Veterinary colleges require that students complete a broad range of pre-veterinary courses in the sciences before moving on to primary animal medicine courses, including courses in the following disciplines: organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, physics, general biology, animal nutrition, animal biology, genetics, cellular biology, vertebrate embryology, zoology, microbiology and systemic physiology. In addition to these pre-veterinary courses, most veterinary colleges require that students either earn a bachelor's degree or take between 45 and 90 credit hours of undergraduate general education classes before enrollment.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree programs typically take four years to complete, the bulk of which is focused on specialized animal medicine courses. Most AVMA-accredited programs offer focused veterinary courses in the following areas of study: veterinary parasitology, veterinary microbiology, infectious diseases, veterinary toxicology, clinical epidemiology, exotic and emerging animal diseases and preventive animal medicine. These core major courses are taken at the graduate level, and students are generally required to earn at least a B average to remain in good standing within a given program.
Most Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree programs housed by AVMA-accredited veterinary colleges provide students with required clinical training opportunities. While some schools require that students work in local animal hospitals or medical facilities under the supervision of a professional veterinarian, other schools require that students complete clinical medical laboratory work in medical facilities located on-campus. In both scenarios, students perform clinical work in a number of specialized medical areas, including internal medicine, cardiology, animal surgery, anesthesiology and oncology. In clinical settings, students are evaluated to ensure that they have mastered those veterinary skills taught in the classroom.