The only college of veterinary medicine in Florida, UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine is ranked ninth in the country, with its prominent research and patient care recognized nationally.

Home to six degree programs and 454 doctorate of veterinary medicine students, its research and graduate training programs have been featured in a variety of online publications.

In the past year, researchers at UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine have discovered a new disease affecting gopher tortoises, performed a total ankle replacement surgery on a dog and developed a new treatment for animals with bone loss.

“When I was interviewing for positions around the country and internal medicine faculty positions, this was the one that best met my hopes to combine high-level patient care with teaching and clinical research,” Dr. Julie Levy, professor of shelter medicine education at the College of Veterinary Medicine, said.

Besides having the state-of-the-art clinical skills laboratory and the leading aquatic animal health program, Dr. Levy also said the faculty felt like a family.

“The thing that struck me with the UF veterinary school was how friendly and collaborative everybody was,” she said. “You felt like this was a family working towards a common goal, rather than a collection of people working towards their separate goals.”White House Lifts Ban For Land Travel From Canada, Mexico

There are two animal hospitals open to the public on the Gainesville campus, a Small Animal Hospital and a Large Animal Hospital. Last year, they treated over 42,000 animals.

In 2008, Dr. Levy co-founded the college’s shelter medicine program. Her research focuses on feline infectious disease and humane community cat management.

Now a 27-year-old rising senior at the college, Polly Weldon began her studies at Ross University in the Caribbean. She transferred to UF a year later because of its reputation.

“I knew a UF degree would really be an amazing thing for me to have if I could, and it is just an awesome hospital,” Weldon said. “They have some of the best experts in the world, and I just definitely wanted to be a part of the Gator nation for veterinary medicine.”

Weldon said her professors at the college are devoted to student research.

“They’re on the forefront of veterinary medicine, which is amazing to be involved in as a student,” she said.Enjoy what you’re reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inboxSubscribe Now

While there is no official pre-veterinary program at UF, students can join either the Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club or the Minority Pre-Vet Students. Both clubs provide prospective veterinary students with support while they undergo the grueling veterinary school application process.

Ashley Ferrato, president of the Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club and a 20-year-old animal science senior, said growing up on a horse farm helped her become aware of her passion for helping animals.

“As soon as I started working in the field, actually touching people’s lives, both animals and humans, the reward for me is just so great,” Ferrato said.

Veterinary medicine is a stressful field, but it is not a very diverse one, said Daniela Vassolo, president of Minority Pre-Vet Students.

The 21-year-old animal biology senior hopes to become a veterinarian, but it can be difficult for minority students to succeed in the field. The club helps her feel less alone.

“We really try to give our members speakers that have diverse backgrounds so that they don’t feel so alone, and they can find their goals are more attainable and relatable because they’re meeting people who are like them,” Vassolo said.

Admissions Criteria

Recommended Academic Criteria

Science, Last 45, and Overall GPAs greater than 3.0
Completion of required Undergraduate Course Requirements with a letter grade of “C” or above
Missing no more than three Science or Math prerequisite courses prior to your application submission

Veterinary Experience

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine does not have a minimum requirement for veterinary experience. Veterinary experience should reflect a wide range of responsibilities and quality of experiences rather than quantity of hours. We recommend that applicants be exposed to both large and small animal clinical practices before applying to our program under the supervision of veterinarians. This will give them an opportunity to shadow or work with a veterinarian and ultimately obtain letters of reference which are an important part of the application process. Research is also a valuable form of experience and working in a research environment as an undergraduate or graduate student may also help to develop skills important to veterinary medicine.

Professional References

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine requires three strong professional references with at least one from a veterinarian. Committee references are accepted but not from family members.

Admissions Process

Academic Assessment

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine (UFCVM) does not have a set minimum academic requirement in order to be admitted. However, Science, Last 45 and Overall GPAs will be used in evaluating the academic ranking of applicants. Candidates are ranked in two independent applicant pools: State-Funded and Self-Funded seats. The incoming class size of 130 students is comprised of 94 state-funded students and 36 self-funded students.

Full Application Review

Applicants selected from the academic ranking will have their entire veterinary school application reviewed individually by two members of the Admissions Committee. Once again, there will be two applicant pools: state-funded and self-funded. Candidates will be scored and ranked on the following criteria:

Academic History and Experience

Academic load, number of withdrawals, research participation, teaching assistant positions, strength of academic references (if any), and academic flags/concerns.

Veterinary Experience and Preparation

Amount of significant hours of veterinary experience, legitimate animal experience, strength of veterinary/animal-related references, relationship between references and veterinary/animal experiences.

Overall Professionalism and Readiness to Matriculate

Overall professionalism of the application, strength of written communication skills, extracurricular experiences, community involvement, international experiences, awards and recognitions, non-veterinary or animal related employment experiences. Candidates are encouraged to review the Technical Standards found in the Student Handbook as part of their application and admissions decision making process.

Candidate Interview Process

In January and February, candidates selected from the full application review pool will be invited to participate in the Interview process. Each applicant will be interviewed by a panel of two members of the Admissions Committee and one upper-division veterinary student. Candidates will have a 45-minute long behavioral interview which will be scored on a number of behavioral factors such as teamwork, integrity, maturity and problem-solving.

CASPer

Prior to the interview, selected candidates are emailed with instructions about the CASPer test, which is required as part of their application packet. CASPer is a 60-90 minute online situational judgement test that assesses personal and professional competencies important to becoming a veterinarian. We do not require the Snapshot or Altus Suite components. To learn more, click here.

COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

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College of Veterinary Medicine

The College of Veterinary Medicine was authorized by the Florida Legislature in 1965 and opened its doors to students in 1976. Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine is concerned with the total health of all members of the animal kingdom, including man.

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UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG

Modern veterinarians serve the needs of the public in many significant ways:

Prevention of disease in animals and humans
Enhancement of animal agriculture and wildlife management
Humane health care of animals
Research on diseases of animals
Provision of wholesome food

To answer these challenges, the goals of the College of Veterinary Medicine are to:

Educate veterinarians for Florida’s specific needs.
Perform research on metabolic and infectious diseases of animals. These investigations will provide new knowledge concerning diseases of domestic animals, will assist in the control of devastating subtropical diseases that must be controlled to provide wholesome food for our nation and developing countries, and will provide insight into human diseases for which animal models exist.
Provide a veterinary medical center necessary for training interns, residents and graduate students, and for the continuing education of practitioners.
Provide a resource for dissemination of current information to veterinary practitioners, state and federal agricultural and public health agencies, and consumers of food and health services.
Serve as a center where veterinary practitioners can consult with specialists and where animal patients can be referred for sophisticated diagnostic procedures. This will provide a service to practitioners and afford veterinary students access to more cases and a greater variety of disease entities.

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