Veterinary Medicine
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Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program

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Franklin College Preprofessional Program for Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University

To be considered for admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue, the student must have completed a minimum of 72 semester hours of preveterinary medicine studies. Most students admitted to the veterinary program at Purdue have many more than the 72 hours. A large percentage now complete the B.A. degree prior to entering the preprofessional program.

Students applying to Purdue must submit an application to VMCAS (Veterinary Medical College Application Service). This organization serves as a clearing house sending your application materials to all of the vet schools that you apply to. Students applying to Purdue also must take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). This exam must be taken in time to have your completed application postmarked to Purdue no later than October 1 of the year preceding your admission to vet school. The preprofessional requirements for admission to the Purdue program and the Franklin College course that Purdue has designated as a satisfactory equivalent for each required course are listed below.

Prerequisite Coursework

General (inorganic) chemistry with laboratory 2 semesters – CHE 121-124 General Chemistry I & II
Organic chemistry with laboratory 2 semesters – CHE 221-224  Organic Chemistry I & II
Biochemistry 1 semester – BIO/CHE 334 Biochemistry
Biology with laboratory 2 semesters – BIO 134,140  Principles of Biology and Cell Biology
Genetics with laboratory 1 semester – BIO 350 Genetics
Microbiology with lab 1 semester – BIO 373  Microbiology
Physics with laboratory 2 semesters – PHY 121-122  General Physics I & II
Statistics 1 semester – MAT 224 Basic Applied Statistics
English Composition 2 semester – LA 101 The Self and Society and LA 201 The Worlds of Imagination: Exploring Great Literature
Communication 1 semester – LA 111 Public Speaking
Humanities 3 courses – (Foreign languages, cognitive sciences, and social sciences)
Total credits required = 70-73

All pre-requisites must be completed by the end of the spring semester of the year you begin vet school. (The animal nutrition pre-requisite is the exception, you have until the start of your vet school classes (mid-August) to complete this requirement.) Required courses must be completed with a “C-” grade (1.7 on a 4.0 scale) or better in each course and applications must maintain a competitive cumulative grade point average.

Personal Factors and Experiences

  • Routine and responsible work experience with a variety of animals
  • Familiarity with the veterinary medical profession through direct work experience with veterinarians
  • Involvement in extracurricular activities and demonstrated leadership ability both in high school and college
  • Developing time and stress management skills
  • Demonstration of communication skills both oral and written
  • Demonstrated motivation toward a career in veterinary medicine
  • Demonstration of critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • Well-established work record through full-time summer employment and/or part-time academic year employment
  • Commitment to life-long learning

NOTES: (Taken from Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine Bulletin)

Pre-Veterinary Adviser:
Dr. Ben O’Neal