Dairy Science (DSCI) | Cal Poly Academic Catalog * Skip to Content * AZ Index * Catalog Home Search catalog Submit search 2026-2028 Catalog Toggle menu * College & Departments * Programs * Courses * Prior Catalogs * Resources & Policies * Welcome to Cal Poly * About the Catalog * Academic Standards and Policies * Graduate Education * International Education * Extended Education * Faculty and Staff * Catalog Home : * Courses : * Dairy Science (DSCI) Dairy Science (DSCI) 2026-2028 Edition 2026-2028 Catalog * Welcome to Cal Poly Toggle Welcome to Cal Poly * Academic Services and Programs Toggle Academic Services and Programs * Academic Advising * Cal Poly Scholars * Intercollegiate Athletics * Library Services * Office of Student Research * Office of Writing and Learning * Pre-​Health Career Advising * Transfer Center * University Advising-​Retention * University Honors Program * University Studies * Student Resources Toggle Student Resources * Campus Health and Wellbeing * Career Services * Center for Bystander Intervention and Cal Poly (WITH US) * Disability Resource Center * Office of the Dean of Students * Student Affairs Diversity and Inclusion * Technology Services at Cal Poly * Campus Life Toggle Campus Life * Associated Students, Inc. * Cal Poly Partners * Leadership and Service * New Student &​ Transition Programs * Parent &​ Family Programs * Public Safety * Sustainability Practices * University Housing * Academic Calendar * Admissions * Culture and Institutional Excellence * Financial Information * Student Affairs * The CSU System * University Learning Objectives * University Policies * About the Catalog Toggle About the Catalog * Accreditation * Updates to the Catalog * Academic Standards and Policies Toggle Academic Standards and Policies * Academic Placement * Academic Standards * Evaluation of Transfer Credit * General Requirements -​ Bachelor's Degree * Grading * Other Academic Policies * Registration * Bailey College of Science and Mathematics Toggle Bailey College of Science and Mathematics * Biological Sciences Toggle Biological Sciences * Chemistry &​ Biochemistry Toggle Chemistry &​ Biochemistry * Kinesiology and Public Health Toggle Kinesiology and Public Health * Liberal Studies, an Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program Toggle Liberal Studies, an Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program * Mathematics Toggle Mathematics * Physics Toggle Physics * School of Education Toggle School of Education * Statistics Toggle Statistics * College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Toggle College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences * Agribusiness Toggle Agribusiness * Agricultural Education &​ Communication Toggle Agricultural Education &​ Communication * Animal Science Toggle Animal Science * BioResource &​ Agricultural Engineering Toggle BioResource &​ Agricultural Engineering * Experience Industry Management Toggle Experience Industry Management * Food Science &​ Nutrition Toggle Food Science &​ Nutrition * Marine Transportation Toggle Marine Transportation * Military Science Toggle Military Science * Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Toggle Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences * Naval Science Toggle Naval Science * Plant Sciences Toggle Plant Sciences * Wine and Viticulture Toggle Wine and Viticulture * College of Architecture and Environmental Design Toggle College of Architecture and Environmental Design * Architectural Engineering Toggle Architectural Engineering * Architecture Toggle Architecture * City and Regional Planning Toggle City and Regional Planning * Construction Management Toggle Construction Management * Landscape Architecture Toggle Landscape Architecture * College of Engineering Toggle College of Engineering * Aerospace Engineering Toggle Aerospace Engineering * Biomedical Engineering Toggle Biomedical Engineering * Civil &​ Environmental Engineering Toggle Civil &​ Environmental Engineering * Computer Engineering Toggle Computer Engineering * Computer Science and Software Engineering Toggle Computer Science and Software Engineering * Electrical Engineering Toggle Electrical Engineering * Engineering Technology Toggle Engineering Technology * General Engineering Toggle General Engineering * Industrial &​ Manufacturing Engineering Toggle Industrial &​ Manufacturing Engineering * Materials Engineering Toggle Materials Engineering * Mechanical Engineering Toggle Mechanical Engineering * College of Liberal Arts Toggle College of Liberal Arts * Art &​ Design Toggle Art &​ Design * Communication Studies Toggle Communication Studies * English Toggle English * Ethnic Studies Toggle Ethnic Studies * Graphic Communication Toggle Graphic Communication * History Toggle History * Interdisciplinary Studies in the Liberal Arts Toggle Interdisciplinary Studies in the Liberal Arts * Journalism Toggle Journalism * Music Toggle Music * Philosophy Toggle Philosophy * Political Science Toggle Political Science * Psychology and Child Development Toggle Psychology and Child Development * Social Sciences Toggle Social Sciences * Theatre &​ Dance Toggle Theatre &​ Dance * Women's, Gender and Queer Studies Toggle Women's, Gender and Queer Studies * World Languages and Cultures Toggle World Languages and Cultures * Orfalea College of Business Toggle Orfalea College of Business * Interdisciplinary Degree Programs Toggle Interdisciplinary Degree Programs * Maritime Academy * Graduate Education * International Education * Extended Education * Faculty and Staff * Courses Toggle Courses * Aerospace Engineering (AERO) * Agribusiness (AGB) * Agricultural Communication (AGC) * Agricultural Education (AGED) * Agriculture (AG) * Animal Science (ASCI) * Anthropology (ANT) * Architectural Engineering (ARCE) * Architecture (ARCH) * Art (ART) * Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASTR) * Athletics (ATHL) * Biology (BIO) * Biomedical Engineering (BMED) * BioResource and Agricultural Engineering (BRAE) * Botany (BOT) * Business (BUS) * Chemistry (CHE) Solano Campus * Chemistry (CHEM) * Child Development (CD) * Chinese (CHIN) * City and Regional Planning (CRP) * Civil Engineering (CE) * College of Liberal Arts (CLA) * Communication Studies (COMS) * Computer Engineering (CPE) * Computer Science (CSC) * Computers (COM) Solano Campus * Construction Management (CM) * Cooperative Education (CEP) Solano Campus * Cruise (CRU) Solano Campus * Curriculum and Instruction (CI) * Dairy Science (DSCI) * Dance (DANC) * Data Science (DAT) Solano Campus * Data Science (DATA) * Deck Labs (DL) Solano Campus * Early Start Math (ESM) * Earth Science (ERSC) * Economics (ECO) Solano Campus * Economics (ECON) * Education (EDUC) * Educational Leadership and Administration Program (ELAP) * Electrical Engineering (EE) * Emergency Management (EM) Solano Campus * Engineering (ENG) Solano Campus * Engineering (ENGR) * Engineering Plant Operations (EPO) Solano Campus * Engineering Technology (ET) Solano Campus * English (EGL) Solano Campus * English (ENGL) * Environmental Design (EDES) * Environmental Engineering (ENVE) * Environmental Sciences (ESCI) * Ethnic Studies (ES) * Experience Industry Management (EIM) * Fire Protection Engineering (FPE) * Firefighting (FF) Solano Campus * Food Science (FDSC) * Food Science and Nutrition (FSN) * French (FR) * Geography (GEOG) * Geology (GEOL) * German (GER) * Global Studies and Marine Affairs (GMA) Solano Campus * Government (GOV) Solano Campus * Graduate Studies (GS) * Graduate Studies-​Accounting (GSA) * Graduate Studies-​Business (GSB) * Graphic Communication (GRC) * Health (HLTH) * Higher Education Counseling and Student Affairs (HCSA) * History (HIS) Solano Campus * History (HIST) * Honors (HNRS) * Honors Contract (HNRC) * Humanities (HUM) Solano Campus * Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) * Industrial Technology and Packaging (ITP) * Interdisciplinary Studies in Liberal Arts (ISLA) * International Business and Logistics (IBL) Solano Campus * Italian (ITAL) * Japanese (JPNS) * Journalism (JOUR) * Kinesiology (KINE) * Landscape Architecture (LA) * Language (LAN) Solano Campus * Law (LAW) Solano Campus * Leadership (LDR) Solano Campus * Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies (LAES) * Liberal Studies (LS) * Library (LIB) Solano Campus * Management (MGT) Solano Campus * Marine Science (MSCI) * Maritime Policy and Management (MPM) Solano Campus * Materials Engineering (MATE) * Mathematics (MATH) * Mathematics (MTH) Solano Campus * Mechanical Engineering (ME) * Microbiology (MCRO) * Military Science Leadership (MSL) * Music (MU) * Natural Resources (NR) * Nautical Science (NAU) Solano Campus * Naval Science (NSC) Solano Campus * Nutrition (NUTR) * Oceanography (OCN) Solano Campus * Philosophy (PHIL) * Physical Education (PE) Solano Campus * Physical Science (PSC) * Physics (PHY) Solano Campus * Physics (PHYS) * Plant Sciences (PLSC) * Political Science (POLS) * Psychology (PSY) * Religious Studies (RELS) * Science and Mathematics (SCM) * Sociology (SOC) * Soil Science (SS) * Spanish (SPAN) * Special Education (SPED) * Statistics (STAT) * Theatre (TH) * Transportation Engineering Management (TEM) Solano Campus * University Studies (UNIV) * Wine and Viticulture (WVIT) * Women's, Gender and Queer Studies (WGQS) * World Languages and Cultures (WLC) Print Options * DSCI How to Read Course Descriptions The bolded first line begins with a capitalized abbreviation that designates the subject area followed by the course number and title. The unit value is also displayed. Term Typically Offered: F = Fall, SP = Spring, SU = Summer CR/NC: Indicates a course is offered on a Credit/No Credit grading basis only. GE Area: Indicates the General Education (GE) Area for which the course may fulfill a requirement. See the course description for details. USCP: Indicates that credit in the course satisfies the U.S. Cultural Pluralism requirement. GWR: Indicates the course will satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement, if the student earns a grade of C or better AND receives certification of proficiency in writing based on a 500-word in-class essay. Prerequisite: Coursework to be completed and/or requirements to be met before taking the course Corequisite: Course or courses that must be taken in a previous term or in the same term Concurrent: Course or courses that must be taken in the same term Recommended: Course with supporting content that is recommended, but is not required to be taken in a previous term or in the same term The course description summarizes the purpose and key topical areas of the course, and includes special requirements if they exist. It indicates the mode of instruction, such as lecture and/or laboratory; if no mode is indicated, the course is supervised independent study. If a course can be taken more than once for credit, the description will indicate that either major credit or total credit is limited to a specified number of units. Some course descriptions end with information about whether the course was "formerly" another course or whether the course is cross-listed. A cross-listed course is the same course offered within multiple subject areas, MCRO/ WVIT 3301 Wine Microbiology for example. How to Read Course Descriptions DSCI Courses DSCI 2200 Special Problems for Undergraduates (1-2 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Individual investigation, research, studies, or surveys of selected problems. Repeatable up to 4 units. Formerly DSCI 200. DSCI 2202 Dairy Promotion and Marketing (3 units) Term Typically Offered: F Prerequisite: DSCI 229 or DSCI 2229 . National and state dairy promotional programs, advertising and merchandising. Marketing and pricing of milk and dairy products at the state and national level. 3 lectures. Formerly DSCI 202. DSCI 2229 General Dairy Manufacturing (4 units) Term Typically Offered: F, SP 2026-28 or later catalog: GE Area 5B 2026-28 or later catalog: GE Area 5C 2020-26 catalogs: GE Area B2 2020-26 catalogs: GE Area B3 Composition and properties of fluid milk and manufactured milk products. Chemistry and microbiology of dairy products. Processes and equipment involved in the manufacture of butter, cheeses, and other fermented dairy products, frozen, condensed, and dried dairy foods. 3 lectures, 1 laboratory. Fulfills GE Areas 5B and 5C (GE Areas B2 and B3 for students on the 2020-26 catalogs). Formerly DSCI 229. DSCI 2230 General Dairy Husbandry (3 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Selection, breeding, feeding, and management of dairy cattle. Composition and food value of dairy products. Milk pricing, political influences, dairy industry statistics and opportunities. Producing and handling products. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 230. DSCI 2270 Special Topics (1-3 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Directed group study of special topics. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Repeatable up to 6 units. 1 to 3 lectures. Formerly DSCI 270. DSCI 3321 Lactation Physiology (3 units) Term Typically Offered: F Prerequisite: ASCI 112 or ASCI 1101 ; ASCI 220 or ASCI 2220 ; and one of the following: DSCI 230, DSCI 2230 , or ASCI 2230 . Mammary gland anatomy, development and function as it relates to milk production. Endocrine regulation and development of lactation, metabolic adaptations to lactation, milk component synthesis. Mammary gland disorders associated with lactation and common control strategies. