Degrees Offered

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Veterinary Medical Education

DVM

In September 2008, the University of Calgary will be welcoming students into the newly-created Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The program, which will initially accept 30 students, will put the province of Alberta at the forefront of producing rural community practitioners and of conducting research into animal diseases and food safety supply.

The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program will cover the full range of species and disciplines of veterinary medical education in the junior years of the curriculum. However, in addition to this core, the program will focus on areas important to Alberta and Western Canada, preparing graduates for community and rural practice. Therefore, in the students' senior year after they complete a series of core clinical rotations, they will be expected to choose one of three clinical rotation streams: Production Animal Medicine, Population Medicine (ecosystem health), or Investigative Medicine (biomedical research).

In addition, one- or two-year post-graduate DVM programs in food animal, equine, companion animal, ecosystem health, food safety and research are envisioned. These graduate programs are expected to be established by the University of Calgary, in collaboration with the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan, based on their areas of expertise.

The University of Calgary DVM program will deliver the clinical year of the program through a distributed community teaching hospital. This will allow students to gain hands on experience as well as engage practicing veterinarians as adjunct teachers and partners in the education process. These partnerships include private practices, diagnostic laboratories, wildlife groups, the Calgary Zoo, the Calgary Humane Society, and some Alberta colleges. Using technology to connect multiple sites, the program will allow students, faculty and community partners to connect, and participate in, e-lectures and e-rounds. In keeping with the province's Campus Alberta vision, the DVM program will co-ordinate with other provincial animal-medicine programs in universities and colleges to create a seamless learning system.

The DVM program will work closely with the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine, facilitating research that explores the relationship between animal and human health.

Program Details

Please refer to http://www.vet.ucalgary.ca for details on the three-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program.

Admission Process

The admission requirements are currently under development and will be available spring/summer 2006. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is working hard to ensure that the admissions process will be as objective and transparent as possible. The DVM program is currently open only to residents of Alberta and 30 students will be admitted per year (see following definition of an Alberta resident).

Applicants will be required to complete at least two full years of university course work with a focus on biological sciences prior to admission. Most applicants will have more than two years of university education. Applicants will also be required to have some veterinary experience (paid or volunteer) under the supervision of a veterinarian. The top-ranked applicants after initial screening will be invited for interviews and an on-site written essay which will be used in the final assessment of candidates for admission.

For admission to Veterinary Medicine, the Province of Alberta determines residency as follows:

(a) the Residence of an applicant remains that of his/her parent(s) unless a new Residence has been established in accordance with clause (b);

(b) the Residence of an applicant shall be considered to be Alberta, if the applicant has last resided in Alberta for a period of twelve consecutive months (without including any period during which the applicant was attending a college or university) prior to enrollment;

(c) a Canadian citizen who is resident outside of Canada and intends to re-establish residence in Canada shall be considered a resident of the province or territory of Canada where he/she last resided for a period of twelve consecutive months before leaving Canada; and

(d) a person who is a permanent resident as defined in the Immigration Act (Canada) shall be considered to be a resident of another province or territory of Canada pursuant to clause (b).

Dates and Deadlines

It is expected that the admission requirements and application process will be made available to students in summer 2007.

Deadlines for application to the faculty will be early 2008.