The course will focus on understanding, analyzing and utilizing the genetic basis of quantitative traits for animal breeding and genetics. The goal is to provide students with the necessary skills and tools to not only apply existing approaches, but also be in a position to use new techniques and approaches that are likely to be developed in the near future. The course will start with an overview of the basic machinery of quantitative genetics and include special emphasis on recent theoretical and molecular approaches for analysis of quantitative traits and to enhance selection response. Students will be assigned homework problems daily, which will be group-problems where teams of students will work together. Results for the problems will be presented and discussed in the class. In addition to the subject matter, the Nordic students will have a good opportunity to get acquainted with each others, and with the students from the Baltic and possibly from other countries as well. Nordic PhD courses play an important role because individual countries themselves have too few PhD students in order to afford to give courses by the best teachers in the field.