How to choose a veterinary school

Choosing a veterinary school is harder than choosing most degrees, because the question that matters most is not "which school is best" but "which schools lead somewhere I can legally work as a veterinarian". This guide sets out a sequence of checks. It does not rank schools, and nothing in a directory can promise admission, registration or a job.

Start with where you want to practise

Veterinary practice is regulated by place. In the United States each state has its own licensing board; in the United Kingdom the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) keeps the register; in Australia and New Zealand the veterinary boards work through the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC). A degree that is straightforward to use in the country where you study may need extra assessment, examinations or both elsewhere.

So the first decision is not a school but a list of one or more places where you might want to work. If you are undecided, say so, and favour programs that are accepted by the regulator where you are most likely to end up. The guide on understanding international veterinary qualifications explains how the pieces fit together.

Check the right kind of accreditation

Accreditation of a veterinary program is a review of that program, not a general label for a university. In the United States, the AVMA Council on Education (COE) develops standards and reviews DVM or equivalent programs, and the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) does the same for veterinary technology. The AVMA describes accreditation as a voluntary, non-governmental review of whether a program meets accepted standards of quality.

Some points worth knowing from the AVMA's own pages:

• The AVMA says its web page is the only official online list of schools and programs accredited by the COE, and that it is updated biannually. It is not responsible for accredited-status claims on other websites, which is a good reason to check the list itself rather than a school's brochure.
• The list separates US accredited colleges, provisionally accredited colleges, colleges holding a Letter of Reasonable Assurance, Canadian accredited colleges and accredited foreign colleges.
• "Accredited" is a classification for a college with no deficiencies in the standards, granted for up to seven years. Other classifications exist, including "Accredited with minor deficiencies", "Probationary Accreditation" and "Provisional Accreditation". Provisional accreditation applies to a newer program that began its first cohort, and it may remain in effect for no more than five years.
• The COE expects at least 80 percent of a college's graduating seniors who sit the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) to have passed at the time of graduation.

Other regions have their own bodies. In the UK, the RCVS says it is legally responsible for setting and monitoring standards for UK veterinary degrees. In Australia and New Zealand, the AVBC accredits veterinary programs using standards that apply to entry-level programs leading to general registration; its standards took effect on 1 January 2024, with a second version released in January 2026. In Europe, the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) runs the European System of Evaluation of Veterinary Training (ESEVT); EAEVE was founded in 1988, has its seat in Vienna and is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education. EAEVE publishes a table of establishments' status; read the current table, because we have not summarised its status categories here.

Always read the status, the date and the exact degree title in the accreditor's own list. A school that is a candidate, newly provisional or "seeking" accreditation is not the same as one that is fully accredited, and only the accreditor can say how graduates are treated.

Questions about the program itself

Once accreditation is confirmed, compare what the program actually offers.

Clinical training. Ask where students do clinical rotations: on a university teaching hospital, at partner practices or at other schools. The COE's policy documents include separate procedures for colleges that use off-campus sites for required rotations and for colleges that send final-year students elsewhere. Ask how many hours students spend with live animals, in which species, and under whose supervision. See clinical placements in online programs if a program advertises distance elements; for an overview, read can you study veterinary subjects online.

Species and focus. Some schools are strongest in companion animals, others in farm, equine, wildlife or public health work. Check the school's own curriculum pages rather than assuming.

Outcomes. Where the school publishes pass rates for licensing examinations, read the definition: which exam, which cohort, first attempt or any attempt. Pass rates describe a past cohort and do not predict yours.

Class size and support. Ask about cohort size, student support, and what happens if you need to repeat a year or change pace.

Entry route and length

Routes differ. The RCVS describes a veterinary degree at university as the core requirement in the UK and lists several ways in: A-level or equivalent entry, some BTEC combinations, a one-year foundation course for applicants who do not meet standard requirements, and compact four-year graduate-entry courses for applicants with a relevant science degree. Elsewhere, such as the United States, the professional degree is commonly entered after prior university study. Whether you would rather start directly or enter as a graduate is covered in graduate entry vs direct entry, and admissions practice in veterinary school admissions.

Costs, funding and living arrangements

Tuition is only part of the cost. Clinical years may involve travel, equipment, insurance and time away from paid work. International students often pay different fees from home students. Our guides on tuition and costs beyond fees and scholarships and research funding list what to ask. Always take figures from the school's current fee schedule and note the currency, the year and what the fee covers.

If you plan to practise in a different country

Studying abroad can be sensible, but it adds a step. The AVMA's Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) offers a certification program for foreign graduates, with four steps: application, English language, a basic and clinical science examination and a clinical skills assessment. The AVMA states that ECFVG certification does not equate with state licensure and that holders must still meet all state requirements, including the national licensing examination. In the UK, the RCVS says that the route to its register depends on where you qualified, and that the Statutory Membership Examination is for overseas vets whose qualifications it does not recognise. In Australia and New Zealand, the AVBC administers the Australasian Veterinary Examination and assesses overseas-trained vets.

Recognition by one regulator is not recognition by another. Ask the regulator of the place where you want to work, before enrolling, what it requires of graduates of your chosen school, and keep the answer in writing. See studying veterinary medicine abroad and understanding recognition and registration.

Make sure you are choosing the right profession

Veterinarians, veterinary nurses, veterinary technicians and veterinary science graduates follow different programs and hold different credentials. If you are not sure which you want, read veterinarian vs veterinary nurse vs veterinary technician and veterinary medicine vs veterinary science first.

A short checklist

1. Write down the places where you might want to practise.
2. Find the program in the relevant accreditor's own list and note its status and date.
3. Compare clinical training, species coverage and published outcomes using the school's own documents.
4. Work out entry route, length and total cost.
5. Ask each relevant regulator what it requires of graduates of that program.
6. Keep dated copies of every answer.

Browse the veterinary medicine programs in this directory, where we repeat the status wording each source uses and do not upgrade it.