Associate degree
Veterinary Technology (Distance Education Option), A.A.S.
Blue Ridge Community College · Veterinary Technology Program · Weyers Cave, Virginia, United States
- Official award
- Associate of Applied ScienceAAS
- Pathway
- Veterinary technologyStated for United States
- Format
- HybridNine semesters total, includes three summers (three year program); 3-year clinical preceptorship
- Tuition
- Not published
Hybrid program
About this program
Three-year part-time distributive-delivery associate degree for people already working in veterinary practices; live classes twice weekly, laboratories on campus and a continuing clinical preceptorship.
- Subject
- Veterinary technology
- Department
- Veterinary Technology Program
- Awarding body
- Not stated on the pages we checked
Qualification and professional pathway
Pathway is classified only from a statement on an official page. An award title such as DVM, BVSc, BSc or MSc does not decide it, and no degree, accreditation or listing by itself grants permission to practise anywhere.
- Degree level
- Associate degreeA two-year-type degree, common in the United States for veterinary technology.
- Pathway
- Veterinary technologyPrograms preparing veterinary technicians or technologists, depending on the jurisdiction. This is a different role from veterinary nursing in some countries and the same role under another name in others.
- Why we classify it this way
- The program states its purpose as preparing students for the Veterinary Technician National Exam; the distance option is designed for people working as veterinary assistants.“The Veterinary Technology Program at Blue Ridge Community College is dedicated to providing an effective base of knowledge to students”Source
- Prior degree required
- Not published
- Further professional requirements
- Graduates are eligible to take the VTNE; BRCC has not determined whether the program meets the requirements of other states.Source
- International applicants and graduates
- The DE option only admits out-of-state students that are engaged in a preceptorship within the state of Virginia.Source
Accreditation, evaluation and recognition
Recorded for this program and campus, with the authority’s role. Program accreditation, evaluation status, professional-body recognition, eligibility toward registration, institutional recognition, directory listings and memberships are different things; none of them is automatic permission to practise, and recognition in one country does not guarantee registration in another.
Verified in official recordAVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA)Program accreditationFull statusUS
Scope: Distance learning option (Virginia residents only, as printed), Weyers Cave, VA; Associate of Applied Science; distance learning initial accreditation November 1999; next evaluation 2030
Study structure
- Delivery
- HybridPart online and part in person (campus attendance, laboratory work, attendance-based exams or clinical placements). A hybrid program is never described as fully online.
- Online instruction
- Mostly online
- Mandatory campus attendance
- Yes
- Campus residencies or workshops
- Laboratories on the BRCC campus three times per semester on average, typically all day on Friday.
- Laboratory work
- Required laboratories on the BRCC campus, three times per semester on average
- Mandatory clinical or workplace placement
- Three-year clinical preceptorship in a veterinary hospital (minimum 20 hours per week) plus a 350-hour coordinated externship in the summer between the second and third year.
- Placement arrangement
- Student arranges the placement
- Must already work in a veterinary setting
- Yes
- Placement site approval
- Yes
- Live attendance
- Live sessions required
- International enrolment
- Not published
- Enrollment restrictions
- Out-of-state students are admitted only if engaged in a preceptorship within the state of Virginia.
- Study mode
- Part-time
- Duration
- Nine semesters total, includes three summers (three year program); 3-year clinical preceptorship
- Campus attendance
- Laboratories on the BRCC campus three times per semester
- Clinical placement
- 350-hour coordinated externship in the summer between the second and third year350 hours
- Intakes
- Summer 2027 academic start
- Campus
- Weyers Cave campusOne College Lane, Weyers Cave, VA 24486
Teaching language
- Taught in
- Not stated on the pages we checked
- English
- English teaching not verifiedAn English-language website does not mean a program is taught in English.
Admissions
- Animal or veterinary experience
- Animal or veterinary experience requiredObservation of a licensed veterinary technician for a minimum of 40 hours within the last calendar year; employment with a preceptor veterinarian from program start.
- Interview
- Interview possible
- Previous qualification
- SDV, ENG 111, CHM 110 and 3 other curriculum credits completed (or in progress) at application; must be employed at least 20 hours per week by a veterinarian willing to serve as official preceptor.
Fees and costs
Original currency is authoritative. Each price keeps its basis (per year, per credit, whole program), academic year and student category, and is never converted. Annual tuition and whole-program tuition are different figures.
The institution does not publish tuition for this program on the pages we checked. Ask for current fees, what they include and whether clinical or laboratory charges, equipment and protective clothing, travel, placement expenses and insurance are extra.
Sources and verification
Not published on the program’s source pages: tuition, whether a prior degree is required.
Sources and how this was checked
Last checked 19 October 2026. Each fact carries a verbatim quote that is re-checked against the live page. Research methodology.
Sources (checked 19 October 2026)