Veterinary Medicine

Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) are highly trained medical professionals who provide for the health of all kinds of animals. They diagnose, treat, and prevent animal diseases, and help maintain the quality of the environment. Additionally, veterinarians collaborate with physicians and public health agencies to prevent and control diseases transmitted from animals to humans. 

Veterinarians work in a wide array of fields such as private practice, education and research, public health, and more. They can also specialize in a particular breed of animal such as equine medicine or exotics or into a medical specialty like ophthalmology, oncology, pathology, or dermatology. 

To learn more about the diverse field of veterinary medicine, check out the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Veterinary Medicine Preparation

  • Timeline

  • 1. Obtain a Bachelor’s degree and complete all pre-veterinary requirements, including prerequisites, the GRE (if applicable), and experiences (4+ years)
    2. Attend an accredited Veterinary Medicine program and earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree (4 years)
    3. Pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE)
    Optional: Students may choose to complete a residency program if they are interested in becoming more specialized in a certain breed of animal or medical specialty (3-5 years)
    4. Become licensed in the state you wish to practice
    5. Maintain certification and continuing education

    Upon matriculation into a health professional school, there are additional steps students must complete in order to obtain licensure or professional certification. These steps vary by field and by school, and may include board examinations, supervised clinical hours, background checks, or other program-specific milestones. Once you are in your graduate school, your graduate program advisor will provide guidance on the post-graduation next steps.

  • Pre-Requisites

  • Prerequisite courses are the academic foundation that most schools require students to complete before beginning veterinary school. No matter which major you choose, you will need to fulfill the specific science and non-science prerequisites set by each school. Always review and cross-check the requirements of your major with the prerequisite coursework for your chosen health profession to ensure you  are completing both UCD requirements as well as the requirements of your intended health professional school(s).

    While HPA has developed a suggested prerequisite chart from a sample of schools, prerequisite coursework and entrance requirements will vary by program, hence it is important to check individual schools' websites to familiarize yourself with their exact prerequisites.

    Program Prerequisites

    Courses to Take at UC Davis

    Most schools require: 

    		 

    General Biology 

    BIO 1 & 2 & 3 AND BIO 1L & 2L

    General Chemistry

    CHE 2ABC OR CHE 4ABC

    Organic Chemistry 

    CHE 8AB OR CHE 118ABC

    Physics 

    PHY 7ABC OR PHY 9ABC

    Biochemistry

    (ABI 102 & 103) OR (BIS 102 & 103)

    Math

    MAT 17ABC OR MAT 21ABC

    Statistics

    STA 13 OR STA 100

    English Composition

    Combination of writing-intensive ENL and UWP courses

    Some schools may require:

    		 

    Animal Nutrition

    NUT 115

    Microbiology1

    MIC 102 AND (103L OR 104L)

    Genetics2

    BIS 101 +/- BIS 101D

    Cellular Biology3

    BIS 104 +/- (BCB 212 or BIS2D) OR NPB 110A

    Animal Physiology

    ANS 100

    Public Speaking

    CMN 1

    Humanities/Social Sciences

    any ANT, SOC, or HUM courses

    Prerequisite Chart Footnotes:
    1. For microbiology, students can take MIC 102 (lecture) with one of the laboratory options: MIC 103L or MIC 104L. The decision may be dependent on which major you are in.
    2. Students can take BIS 101D with BIS 101 if the veterinary schools they are interested in require more than 4 quarter units in genetics.
    3. Students can take BCB 212 or BIS 2D with BIS 104 if the veterinary schools they are interested in require more than 3 quarter units in cellular biology. Students also have the option to take NPB 110A for 5 quarter units in cellular biology.

    HPA Recommendations:
    1. Complete all prerequisite courses for a letter grade, not P/NP.
    2. Earn a “C” or higher in all prerequisite coursework. Some programs may require no lower than a B in any of your prerequisite courses.
    3. Maintain a minimum undergraduate and science GPA of 3.0 or higher. A competitive GPA will likely be higher for most programs.

    Please note that veterinary schools do accept community college work in varying degrees, some accept all transferable work, some a certain amount of units, and others accept a very limited amount. If you have any questions about your major, prerequisite courses, or grade/GPA concerns, you are encouraged to make an appointment with one of HPA Staff Advisors.

  • Exam

  • The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is only required by one veterinary schools, Tuskegee University and recommended by two veterinary schools, Ross University and University of Illinois - Urbana. It is strongly recommended to be taken prior to applying. You can speak with a HPA Staff Advisor about your specific timeline. Check each individual school’s admissions webpage that you are applying to to see if they require it.

    Please note: The GRE is not a course-dependent test, meaning there are no specific UCD courses you need to take to prepare. The best way is to give yourself time to study the test by buying test prep books or taking a test prep course.

    To learn more about the standardized exam and preparing for it, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Standardized Exams and HPA’s Test Prep Events & Resources.

