The admission requirements to the Doctor of Philosophy degree program are those of the Graduate School.

Applications are accepted for the Fall semester only. Applicants are strongly encouraged to identify a research faculty member who is willing to accept them into their research laboratory. Sponsoring faculty are expected to provide doctoral students with financial support in the form of research assistantships or teaching assistantships throughout the duration of their tenure in the graduate program.

The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences will be awarded upon successful completion of formal coursework, journal clubs, seminars, and 18 credits of dissertation research. Students advance to candidacy following the successful completion of an oral qualifying examination given in their fifth semester. A dissertation reporting the major research findings must be successfully defended prior to awarding of the Ph.D. degree. There is no foreign language competency requirement for the Ph.D. degree, but students must satisfy a residency requirement. The time to completion for a Ph.D. is usually five to six years.