Veterinary Degrees Online

A minimum of seven years of university study must be completed to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. To be eligible to apply to the DVM Program, students must be in their third year of full-time study in an undergraduate science degree program. DVM admission requirements include eight specific university-level courses: two biological sciences and one cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, statistics and two humanities and/or social sciences. Admission to the four-year DVM program is competitive. In addition to the eight required courses completed in a full-time science degree program, you will be evaluated based on Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, a background information form, letters of reference, and possibly an interview.

The OVC is dedicated to your success. We prepare you for the world of veterinary medicine by ensuring that you are educated in science and medicine, as well as in economics, computer technology, human and client relations, and business management. You will learn about private practice as well as alternative careers in government, teaching, research and industry. As the future of veterinary medicine changes, the Ontario Veterinary College prepares you for the diverse range of career opportunities available to you.

A variety of programs and activities exist to create awareness about career choices outside of traditional clinical practice. For example, the Summer Leadership and Research Program offers summer student researchers at OVC a variety of networking activities and field trips, exposing them to veterinarians in a variety of career settings. Career Options Mentors can put you in touch with graduates who will share their career experiences in diverse areas of veterinary medicine application.

Veterinarians play a major role in the health care of pets, livestock, zoo, sporting, and laboratory animals. Some veterinarians use their skills to protect humans against diseases carried by animals and conduct clinical research on human and animal health problems. Others work in basic research, broadening the scope of fundamental theoretical knowledge, and in applied research, developing new ways to use knowledge.

Prospective veterinarians must graduate with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) degree from a four-year program at an accredited college of veterinary medicine and must obtain a license to practice. There are 28 colleges in 26 states that meet accreditation standards set by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education. The prerequisites for admission vary. Many of these colleges do not require a bachelor’s degree for entrance, but all require a significant number of credit hours—from 45 to 90 s.h.—at the undergraduate level. However, most of the students admitted have completed an undergraduate program. Applicants without a bachelor’s degree find it difficult to gain admittance.

In addition to satisfying pre-veterinary course requirements, applicants must submit test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT), or the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), depending on the preference of the college to which they are applying. Currently, 22 schools require the GRE, 4 require the VCAT, and 2 accept the MCAT.

The College offers a four-year full-time program (curriculum) leading to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree. The first three years are taught in a case-based and traditional lecture/laboratory format. At the end of the first year, students choose a track – small animal, food animal, equine, mixed species and public/corporate veterinary medicine. Considerable flexibility exists for a student to tailor their curriculum to meet individual needs and interests. The senior year (clinical) is 12 months in length.
Combined DVM and Graduate Degree Program

In recognition of a need for veterinarians trained in both basic and clinical sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine offers the opportunity for D.V.M. students to participate in graduate studies. Students receive the appropriate advanced training to conduct research in basic or clinical disciplines so they can bring their knowledge and research training into clinical investigations.

The extent of the D.V.M. coursework and graduate M.S/Ph.D. coursework differs with each scientific discipline. A student participating in the combined degree program may elect a parallel curriculum program by enrolling in the DVM curriculum during fall and spring semesters, and graduate curriculum during the summer semesters with an additional 1 or 2 semesters beyond the DVM to complete the MS degree; one or two years beyond the DVM to complete a PhD degree. The student may elect for an integrated curriculum by completing the first two years of the DVM program, spending the next one or two years pursuing graduate studies full time, and then completing the remaining professional DVM degree program.

The combined degree program will ordinarily require five years of equivalent study time for DVM and MS degrees or six to seven years of equivalent study time for DVM and PhD degrees. A limited number of positions are available each year; therefore, only the best qualified applicants will be considered for the combined degree program.

For students who like to work with animals—either companion animals or livestock—the Veterinary Science Program is a perfect place to start your studies. The Veterinary Science Program is a pre-professional program that satisfies the entrance requirements for professional veterinary schools that offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree.

Students who satisfy the pre-veterinary coursework, the university’s core requirements and are accepted into a professional veterinary school, may qualify for a bachelor of science degree from the University of Nevada, Reno after completion of 32 credits at the professional school.

(i) Introduction

The Atlantic Veterinary College accepted its first class in the fall of 1986. Approximately 60 students are selected each year for entrance into the four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. The admission process for veterinary studies is designed to select applicants considered most likely to succeed in the veterinary curriculum, subject only to Federal-Provincial agreements for regional quotas. Students must have potential to become competent, responsible veterinarians, dedicated to a lifetime of productive public service and continued learning.

Each year, the college accepts 60 students to its DVM program. Approximately forty-two of the seats are reserved for residents of Atlantic Canada and the remaining eighteen seats are for international students.

(ii) Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to complete prerequisite courses and supply official Graduate Record Examination – General (GRE) results. Applicants will be able to fulfill the academic requirements at a university of their choice. Applicants are advised to register in programs which will provide a career alternative, should they not be admitted to the DVM program.

Required Courses (50%)

A total of 50 points of the applicant score will be based upon grades attained in the 20 required courses (15 specified and 5 electives with the highest grades). These 50 points will be calculated as follows:

a) 30% or 15 points from the average of the four biological science prerequisite courses, including Genetics, Microbiology, and two animal Biology electives;

b) 70% or 35 points from grades in the remaining 16 required courses as listed:
2 Math courses (one being statistics)
3 Chemistry courses (one being Organic Chemistry)
1 Physics course
2 English courses (1 being Composition)
3 Humanities and/or Social Sciences
5 Electives in any area

Normally, these courses must be completed while the applicant is enrolled as a full-time student carrying at least 9 semester-hours credit, excluding labs. Science courses will normally have a laboratory component and be completed within six years of the date of application. Exceptional circumstances will be given consideration; however, it is necessary for all applicants to demonstrate the ability to master difficult subject matter in the context of meaningful full-time activity.

