavior. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the full three-credit sequence to gain a cohesive understanding of the interconnected themes.

Special permission is required for enrollment in an individual module outside the integrated course structure.

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Course Description

Culminating the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the degree into an applied veterinary science capstone project. Students will draw upon their creativity for innovation, integrating theory, practical experience, research, data collection, analytic skills, and critical thinking into solving a real-world problem. 

Course Goals

During this course, students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned throughout the degree program to solve real-world problems. Students will be challenged to understand the problem, determine the project framework (scope, timeline, etc.), collect and analyze data, brainstorm, design and create an optimal solution, and present their findings. 

Learning Format

• A combination of individual and team-based elements. 

• Enhancing program objectives through practical applications like systems thinking, information literacy, problem analysis, applied innovation, career readiness, collaborative effectiveness, and network building leads to transferable workplace skills. 

• Address a practical issue in the field of veterinary science. 

• Create a professional development plan to guide your career path. 

Required: This course is a requirement for the AVS degree program. Enrollment requires departmental approval  

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Overview

In this course you will explore how structured, systems-based thinking – Thinking Process techniques – can be applied to the operations of livestock production systems. Eli Goldratt’s approach to problem solving through his “Theory of Constraints” has been applied in businesses in many industries around the world. In this class we will explore the foundations of operations in a commodity business as applied to livestock production. The course uses a series of individual and group problems to help students build a deeper understanding of the practical challenges facing livestock businesses today.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe how modern livestock-based food systems are designed, why they are designed that way, and how those designs impact their ability to meet customer needs for safe and affordable food.
2. Describe and apply the principles of business operations to a commodity business

Recommended Prerequisites

• VCM 505

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Overview

Students will be exposed through lectures from visiting and invited guests, small group discussions, readings, and projects to various facets and health problems in both public and veterinary health globally with emphasis on low-income countries. Emphasis will be on how to understand and work within the frameworks at the national and international level to address the biggest challenges and coming threats of the health of people and animals. The survey of topics will provide a foundational understanding for further in-depth study and work in international health.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. To articulate the structure of human and animal health systems at the national and international level
2. To apply an ecological approach to analyzing those major factors that influence global health including climate change and urbanization
3. To identify and relate social and cultural determinants of health to global health issues and disease
4. To discuss human and animal rights, professional ethics, and international health law in the context of health
5. To describe the role of frameworks, goals, and multilateral agreements in achieving optimal health
6. To understand the term stakeholders and the importance of the role of partnerships and collaborations in health programs
7. To describe how capacity building enhances global health programs’ ability to address identified needs
8. To describe how cultural awareness and knowledge are essential to building culturally competent health program

Topical Outline

• Module 1: History of international health (disease eradication efforts, formation of international organizations, etc.)
• Module 2: International health and trade frameworks (SDGs, IHR guidelines, OIE/WTO guidelines)
• Module 3: Animal welfare and child welfare
• Module 4: Goal setting and consensus building
• Module 5: National and international veterinary legislation
• Module 6: Surveillance systems and infectious disease
• Module 7: Major stakeholders
• Module 8: Cultural competency – cultural awareness and knowledge essentials to build culturally competent programs
• Module 9: Impediments and challenges to trade and adequate human nutrition
• Module 10: Training and capability building
• Module 11: Death and Metrics
• Module 12: Migration and health
• Module 13: Role of gender in human and animal health
• Module 14: Future challenges in meeting human and animal health needs
• Module 15: Final student presentations

Recommended Prerequisites

• In good standing as a graduate student, DVM or MD student.

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Overview

This online elective course for graduate and DVM students focuses on disease emergency response that is complementary to other veterinary curriculum coursework. This course studies example foreign animal diseases (FADs) so you will understand disease transmission and epidemiology, how biosecurity can help prevent introduction and spread of diseases and uses the Incident Command structure in emergency response scenarios. Students contribute evaluative thinking for improvements in FADPReP (FAD Preparedness, Response, and Prevention).

Learning Objectives

The overarching objectives of this course are to:

• Apply principles of infectious disease prevention and control to three foreign animal diseases of livestock: Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), African Swine Fever (ASF), and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)
• Understand the social, economic, public health, and animal welfare implications of foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreaks
• Introduce students to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) that form the basis of emergency response in the United States
• Introduce students to FAD preparedness and response (so-called FADPReP) and encourage students to engage in FADPReP work in their careers

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to understand the structure and organization of NIMS, ICS, and US Foreign Animal Disease Response and to have met the course learning objectives listed below:

• Describe the potential economic, social, public health, and animal health and welfare consequences of an FAD outbreak in the US,
• Describe the epidemiology of FMD, ASF, and HPAI as well as the biosecurity and disease control measures employed to prevent the introduction and spread of FADs to the US,
• Explain the roles and responsibilities of participants in an ICS structured response to an FAD outbreak,
• Discuss the inter-relatedness of livestock, public health, environment, and wildlife health during an FAD outbreak affecting one or more of those populations

Course Topics

• Introductions and Basics of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
• Disease Transmission and Biosecurity
• African Swine Flu and HPAI Primer
• FEMA Certification Course and Emergency Preparedness
• FEMA Certification Course and The Incident Command System
• A Deeper Look at Disease Transmission and Biosecurity
• Lessons Learned from Covid-19 that Apply to FADPReP
• What Will the Next FAD Response Look Like in IL/US?

Recommended Prerequisites

• Graduate and professional (i. e. DVM, MD) students, and post-docs; course prerequisite is a previous course in microbiology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, or equivalent analytical coursework, or permission of instructor for upper-level undergraduates.

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Overview

Guiding students through clinically relevant anatomy using diagnostic imaging. All body systems are covered in this comprehensive course. The basic principles behind imaging modalities, image acquisition, and radiation safety are covered to encourage learners to consider how tissue structure and function apply to anatomy and the interpretation of diagnostic images.

Course Goals

The goal of this course is to enhance anatomical knowledge and learning with the use of diagnostic imaging. Students will also learn to identify the normal radiographic anatomy of common domestic species.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify normal clinically relevant anatomical structures on a radiograph
2. Appreciate the breadth of normal anatomic variants in veterinary radiographs
3. Explain how a tissue’s structural composition impacts the general of a diagnostic image
4. Compare and contrast different imaging modalities as they relate to tissue structure and function
5. Identify the safety concerns surrounding medical imaging

Recommended Prerequisites

• None

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Overview

This is a graduate-level course that covers the principles of biosecurity. The course will allow students to design a comprehensive protocol for a given site. This course emphasizes how to optimize interventions in livestock production systems to minimize the economic impact of infectious disease. The instructors assume that enrolled students have a foundational knowledge of pathogens and livestock system design and operations.

Course Goals

Students will possess the knowledge required to be able to build a protocol for a give livestock site to improve the control of infectious disease.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Apply design principles for effective biosecurity to a livestock production site.
2. Develop mitigation strategies that can be implemented easily, effectively, and continuously.
3. Create a comprehensive biosecurity protocol for a single livestock production site.

Recommended Prerequisites

• VCM 505 or VCM 507

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We would be happy to answer any questions you have.

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