University of Melbourne Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences

The Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences (FVAS) is a faculty of the University of Melbourne. The faculty is a medium for undergraduate education and academic research into economically important fields related to agriculture and veterinary science, such as agronomy, biosecurity, environment, food security, food science, parasitology, pest control, veterinary virology, zoonotic diseases, etc.[1]

Aerial view of part of Parkville in 2010. Building 400 (Veterinary Preclinical Sciences) is visible as the brown building with vertical white stripes on the far-left of the triangle-shaped city block. (Click to enlarge)

Organisation

The faculty is structured as follows:

  • Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences – Dean: Prof. John Fazakerley[2]
  • Department of Veterinary Biosciences – Head of school: Prof. Anna Louise Meredith OBE FRCVS[3]
Research centres: Animal Welfare Science Centre, Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health, Centre for Animal Biotechnology, Centre for Equine Infectious Disease, Mackinnon Project, OIE Collaborating Centre for Diagnostic Test Validation Science in the Asia-Pacific Region, Poultry CRC[4]
Research centres: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Food Production and Environmental Quality, Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre, Unlocking the Food Value Chain[4]

History of organisation

The Melbourne School of Land and Environment was disestablished on 1 January 2015. Its agriculture and food systems department moved alongside veterinary science to form the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, while other areas of study, including horticulture, forestry, geography and resource management, moved to the Faculty of Science in two new departments.

Facilities
Melbourne
Dookie
Locations of the two settlements within Victoria in which FVAS is represented

The faculty operates through the following facilities:[6]

  • Building 122 (a.k.a. Bisciences 2; Agriculture and Food), Parkville campus, Melbourne – Provides study areas for students
  • Building 400 (Veterinary Preclinical Sciences), exclave of Parkville campus, Melbourne, adjacent to Bio21 Institute – Devoted to research
  • Building 438 (Werribee Demountable Consult), Werribee campus, Melbourne – A veterinary hospital and the Veterinary Science Library Werribee are located here. The latter generally collects in the areas of surgery, pathology and parasitology.[7] Services offered at the library include borrowing, membership, renewals, inter-library loans, inter-campus loans, BONUS+ borrowing scheme, and printing and scanning.[8]
  • Building 505 (Academic Centre), Dookie campus

Student engagement

Courses

The faculty offers the following courses:[9]

Agricultural science
  • Bachelor of Agriculture*
  • Bachelor of Agriculture (Honours)
  • Honours in Agricultural Science (Bachelor of Science)
  • Honours in Animal Science and Management (Bachelor of Science)
  • Graduate Certificate in Agricultural Sciences
  • Graduate Certificate in Climate Change for Primary Industries
  • Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Sciences
  • Master of Agricultural Sciences
  • Master of Philosophy
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Agricultural Sciences)
Veterinary science
  • Honours in Veterinary Bioscience (Bachelor of Science)
  • Graduate Certificate in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care
  • Graduate Certificate in Small Animal Ultrasound (Abdominal)
  • Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Public Health
  • Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness for Veterinarians
  • Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Professional Leadership and Management
  • Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Public Health
  • Clinical Masters Residency Program
  • Master of Philosophy (Veterinary Science)
  • Master of Veterinary Public Health
  • Master of Veterinary Science
  • Master of Veterinary Studies
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Veterinary Science)
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine*
Food science
  • Honours in Food Science (Bachelor of Science)
  • Graduate Certificate in Food Science
  • Graduate Diploma in Food Science
  • Master of Food and Packaging Innovation
  • Master of Food Science
General studies
  • Diploma in General Studies

(*) The faculty requires all students undertaking at least these courses to be vaccinated for the zoonotic bacterium Coxiella burnetii, the causal agent of Q fever.[10]

Student societies

Two student societies exist to foster cohesion among students in the faculty:

  • Agricultural and Food Sciences Society[11]
  • Veterinary Students Society of Victoria[12]

Rankings

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has produced and annual rank, since 2017, of universities according to subject area in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. The table below summarises the rankings of the University of Melbourne in the subjects of 'Agriculture' and 'Veterinary Sciences', in comparison to all universities and Australian universities only. Since 2018, the University of Melbourne Department of Veterinary Biosciences has ranked second in Australia in Veterinary Sciences, behind the University of Sydney School of Veterinary Science.[13]

ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
SubjectGeographic scope2020 ranking2019 ranking2018 ranking2017 ranking
AgricultureWorld 30 43 4047
AgricultureAustralia 3 5 56
Veterinary SciencesWorld 26 27 3239
Veterinary SciencesAustralia 2 2 23

See also
Related topics
Related faculties of the University of Melbourne
Pre-2015 University of Melbourne veterinary and agricultural academics

References
  1. Hall, Jonty (2020-07-10). "Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  2. "Professor John Fazakerley announced as new FVAS Dean". The University of Melbourne. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  3. Lawry, Rhys (2018-05-18). "Conservation and wildlife medicine leader to head University of Melbourne veterinary education and research". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. Lawry, Rhys (2019-06-26). "Research Centres". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  5. Lawry, Rhys (2018-07-31). "Herbert Kronzucker commences as Head of the School of Agriculture and Food". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. Lockhart, Caris (2020-06-16). "Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  7. "Werribee: Library". The University of Melbourne. The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  8. "Services: Werribee Library". The University of Melbourne. The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  9. Kevey, Donna (2020-02-13). "Courses". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  10. Mckenzie, Bex (2019-11-20). "Q-Fever Vaccinations". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  11. "Agricultural and Food Sciences Society". Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  12. "Veterinary Students Society of Victoria (Parkville)". Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  13. Winthrope, Stuart (2020-06-30). "Melbourne moves up world rankings in veterinary, agricultural and food sciences". Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.