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 3 lectures. Formerly DSCI 321. DSCI 3330 Dairy Cattle Reproductive Management and Artificial Insemination (3 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: One of the following: DSCI 230, DSCI 2230 , ASCI 229, or ASCI 2229 . Reproductive management of dairy cattle including estrus synchronization, artificial insemination procedures, reproductive technologies, fertility and reproductive disorders and herd reproductive evaluation. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 330. DSCI 3344 Dairy Microbiology (3 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: One of the following: DSCI 229, DSCI 2229 , FSN 330, or FDSC 3330 ; and STAT 218 or STAT 1110 . Microorganisms involved in the fermentation, ripening, and spoilage of dairy products. Disease transmission and the presence of indicator microbes in dairy products. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 444. DSCI 3388 Dairy Farmstead Operations: Cow to Cheddar (3 units) Term Typically Offered: F, SP 2026-28 or later: Upper-Div GE Area 2/5 2020-26 catalogs: Upper-Div GE Area B Prerequisite: Junior standing; completion of GE Area 1 with grades of C- or better (GE Area A for the 2020-26 catalogs); completion of GE Area 2 with a grade of C- or better (GE Area B4 for the 2020-26 catalogs); and completion of GE Area 5B with a grade of C- or better (GE Area B2 for the 2020-26 catalogs). Science and technology involved in dairy farmstead operations from calf care, ruminant nutrition, lactation, animal welfare, metabolic diseases, milk biochemistry, cheesemaking, to dairy food safety. Processes, equipment, and management practices with a focus on cheese production from farm to fork. 3 lectures. Fulfills GE Areas Upper-Division 2 or Upper-Division 5 (GE Area Upper-Division B for students on the 2020-26 catalogs). DSCI 4400 Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates (1-2 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Individual investigation, research, studies, or surveys of special problems. Repeatable up to 4 units. Formerly DSCI 400. DSCI 4401 Physical and Chemical Properties of Dairy Products (3 units) Term Typically Offered: F Prerequisite: CHEM 124, CHEM 127, CHEM 1120 , or graduate standing. Recommended: CHEM 312 or CHEM 2240 ; and CHEM 314 or CHEM 3350 . Composition, structure and properties of milk and milk products. Physical and chemical changes that occur during processing and storage of dairy products. Objective measurement of chemical and physical properties. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 401. DSCI 4402 Quality Assurance and Control of Dairy Products (3 units) Term Typically Offered: SP Prerequisite: STAT 218, STAT 1110 , or graduate standing. Recommended: One of the following: DSCI 444, DSCI 3344 , MCRO 421, or MCRO 4421 . Current methods used to evaluate dairy products with respect to production plant economics and consumer safety. Design and interpretation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), environmental monitoring, allergen control, and food defense programs for ensuring product quality and safety. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 402. DSCI 4410 Dairy Nutrition (3 units) Term Typically Offered: TBD Prerequisite: ASCI 355 or ASCI 3355 ; and STAT 218 or STAT 1110 . Nutrient metabolism and diet formulation technologies for all classes of dairy cattle; whole-farm feed management; physiological and nutritional aspects of predominant metabolic disorders; on-farm auditing and troubleshooting of nutritional management. Field trip may be required. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Formerly DSCI 410. DSCI 4412 Dairy Farm Consultation (3 units) Term Typically Offered: SP Corequisite: DSCI 432 or DSCI 4432 . Student consultation teams visit dairies and attend management training seminars followed by presenting management recommendations to the dairy owners, consultants, and other industry leaders. Field trip required. 1 seminar and supervised work. Formerly DSCI 412. DSCI 4422 Breeding and Genetics of Dairy Cattle (3 units) Term Typically Offered: SP Prerequisite: ASCI 302 or ASCI 3302 . Evaluation of inherited characteristics in dairy cattle, includ