Graduate Record Examination (5%)

Interview (30%)
Applicants will be selected for an interview based on their academic ranking. The interview is structured to assess non-cognitive abilities such as, innovative thinking, confidence, integrity, communication, sound judgment, adaptability and resilience.

Animal/Veterinary-Related Experience (10%)
Applicants are requested to submit a structured and detailed description of their veterinary and animal experience within the last five years prior to application. They are strongly encouraged to obtain experience in a wide variety of animal and veterinary related areas. The detailed description will be evaluated by two members of the Admissions Committee.

Extracurricular Activities (5%)
Applicants are requested to submit a detailed description of extracurricular activities within the last 5 years. This will be evaluated by two faculty members on the Admissions Committee.

Assessment of Applications
The first step, encompassing 55% of the evaluation, involves ascertaining completeness of the application, i.e. fulfillment of minimal requirements for admission, then ranking of applicants according to the grades received in the prerequisite courses and GRE scores. Based upon the rank list, approximately twice as many applicants will be invited for an interview than are offered a seat. For applicants that have applied for one of the seats offered to Atlantic Canadians and who are enrolled in courses, a re-evaluation of the academic average is completed when the final transcript is received.

The second step involves only those applicants invited for an interview. The remaining 45% of the evaluation will be based on interview (30%), animal/veterinary-related experience (10%), and extracurricular activities (5%).

(iii) Application Procedure

Note: The applicant is responsible to ensure that all required material is on file by the appropriate deadline; incomplete applications will not be reviewed. While the provisions of this document will ordinarily be applied as stated, the University reserves the right to change any provision listed herein, including but not limited to academic requirements for admission, without notice to individual applicants. Every effort will be made to inform applicants of any changes. Information on changes will be available from the Office of the Registrar.

Atlantic Canadian Applicants
A resident of the Atlantic Provinces is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident:
a. whose last attendance at high school was in a school in the Atlantic Provinces; or
b. whose last province of residence for twelve (12) consecutive months during which time the student was not attending a university or college full-time was one of the Atlantic Provinces; or
c. for whom the permanent home address of parent, foster parent, or guardian is one of the Atlantic Provinces.

Application Deadline is November 1 (must be postmarked by this date).

Atlantic Canadian Applicant Instructions

US Applicants
Applicants who are United States citizens or residents must apply through the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS).

Application deadline for VMCAS is October 2. Deadline for UPEI supplemental application forms is November 1 (must be postmarked by this date). Students can request information by visiting http://www.aavmc.org/ or telephoning 1-877-862-2740.

US Application Information and Instructions

Non-US Applicants
International applicants may apply directly to UPEI. Acceptable English language proficiency requirements include: TOEFL 550 (213 minimum on computerized test); IELTS overall band of 6.5 with no band less than 6.0; MELAB overall score of 80; CanTEST 4.5 minimum; or CAEL minimum overall score of 60, with no band below 50.

Application Deadline is November 1 (must be postmarked by this date).

Non-US Application Information and Instructions

Advanced Standing/Transfer Students Deadline January 1
Advanced Standing Students are students who have completed all of a veterinary medical program from a school not accredited by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and/or the American Veterinary Medical Association but “listed” by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Transfer Students are students who have completed at least one year of a veterinary medical program at a college accredited by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and/or the American Veterinary Medical Association or “listed” by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Colleges “listed” by the American Veterinary Medical Association include foreign colleges recognized by the World Health Organization or the government of its own country, and whose graduates, are eligible to practice in that country, and whose graduates may qualify for entrance into the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) certification program in the United States or the Clinical Proficiency Exam (CPE) in Canada.

Advanced standing or transfer applicants may apply to the second or third year of the DVM program. Places for advanced standing or transfer students are limited and depend on vacancies. Advanced standing students normally must have graduated from a veterinary program within six years of the date of application. Transfer applicants normally must have completed at least the first year of a veterinary program immediately preceding acceptance to the 2nd year of our veterinary medicine program.

Advanced standing or transfer applicants who do not meet the requirements mentioned in the previous paragraph are invited to submit a letter explaining why the admissions committee should consider their application. For advanced standing applicants the explanation must provide details of further veterinary-related study or work.

Each school of veterinary medicine establishes its own requirements; therefore, students pursuing careers as veterinarians need to plan both pre-professional coursework and practical experiences to enhance their chances of acceptance. Veterinary schools value experience in working with animals as well as evidence of academic ability in pre-professional courses.

Wisconsin has a college of Veterinary Medicine at UW-Madison. The School of Veterinary Medicine does not offer a bachelor’s degree program. However, the school does offer a number of courses that are available to undergraduates, and it offers residency, master’s, Ph.D., and doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degrees. Scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) must be submitted at the time of application. In addition to grade point average and GRE scores, evidence of motivation, promise of effective performance, communication skills, and breadth of experience, particularly that relate to veterinary practice, are taken into consideration.

The Veterinary Science program is a 4-yr option in Agricultural Science that fulfills the requirements for admission to a College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).
Students interested in becoming veterinarians may enroll in this program under the guidance of our Veterinary Science advisors.
Once the CVM admission requirements are completed, the student will apply to one or more CVM’s for admission.
If admitted, they will spend another 4 years completing the DVM professional curriculum.

Graduates of a CVM earn the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree and are eligible to become licensed veterinary practitioners.
Post-doctoral studies leading to advanced degrees (MS, PhD) and /or specialty certification (surgery, ophthalmology, etc.) may be pursued following completion of the DVM degree, or in some cases in conjunction with the DVM degree.