diff --git a/src/uiSelectController.js b/src/uiSelectController.js
index 486c245a2..3af7f52a3 100644
--- a/src/uiSelectController.js
+++ b/src/uiSelectController.js
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
  * put as much logic in the controller (instead of the link functions) as possible so it can be easily tested.
  */
 uis.controller('uiSelectCtrl',
-  ['$scope', '$element', '$timeout', '$filter', 'uisRepeatParser', 'uiSelectMinErr', 'uiSelectConfig',
-  function($scope, $element, $timeout, $filter, RepeatParser, uiSelectMinErr, uiSelectConfig) {
+  ['$scope', '$element', '$timeout', '$filter', '$animate', 'uisRepeatParser', 'uiSelectMinErr', 'uiSelectConfig', '$q',
+  function($scope, $element, $timeout, $filter, $animate, RepeatParser, uiSelectMinErr, uiSelectConfig, $q) {
 
   var ctrl = this;
 
@@ -73,26 +73,45 @@ uis.controller('uiSelectCtrl',
 
   // When the user clicks on ui-select, displays the dropdown list
   ctrl.activate = function(initSearchValue, avoidReset) {
-    if (!ctrl.disabled  && !ctrl.open) {
-      if(!avoidReset) _resetSearchInput();
+    if(ctrl.disabled || ctrl.open){
+        return;
+    }
+    if(!avoidReset) _resetSearchInput();
 
-      $scope.$broadcast('uis:activate');
+    $scope.$broadcast('uis:activate');
 
-      ctrl.open = true;
+    ctrl.open = true;
 
-      ctrl.activeIndex = ctrl.activeIndex >= ctrl.items.length ? 0 : ctrl.activeIndex;
+    ctrl.activeIndex = ctrl.activeIndex >= ctrl.items.length ? 0 : ctrl.activeIndex;
 
-      // ensure that the index is set to zero for tagging variants
-      // that where first option is auto-selected
-      if ( ctrl.activeIndex === -1 && ctrl.taggingLabel !== false ) {
-        ctrl.activeIndex = 0;
-      }
+    // ensure that the index is set to zero for tagging variants
+    // that where first option is auto-selected
+    if ( ctrl.activeIndex === -1 && ctrl.taggingLabel !== false ) {
+      ctrl.activeIndex = 0;
+    }
+
+    //sets search value and focuses the input
+    var setSearchAndInputFocus = function(){
+      ctrl.search = initSearchValue || ctrl.search;
+      ctrl.searchInput[0].focus();
+    };
+
+    // If ngAnimate is being used in the given app, we need to ensure that $animate is done showing the element before
+    // moving on
+    if($animate.enabled(ctrl.searchInput[0])){
+      var deferedAnimPromise = $q.defer();
+      // Wait until $animate does it's thing
+      $animate.on('removeClass', ctrl.searchInput[0], function() {
+        deferedAnimPromise.resolve();
+      });
 
-      // Give it time to appear before focus
-      $timeout(function() {
-        ctrl.search = initSearchValue || ctrl.search;
-        ctrl.searchInput[0].focus();
+      deferedAnimPromise.promise.then(function(){
+        setSearchAndInputFocus();
+        $animate.off('removeClass', ctrl.searchInput[0]);
       });
+    } else {
+      //If ngAnimate is not being used in the given app, we can just set the focus wrapped in a $timeout
+      $timeout(setSearchAndInputFocus);
     }
   };