Veterinary Degrees Online

The Veterinary Science Department provides advising services for students in the pre-veterinary medicine curriculum and offers courses in the biomedical sciences for undergraduate and graduate majors in related sciences. The department also offers several graduate research assistantship positions in microbiology, virology, and molecular biology for students majoring in other departments. Graduate training is supported by active research programs in diseases of food-producing animals.

South Dakota does not have a professional College of Veterinary Medicine. A pre-veterinary medicine curriculum is offered which allows students to obtain prerequisites for application to Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in other states. Students may meet requirements in two or three years of pre-veterinary study. Many students complete a major for the Bachelor of Science Degree before entering the professional curriculum of Veterinary Medicine. Many degree options are available to students in the pre-veterinary medicine curriculum, but popular choices include Animal Science, Biology, Microbiology, Dairy Science, or others. Students typically select a BS option late in their freshman year or during their sophomore year.

Entrance into the professional curriculum in a College of Veterinary Medicine rests with the individual applicant, and is based upon many factors including their academic record and experience. The applicant should be aware of the difficulties involved in being accepted to a College of Veterinary Medicine. Keen competition should be anticipated.

Integrated within the Department of Veterinary Science is the South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL). The ADRDL is one of 36 full-service veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the U.S. that is accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. The ADRDL is a reference lab that investigates naturally occurring animal health problems. The lab receives over 20,000 submissions and conducts over 400,000 test procedures annually. The lab is the official test center for the SD Animal Industry Board and promotes animal agriculture commerce by performing required export testing. The lab is also integral to national disease eradication programs and serves public health by tracking zoonotic diseases.

Students are selected from qualified applicants
after completion of the required
64 semester hours of pre-professional
requirements. To be eligible for an interview,
applicants must attain at least a
2.8 in the pre-professional requirements
and in the last 45 hours of undergraduate
college work. Any grade less than C in
a required course is not accepted.
Personal interviews are required of some
applicants. Applicants are evaluated on
motivation, maturity, communication
skills, experience with and knowledge of
animals and veterinary medicine, general
knowledge, career awareness, goals, and
leadership potential. To demonstrate to the
admissions committee an understanding
of the profession, all students interested
in applying to the College of Veterinary
Medicine are encouraged to have broad
animal experience and to have related veterinary
work experience.
Only those students who can complete the
required 64 semester hours of pre-professional
courses by the end of the spring
term of the year in which they are seeking
admission will be considered for admission
to the professional curriculum.
An application can be requested from July
1 to September 15. All materials, including
official transcripts and GRE scores,
must be received by October 1 for the
application to be considered.

