The field has approximately 70 graduate students working on Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The graduate students are housed in Morrison Hall where they work closely with the faculty in a variety of disciplines. The program offers unusual flexibility, easily accommodating individual interests and goals. Graduate students benefit from the enormous intellectual diversity and other resources within the University, and from the lack of departmental or college barriers and high level of cooperation among students and faculty with common interests.

The Master of Professional Studies (Agriculture) degree is intended primarily for applicants who want to further their academic training in animal science but whose interests may not be oriented toward research. It's a special non-thesis degree program requiring a minimum of two residence units and the satisfactory completion of 30 hours of coursework related to the professional interests of the candidate. Approval of the report of a problem-solving project is also required.

In addition, the M.P.S. (Agriculture and Life Sciences) program has a Peace Corp option in which the student undertakes two semesters of academic work at Cornell and a Peace Corp assignment.