About Us

College of Animal Science and Technology is one of the oldest colleges in the Northwest A&F University. The College started enrolling undergraduate students in 1936 and graduate students in 1963.

The College now includes five departments: Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction; Animal Nutrition and Environmental Sanitation; Animal Production and Husbandry Engineering; Smart Animal Husbandry Science and Engineering; and Aquatic Science. Of the three undergraduate majors of animal science, aquaculture, smart animal husbandry science and engineering (newly added in 2021), animal science and aquaculture are national first-class majors. Of three first-class disciplines of animal husbandry, aquatic products and biology, animal husbandry is a national "double first-class" construction discipline. Animal genetics, breeding and reproduction, animal nutrition and feed science, special economic animal breeding, zoology and aquatic biology are authorized to confer doctoral degrees; Animal genetics, breeding and reproduction, animal nutrition and feed science, special economic animal breeding, aquaculture, fishery resources, zoology and aquatic biology are authorized to confer master's degree; and animal husbandry and fishery development for professional master's degrees. The College now has a postdoctoral research station in animal husbandry. Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction is a national key discipline.

Animal husbandry has four directions, namely cattle and sheep genetic engineering breeding; livestock genetic improvement; animal reproductive physiology and reproduction regulation; and animal nutrition metabolism and feed science. The research in genetic evolution of cattle and sheep, the innovation of gene editing technology of cattle and sheep, and muscle development and lipid metabolism mechanism of livestock is now at a leading position in the world, and the research in sperm energy metabolism regulation mechanism of livestock and digestive tract microbial function of cattle and sheep is now at the leading level in China.

There are 40 professors and researchers in the research station (8 second-level professors) and 63 associate professors and associate researchers; Among 75 graduate supervisors, 44 are doctoral supervisors. There is one national talent project expert, two national young talent project experts, one young Changjiang scholar from the Ministry of Education and one outstanding youth science fund project from the National Natural Science Fund. There is one member of the Animal Husbandry Evaluation Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, one consultant in the field of the National Program 973, one member of the Department of Life Science of the Science and Technology Committee of the Ministry of Education, one expert in the Examination and Evaluation of Undergraduate Teaching of the Ministry of Education, five special government allowance receivers, one innovation team of Changjiang Scholars and Innovation Team Development Plan, five scholars supported by Programs for Outstanding Talents in the New Century, and one candidate of "Bo Xin Plan". There are 3 scholars supported by Shaanxi Provincial Talent Projects, 1 famous teacher of Shaanxi Province and 6 new Science and Technology Stars in Shaanxi Province. There are 7 post experts and stationmasters of experimental stations of the national modern agricultural industrial technology system, and 7 chief scientists of Shaanxi industrial system.

There are 1800 students in the college, including 913 undergraduates and 887 postgraduates (655 master’s and 232 doctoral students). The institute has trained more than 10,000 talents of various types. The employment rate of graduates remained above 98%. Since 2016, the enrollment rate of undergraduate graduates (including going abroad and leaving the country) has exceeded 65%, ranking first among colleges of the University with 70.2% in 2017 and 71.23% in 2021.

The college has 14 research platforms at the national and provincial level, namely the National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Modern Cattle Biotechnology and Application of the National Development and Reform Commission's, National Animal Science Experimental Teaching Center, Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Evaluation and Utilization of Livestock and Poultry Resources (Cattle) of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Beef Cattle Improvement Center of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Beef Cattle Engineering Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Dairy Goat Breeding Engineering Technology Center of Shaanxi Province and Feed Engineering Research Center of Shaanxi Province. The College now has six experiment and demonstration bases  in and outside of the University including Animal Husbandry Teaching Experiment Base, Ankang Aquatic Products Experiment and Demonstration Station, Yan'an Pig Raising Experiment and Demonstration Base, Shiquan (Northern Shaanxi) Sericulture Experiment and Demonstration Base, Beef Cattle Experiment and Demonstration Base, Dairy Goat (Northern Shaanxi, Jinchang Mutton Sheep) Experiment and Demonstration Base. The College also has 34 off-campus practical teaching bases. The College now hosts four academic journals: Journal of Livestock Ecology, Chinese Cattle Science, Journal of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine and Northern Sericulture.

In the past five years, scholars of the College have presided over 2 national key R&D projects, 5 national major science and technology projects and 7 national key R&D projects. Of 74 National Natural Science Funds projects, there is 1 National Outstanding Youth Science Fund and 1 National Natural Science Fund Key Project. Up to now 21 provincial and ministerial-level scientific and technological achievement awards have been obtained, including 2 first prizes of National Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Harvest, 1 first prize of China's Industry-university-research Cooperation Innovation Achievement, 2 national first-class courses, 3 first prizes of  Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Award, 1 special prize and 1 first prize of Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award of Shaanxi Province. The average annual funds available are more than 46 million yuan. A total of 1,238 SCI papers have been published and 116 patents have been granted; 28 academic works and 5 textbooks for agricultural and forestry colleges. during the 13th Five-Year Plan have been published

The college has carried out in-depth cooperation with more than 30 well-known universities, research institutes and enterprises at home and abroad, and built an international exchange and cooperation platform. Foreign professors have entered the classroom and international scientific research cooperation has entered the laboratory. In the past five years, 69 students have been selected to study for degrees in well-known foreign universities, and 31 international students have been recruited to study for degrees in the college. The college adheres to the university-running characteristics of close combination of production, education and research, carries out scientific and technological cooperation and technical services, and trains nearly 10,000 technicians every year, which effectively drives the development of modern animal husbandry in western China.

Adhering to the college motto of "cultivating virtue and developing livestock for the world", and adhering to the development strategy of "establishing the college by disciplines, developing the college by talents, invigorating the college by science and technology, and governing the college according to regulations", highlight the close integration of production, education and research, focus on major scientific and technical issues in animal husbandry industry, and strive to build an "internationally renowned and domestic first-class” research college integrating high-level innovative talents training, high-level scientific research and high-tech demonstration. （2022年4月19日更新）