Veterinary Medicine
Profession-shaping ● Career-making ● World-leading
We have been delivering exceptional training in veterinary medicine for over 232 years, and our clinical facilities are second-to none. You will benefit from an outstanding learning environment and graduate ready to make a real difference in the veterinary profession.
Veterinary medicine is a strand-based course that follows a ‘spiral’ curriculum. This means that key concepts are presented repeatedly to you as you progress through the course, at deepening levels of complexity and in different contexts.
The progression of knowledge and understanding from preclinical basic concepts to clinical and professional knowledge and reasoning skills is achieved by revisits to each strand at different stages of the course. For example, when learning about the kidney, you will learn basic anatomy, and physiology during the preclinical phase of the course and then learn about the common diseases of the kidney and how they are diagnosed and treated during the clinical phase. This is then enriched by working with animal patients presented with kidney disease in our first opinion and referral hospitals, or other practices, during clinical rotations and extra-mural placements.
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Courses
UCAS code: D100
The BVetMed programme offers world-leading scientific and clinical training in veterinary medicine. This exciting course builds on our extensive veterinary history, and takes a fresh approach in bringing together technological change, clinical and scientific progress, and stimulating teaching and learning methods.
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UCAS code: D101
This programme allows you to study the five-year BVetMed course plus an additional year completing an intercalated degree. The additional year of study means that you will gain a more rounded education, additional scientific context, and carry out in-depth research to better your understanding.
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UCAS code: D102
The BVetMed programme is renowned throughout the world for its rigour and excellence, and if you are already a graduate or in your final year of a biological sciences degree, you can apply for the Graduate Accelerated course. The four-year programme enables you to supplement your existing skills, adding to the preclinical science information covered by a previous biological science degree.
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UCAS code: D190
This Veterinary Gateway course is aimed at students who want to study veterinary medicine but who might not otherwise meet our entry requirements. The programme integrates an additional preparatory year designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to study veterinary medicine.
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UCAS code: D105
This joint Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) degree offers you a unique opportunity to train at two world-leading scientific and educational institutions – the Royal Veterinary College and Aberystwyth University. This exciting new course combines the scientific and clinical expertise from both our organisations to help student’s gain wide-ranging veterinary training and will be especially appealing to those interested in veterinary careers within Wales or in rural mixed practice.
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Accreditation
The RVC is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that holds accreditations from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in the UK, the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) in the EU, and the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in the USA and Canada for our Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVetMed) Programmes.
Furthermore, RCVS accreditation ensures RVC veterinary graduates are licensed to work in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, as well as South Africa.
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Rankings
...of BVetMed students find the course intellectually stimulating (National Student Survey 2022)
...of BVetMed students are in work or further
study at fifteen months after graduating
(most recent Graduate Outcomes survey)
Your career
You will be entitled to work as a veterinarian as soon as you have earned your BVetMed degree and registered as a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Our graduates go on to enjoy a wide range of careers in veterinary medicine, including positions in small animal practices, mixed practices, equine practices, farm/livestock environments, wild animal environments, wildlife conservation, military support, industry research and technical support, government, and academia.
The RVC’s accreditation status with the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) allows BVetMed graduates to register to practise in Europe without requiring any further qualifications*. Reciprocal arrangements between the RCVS and the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council
Inc (AVBC), the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI), and the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), allows BVetMed Graduates to practice in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa without requiring any further qualifications*.
In addition, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) will recognise your BVetMed degree as equivalent to those awarded by veterinary colleges in North America. Some of the USA and Canada’s major veterinary employers recruit actively among our final year students. Please note, however, that you will be required to sit the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) if you intend to work in North America after qualifying as well as satisfy state/provincial veterinary board requirements where relevant – just as you would if graduating from any North American school*.
* Notwithstanding any visa requirements