Program Overview

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program

The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is designed to provide a balanced educational foundation for the varied career opportunities available to veterinary graduates. The program aims to develop competent and confident graduates capable of entering the profession with day-one knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Program Overview

The four-year professional curriculum leading to the DVM degree is a predominantly residential and in-person program designed to ensure students develop essential clinical competencies, communication skills, and collaborative abilities. Limited pre-clinical course content may be delivered by distance education to enhance in-person instruction and to provide access to broader faculty expertise.

Curriculum Structure

• The first two years focus on developing core knowledge, skills, and attributes across the species through integration of the basic and clinical sciences.
• Professional development is fostered through weekly problem-solving sessions focused on clinical reasoning skills.
• Students enter their third-year upon completion of their second year's spring semester, at which point they enter clinics for the first time to complete four clinical rotations over the summer.
• In the third year, students return to the classroom to reinforce and build on their acquired knowledge and skills and to focus on an area of interest by way of five tracking options: Small Animal, Equine, Food Animal, Mixed Animal, and Public/Corporate.
• Students finish the last nine months of the DVM program with 12 clinical rotations.

Tracks

The DVM curriculum offers students the ability to focus on an area of their interest, which is called tracking. Once students have gained a foundational knowledge in core material during the first two years, they are able to build on this through advanced courses that are concentrated on their career goals.

Track Advisors

Track advisors are available to meet with current DVM students as they consider their career goals, coursework, and clinical placements. The track advisors are:

• Small Animal: Dr. Mark Freeman and Dr. Julie Cecere
• Food Animal: Dr. Sherrie Clark and Dr. John Currin
• Equine: Dr. Rebecca Funk and Dr. Amy Santonastaso
• Mixed Animal: Dr. Jacque Pelzer
• Public/Corporate: Dr. Carla Savage and Dr. Cassidy Rist

Curriculum Monitoring and Review

The DVM curriculum is constantly monitored and reviewed by the college's Curriculum Committee and updated as trends in veterinary education emerge. The curriculum includes a variety of courses and experiences designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in veterinary medicine. The DVM course catalog and course syllabi are available for review.