Associate degree
Veterinary Technician (AAS) – online instruction with labs and clinicals
Great Falls College Montana State University · Veterinary Technician Program · No campus · institution based in United States
- Official award
- Associate of Applied Science Degree in Veterinary TechnicianAAS
- Pathway
- Veterinary technologyStated for United States
- Format
- Hybrid5 semesters once accepted (includes the Veterinary Office certificate of technical studies)
- Tuition
- Not published
Hybrid program
About this program
Associate degree combining online instruction with hands-on labs and clinicals at approved veterinary partner sites, plus required travel for skills assessment; currently open to Montana residents only.
- Subject
- Veterinary technology
- Department
- Veterinary Technician 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 page says the program is accredited by the AVMA CVTEA and graduates are eligible to take the Veterinary Technician exam.“graduates of the program are eligible in nearly every state to take the Veterinary Technician exam.”Source
- Prior degree required
- Not published
- Further professional requirements
- Graduates are eligible in nearly every state to take the Veterinary Technician exam; some states also require a jurisprudence exam.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: Associate of/in Applied Science, Veterinary Technician Program (as listed by AVMA)
Dates: 29 January 2026 to not stated
Further requirements: Initial accreditation; the college page states the next full accreditation site visit is scheduled for 2031.
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
- Not published
- Campus residencies or workshops
- Travel is required to designated centralized assessment locations; students may also need to travel to Preston, Idaho for exotic animal skills training and assessment (fall of the second year) and large animal skills training and assessment (final spring semester).
- In-person assessment
- Skills evaluation by Great Falls College faculty at designated centralized assessment locations.
- Laboratory work
- Hands-on labs and clinicals are combined with online instruction; skills are practiced at approved Veterinary Partner sites.
- Mandatory clinical or workplace placement
- Mandatory: hands-on skills are practiced at an approved Veterinary Partner site; the student secures their own veterinary partner, the facility must meet minimum standards and an owner or manager signs for the facility; placement at the clinic is at the discretion of the college and based on ranking.
- Placement arrangement
- Student arranges the placement
- Must already work in a veterinary setting
- Not published
- Placement site approval
- Yes
- Live attendance
- Live attendance not published
- International enrolment
- Not published
- Enrollment restrictions
- Out-of-state residents: the FAQ answers 'Not at this time.'
- Study mode
- Not published
- Duration
- 5 semesters once accepted (includes the Veterinary Office certificate of technical studies)
- Clinical placement
- Hands-on skills at an approved Veterinary Partner site; travel to centralized assessment locations and to Preston, Idaho for exotic and large animal skills training and assessment
- Intakes
- Spring (program starts in the spring semester each year)
Teaching language
- Taught in
- English
- English
- English teaching not verifiedAn English-language website does not mean a program is taught in English.
Admissions
- Animal or veterinary experience
- Not published
- Interview
- Not published
- Previous qualification
- One-semester Veterinary Office certificate of technical studies (18-19 credits) as prerequisite; mandatory orientation with the Program Director before applying.
- International applicants
- Out-of-state applicants: 'Not at this time.'
- Documents
- Veterinary Partner Approval Certificate from the student's veterinary partner(s); applications only via a completed DocuSign packet.
- Official instructions
- Application instructions
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, full-time or part-time options, animal or veterinary experience requirement, 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)