Applying to Veterinary School

  • Choosing Schools

  • There are over 30 veterinary profession schools in the U.S. Check out the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)’s list of accredited U.S. veterinary schools.

    There are a variety of factors that go into choosing which veterinary schools to apply to, including degree awarded, location, environment (i.e. urban), tuition, class size, focus or mission statement, etc. Spend some time researching schools online and create a spreadsheet that tracks the factors most important to you. On average, pre-vetmed students apply to 6-8 veterinary schools. HPA also recommends meeting with an advisor to discuss your school list.

  • Application System

  • Applicants typically apply the year before they matriculate into the veterinary school and Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) is a centralized application system that is used by most veterinary schools. To learn more about VMCAS visit the VMCAS Quick Start Guide and FAQs. Students are encouraged to refer to the VMCAS Applicant Help Center for additional guidance on how to complete their applications. Some schools will have applicants participate in VMCAS and will also have applicants complete an application through their own internal graduate school applications, while other programs do not use VMCAS at all. HPA recommends for applicants to carefully review the application process of each individual school that they are applying to.

    The VMCAS opens in January and closes September; these dates may vary for schools who are not utilizing the VMCAS. While VMCAS closes in September, participating schools of VMCAS may have earlier deadline dates, which are the deadlines applicants should be submitting by. These deadlines may also vary by schools or some may admit students on a rolling basis; please check your individual schools for specific dates. If that is the case for your school of choice, be sure to submit your application early, but only when you are ready. Come see an advisor at Health Professions Advising to review your application.

    Schools and application systems may have specific guidelines about what is considered a completed application, and these components may vary based on the application system and/or individual school. Some examples include but are not limited to submitting the application fee and receiving letters of recommendations and official transcripts. Students are responsible for ensuring their applications are complete, submitted, and verified by the application deadline.

    To learn more about applications and application timeline, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications and Application Timelines.

  • Personal Statement
  • The prompt and/or character or word count may vary per year. HPA recommends applicants  begin drafting their personal statement in advance of the application opening. It is very common for applicants to write multiple drafts before they finalize their personal statement. To learn more about approaching personal statements, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Personal Statements.
  • Experiences and Activities

  • Experiences and activities help students learn more about their motivations, interests, and goals, and to explore the field of veterinary medicine. What you do with your time helps define who you are in your application. Whatever you choose to do, be sure you are dedicated, passionate about it, and understand your motivation for pursuing it. It is important that you balance your co-curricular activities with your academics to ensure you are maintaining strong academic performance while still engaging meaningfully outside the classroom.

    A minimum amount of experience hours related to animals and under the supervision of a veterinarian is required by most schools; this is known as “Veterinary Experience” on VMCAS. Some schools may have specific stipulations regarding the setting of where those hours are conducted. If the experience is related to animals but not under the supervision of a veterinarian, this type of experience is considered “Animal Experience.” Students self-report their experiences, listing the duration, hours, and experience information as part of their application materials. Please check each school you plan to apply to for their specific requirements on experiences. Students are also welcome to check out Vet School Bound, which has an interactive map of experience requirements for different veterinary schools.

    Some examples of pre-vet experiences include, but are not limited to:
    - UC Davis Department of Animal Science internships
    - UC Davis Department of Animal Science: Barn Residency Program
    - Internships through Vet Aide Club or PSSD
    - Volunteering at Yolo County Animal Services or other local shelters
    - Volunteering at Knight's Landing Clinic or Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless
    - Work at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital

    To learn more about experiences and various on- and off-campus opportunities, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Experiences. UC Davis students are also encouraged to subscribe to HPA Today (HPA’s newsletter).

  • Letters of Recommendation

  • Letter of recommendation requirements vary by health professional schools, but prevet applicants are required to submit at three letters of recommendations. For many health fields, HPA recommends two lecture-based science instructor recommendations (this excludes research PI), one lecture-based non-science instructor, and additional letters from your co-curricular experiences. This can include a research PI, mentor, volunteer coordinator, professional you shadowed, etc. Your specific school list will determine what letters you may actually need.

    VMCAS requires one of the letters of recommendation to be from a veterinarian (DVM). Veterinary schools that do not utilize the VMCAS may have different requirements regarding letters of recommendations. Overall, most veterinary schools require that one of the recommendations is from a veterinarian or highly recommends it.

    To learn more about the etiquettes for letters of recommendation, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Letters of Recommendations.

  • Supplemental Applications
  • Supplemental applications (or secondaries) may be required for some veterinary schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. Supplemental/secondary applications may include additional fees and/or essays. To learn more about supplemental applications, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications.
  • Interviews
  • Interviews may be required for some veterinary schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. To learn more about preparing for interviews, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Interviews and HPA’s Interview Week.

More questions? Check out the frequently asked questions or schedule an appointment with an advisor.