Scholarships and Research Funding for Veterinary Study

Funding words are used loosely. "Scholarship", "award", "bursary", "studentship" and "fully funded" can mean very different things, and a veterinary course is long enough that a small difference in wording becomes a large difference in what you pay. This guide defines the common terms as we use them in this directory, shows how real veterinary school pages word their funding, and lists what a funding claim should state before you count on it. It is not financial advice and cannot promise any award.

Definitions used in this directory

• Guaranteed funding: an amount the school commits to every student who meets stated conditions (for example, everyone admitted to a program). If the page does not say it is automatic and unconditional, treat it as something else.
• Competitive scholarship: awarded by selection among applicants, usually on merit, need, background or a mix. Having applied or even being eligible does not mean receiving it.
• Assistantship: paid work for the university (teaching, research or clinical support) in exchange for a wage or stipend, sometimes with fee relief. It carries duties and hours.
• Tuition waiver or fee remission: the university cancels some or all of the tuition. It does not by itself cover living costs, equipment or placements.
• Stipend: a regular payment for living costs, typically attached to a research studentship or assistantship. Amount, duration and conditions should be stated.
• Restricted funding: limited by residency, nationality, program, year of study or a work commitment afterwards.
• Loans and loan forgiveness: money you must repay, or repayment that is reduced under conditions. Neither is a scholarship.

How real veterinary pages word it

The examples below are quoted from the schools' own pages as fetched on 19 October 2026. They show how little some pages say.

• Edinburgh (undergraduate BVM&S) says its school offers two scholarships for overseas students or UK graduates starting the BVM&S and gives no amount. It adds that school prizes exist for academic excellence, also without amounts, and it says limited university grant funding for placements is "unlikely to cover the full costs of EMS". Two awards across an intake is competitive and restricted, not a plan.
• Queensland says you may be eligible for more than 100 scholarships but does not list them on the program page, and that international students may be eligible for financial aid from their home country or the Australian Government. "May be eligible" and "more than 100" together tell you nothing about your chance.
• Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine says several loans and some scholarships are available from various sources and notes that students admitted without 72 completed undergraduate hours cannot get federal student loans; private loans may be an option. Loans are not scholarships.
• Guelph reports that more than $42.7 million in scholarships was awarded to University of Guelph students in 2021. That is a university-wide total for one year, not an amount per veterinary student.
• WCVM (Saskatchewan) describes a student loan forgiveness scheme for veterinarians working in designated communities, up to $20,000 over five years, which applies after graduation rather than during study. The same page states that only Canadian citizens and permanent residents may apply, so this is also a restricted scheme.
• Rakuno Gakuen's graduate school of veterinary medicine states in Japanese that it has a teaching assistant system and that selected assistants can receive financial support. That is an assistantship: it requires selection and duties.

The Adelaide page for its Doctor of Veterinary Medicine mentions scholarships generally and links to a scholarships section but lists none specific to the program. For all of these, the useful step is to follow the link to the school's scholarship database and read the eligibility rules for your own status.

Research degrees: what to look for

Research degrees such as a PhD in clinical veterinary sciences are often funded differently from professional veterinary degrees. Edinburgh's research page does not describe studentships, stipends or fee waivers; it describes students combining loans, family support, savings, work income, employer sponsorship and scholarships, and it points to a separate scholarships site. It also states that additional research costs (consumables, data access, facility charges, fieldwork, computing and essential travel) could be up to £7,000 per year and that you should confirm with your supervisor how these will be paid. In other words, a research place does not imply that the project's costs, your fees or your living costs are covered.

When a project is advertised with funding, ask for the terms in writing: who funds it, whether it is open to your fee status, how long it lasts, and what happens if the research runs past the funded period.

What "fully funded" must state

"Fully funded" is a claim, not a category. Before relying on it, the source should say each of the following. If it does not, we do not repeat the phrase.

1. What is covered: tuition, fees, a stipend, health insurance, equipment, travel, placements.
2. Amount and currency: a figure with the year it applies to.
3. Duration: the number of years or semesters, and whether it can be extended.
4. Eligibility: which nationalities, residency or fee categories qualify.
5. Selection: automatic or competitive, and how many awards exist.
6. Conditions: grades to maintain, duties to perform, or a work commitment afterwards.
7. Who pays: the university, a government, an employer or a charity.

A tuition waiver without a stipend leaves living costs open; a stipend without a waiver leaves fees open. For the wider cost picture, read tuition and costs beyond fees.

Practical steps

• Search the university's own funding or scholarships site, not third-party lists, and check the date.
• Note deadlines, which are often earlier than the program's admission deadline. See veterinary school admissions.
• Check whether your fee status is eligible. Many awards are limited to home students, and some programs admit only domestic applicants; see studying veterinary medicine abroad.
• Ask what happens to funding if you take a year out, change program or fail a year.
• Treat funding for placements and research costs as separate from funding for tuition.
• Be wary of anyone who charges to find you a scholarship or guarantees an outcome.

A listing in this directory does not mean a school offers funding, and nothing here promises that you will receive any award or be admitted. Browse programs on the veterinary medicine page and use the school's own financial aid office for the final word.