Students interested in becoming veterinarians may enroll in the College of
Agriculture at the University of Kentucky and complete their requirements
for admission to veterinary school.
Although the Commonwealth of Kentucky does not have a school of
veterinary medicine, it is a participating member of the Southern Regional
Education Board plan, under which legal Kentucky residents may attend the
Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine. Each year 34 students are
chosen from Kentucky to enter the Auburn program.
There is also a plan whereby two legal Kentucky residents may be accepted
by the Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine each year.
Under both of the above programs the students selected are exempt from
the out-of-state tuition that would normally apply to a Kentucky resident.
Admission is on a competitive basis with the final selection being made by
a committee from each of the veterinary schools.
Pre-veterinary studies is not a degree program, but a pre-professional
curriculum. It is strongly recommended that all pre-veterinary students
choose a degree goal early in their college career. Although it is possible to
complete pre-vet requirements in three years, the majority of students
accepted to Auburn have a B.S. or B.A. degree.
A minimum of 72 semester hours with an overall grade-point average of 2.50
(on a 4.0 basis) is required prior to consideration for admission. Due to the
high level of competition for admission to any veterinary school, a student
should maintain at least a 3.0 academic standing on all college work. The
average overall GPA for students accepted to veterinary schools is approximately
3.45. The student must have completed all of the required courses
or acceptable substitutes by June 15 of the year of possible acceptance.
Courses in certain advanced sciences must be taken within six years of
entry to Auburn. All required courses must have a grade of “C” or greater.
Auburn applicants use the Veterinary Medical College Application Service
(VMCAS) application, available at: www.vmcas.org. The deadline for
Auburn applications is October 1. Auburn requires the General Aptitude
portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Tuskegee requires a
separate application form and the GRE, taken within three years of
application. Additional forms are required for both schools; forms are
available from Dr. Dwyer after June 1.
The following curriculum is designed to meet the requirements for both
Auburn and Tuskegee. However, some changes in the pre-veterinary
curriculum may go into effect during the school year. The student has the
responsibility to work closely with his or her pre-veterinary advisor in making
certain that all requirements are met for consideration for acceptance.
All CLEP and advanced placement credit for required courses must have
prior approval by Dr. Dwyer. Auburn does not accept correspondence
credit for required courses, except for Animal Nutrition.
Pre-Veterinary Curriculum Hours
UK Written Communication requirement* ……………………………………… 6-7
Literature (e.g. ENG 334)** ……………………………………………………. 3 or 6
Fine Arts (e.g. MUS 100)** ……………………………………………………………. 3
Humanities/Fine Arts electives** …………………………………………………….. 6
History (e.g. HIS 108/109)** …………………………………………………… 3 or 6
Social sciences electives** (e.g. USP Social Sciences
plus anthropology [Cross-Cultural]) ……………………………………………… 9
MA 123 Elementary Calculus and Its Applications ……………………………. 3
OR
MA 113 Calculus I …………………………………………………………………………. 4
The above courses are waived for students with a B.S. or B.A.
degree.
BIO 150/152 Principles of Biology I and II …………………………………………. 6
BIO 151/153 Principles of Biology Laboratory I and II ……………………….. 4
CHE 105 General College Chemistry I ……………………………………………… 3
CHE 107 General College Chemistry II …………………………………………….. 3
CHE 111 Laboratory to Accompany General Chemistry I ………………….. 1
CHE 113 Laboratory to Accompany General Chemistry II …………………. 2
CHE 230 Organic Chemistry I …………………………………………………………. 3
CHE 231 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I ………………………………………… 2
CHE 232 Organic Chemistry II ………………………………………………………… 3
CHE 233 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II ……………………………………….. 2
PHY 211 General Physics ……………………………………………………………… 5
PHY 213 General Physics ……………………………………………………………… 5
BCH 401G Fundamentals of Biochemistry ……………………………………….. 3
ASC 378 Animal Nutrition and Feeding ……………………………………………. 4
or
ASC 380 Feeds and Feeding …………………………………………………………. 3
Science Electives*** ……………………………………………………………………… 6
Tuskegee requires ASC 378, BCH 401G (Biochemistry), 6 hours of math,
and ASC 101 and ASC 102.
*HON 101/102 can be used.
**Students should contact a UK pre-veterinary advisor regarding alternative
courses.
***Science electives must be two of the following courses: BIO 304, BIO 350
or ASC 325, BIO 308, BIO 315, BIO 542, ASC 364, BIO 561 or BIO 563, BIO
529, Comparative Anatomy (not taught at UK).
Auburn strongly urges students to take organic chemistry and physics
courses at a four-year university or college.
All pre-veterinary students who enter veterinary school without obtaining
an Animal Science degree and petition UK for one later must fulfill the
departmental requirements for an Animal Science degree. In order to be
eligible for the B.S. in Animal Sciences, students must have completed all
University Studies courses, all college requirements and all of the required
core courses and production courses required in the Animal Sciences
degree program.

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.

Career Preparation
There are more than 55,000 veterinarians in the United States. Their
primary responsibility is protecting the health and welfare of animals
and people. Veterinarians diagnose and control animal diseases, treat
sick and injured animals, prevent transmission of animal diseases to
people and advise owners on proper care of pets and livestock. They
ensure a safe food supply by maintaining the health of food animals.
Veterinarians also are involved in wildlife preservation and conservation.
Veterinarians provide a wide variety of services in clinical practice,
teaching, public health, military service, private industry and other
areas. In addition, veterinarians are becoming more involved in
aquaculture, comparative medical research, international disease
control and food production programs.
Academic Program
There are presently 28 schools of veterinary medicine in the United
States, graduating about 2,100 persons a year. With few exceptions,
residents of Missouri need only consider applying to the College
of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri at Columbia.
Students interested in a career in veterinary medicine should have
a strong science, math and biology program in high school. To be
considered for admission to a college of veterinary medicine, a student
must first complete undergraduate pre-veterinary medical course work,
which usually involves three to four years of college study. Completion
of a Pre-Veterinary program does not guarantee admission to a college
of veterinary medicine. Successful applicants usually have grades of “B”
or better, especially in the sciences. The average acceptance rate varies
from year to year but is approximately 45 percent nationally.
Courses
The pre-professional curriculum in veterinary medicine can be
completed at Missouri State. The Pre-Veterinary program is easily
compatible with programs in agriculture, biology and chemistry.
Please consult the Missouri State Catalog online at www.missouristate.
edu/catalog for specific course information.
To apply to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary
Medicine, students must take the following:
English (6 hours may include Writing and Public Speaking)
College Algebra or more advanced math
Inorganic Chemistry- 8 hours
Organic Chemistry- 5 hours
Biochemistry
Physics I and II
Biological Sciences-10 hours
Social Sciences-10 hours
Students should carry full loads of 15 to 17 hours each semester,
so other courses should be chosen to maintain that course load.
Students should check with the veterinary college to which they
plan to apply to be sure they take all required courses.