Prerequisites
A degree in preveterinary medicine is not offered at Texas
A&M University, but appropriate educational experiences are
available for entrance into the veterinary medical program.
Students preparing for admission to the professional veterinary
medical program must choose a specific course of study (major)
offered by one of the colleges at the university in which the
student is enrolled. Students are encouraged to enroll into a
degree program leading to another career choice, in case they are
not selected for the professional veterinary medical program. This
degree program should provide appropriate educational experiences
and academic rigor to prepare the student for entrance into the
veterinary medical program.
All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of "C"
or better by the Spring semester in the year in which you are
applying for. (For example, all prequisite courses must be
completed with a "C" or better by the end of the Spring 2013 in
order to enter into the Fall 2013 semester.)
Preprofessional Credit and Course Requirements
An applicant is expected to have completed at least 41 hours of
course work before submitting an application (October 1).
Applicants must have 62 semester hours of college or
university credits prior to admission into the professional
program. Applicants are requested to have the majority of their
science prerequisites completed by the semester of application. All
prerequisites must be completed by the end of the Spring semester
prior to admission into the professional curriculum. They are not to be
taken in the Summer session prior to entrance into the
College. Failure to complete the prerequisites by
the end of the Spring semester can result in disqualification. If
you or your Academic Advisor have questions about a course, please
call our office.
All prerequisites must be completed by the end of the Spring
semester prior to entrance into the College of Veterinary Medicine.
This also applies to any correspondence courses.
Applicants are reminded that courses taken during the Fall
semester at the time of application will not be considered for
determining the qualifications for interview, but will be
considered in the final selection by the Committee.
Preprofessional courses may be taken at any accredited
institution of higher education. These courses must be equivalent
to comparable courses at Texas A&M University. Many Texas
institutional prerequisite equivalencies are available on the Texas Equivalent
Prerequisites page.
Courses must have been completed within the last ten years.
Since science advances and expands so rapidly, required
prerequisite science courses are rarely exempted from the ten year
rule.
Students who have most or all of their coursework and required
prerequisites that were taken more than ten years prior to the time
of desired application should consider the Texas "Fresh Start
Program" and contact the Registrar at the institution where they
would like to pursue the new coursework.
Experience with Animals
Knowledge of and experience in working with animals is critical
preparation for a successful veterinarian. Appropriate preparation
includes formal training and experience as well as contact with and
handling of animals. Applicants to the College of Veterinary
Medicine are expected to be familiar with animal and animal
behavior. General agriculture knowledge is encouraged for those
interested in farm animal veterinary medicine.
To obtain this experience, applicants should register for the
course work which provides exposure to animals or involve
themselves in practical animal applications in the private
sector.
Specific Subject Requirements for Texas A&M University
The following course work is the required background for entry
into the veterinary medical program. These courses must be
completed with a grade of "C" or better. Repeated courses need only
be completed with a grade of "C" or better, not a cumulated average
of "C" or better. It is anticipated that highly motivated students
will exceed these minimal course requirements.
A limited number of correspondence courses may be acceptable as
satisfying specified course requirements. Students should consult
the admissions office.
| LIFE SCIENCES CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
A&M COURSES THAT MEET
REQUIREMENTS |
| General Biology with lab |
4 |
BIOL 111 |
| General Microbiology with lab |
4 |
BIOL 351 or VTPB 405 |
| Genetics |
3 |
GENE 301 or GENE 320 |
| Animal Nutrition or Feeds &
Feeding |
3 |
ANSC 303 (NUTR 303) or ANSC 318 or ANSC 320 |
| General Animal Science |
3 |
ANSC 107 ** |
**The Selections Committee highly
recommends that all applicants also take the lab that goes along
with this lecture course (ANSC 108).
| CHEMICAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS
CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
A&M COURSES THAT MEET
REQUIREMENTS |
| Inorganic Chemistry with lab |
8 |
CHEM 101/111 & 102/112 |
| Organic Chemistry with lab |
8 |
CHEM 227/237 & 228/238 |
| Biochemistry (must be lecture hours
only) |
5 |
BICH 410 & 411 |
| Calculus OR Statistics |
3 |
MATH 131 or 142 or 151 OR STAT 301 or 302 or
303 |
| Physics |
8 |
PHYS 201 and 202 |
| NON-SCIENCES CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
A&M COURSES THAT MEET
REQUIREMENTS |
| Composition and Rhetoric |
3 |
ENGL 104 |
| Literature |
3 |
Any 3 hour literature course |
| Speech Communication |
3 |
COMM 203 or 315 or 325 |
| Technical Writing |
3 |
ENGL 210 or 301 |
Please refer to the Texas A&M University Catalog for current
course descriptions.
Specific Subject Requirements by Texas Common Course
Number
The following course work is the required background for entry
into the veterinary medical program. These courses must be
completed with a grade of "C" or better. Repeated courses need only
be completed with a grade of "C" or better, not a cumulated average
of "C" or better. It is anticipated that highly motivated students
will exceed these minimal course requirements.
Generally, correspondence courses are not acceptable as
satisfying specified course requirements.
| LIFE SCIENCES CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
TEXAS COMMON COURSE NUMBERS
(TCCN) |
| General Biology with lab |
4 |
BIOL 1406 or 1306/1106 |
| General Microbiology with lab |
4 |
NONE* |
| Genetics |
3 |
NONE* |
| Animal Nutrition |
3 |
*Courses that fill
requirement |
| General Animal Science |
3 |
AGRI 1319 or 1419 |
NONE* = Must be found at a
4-year institution only!
| CHEMICAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS
CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
TEXAS COMMON COURSE NUMBERS
(TCCN) |
| Inorganic Chemistry with lab |
8 |
CHEM 1411, CHEM 1412 |
| Organic Chemistry with lab |
8 |
CHEM 2423 & 2425 |
| Biochemistry (must be lecture hours
only) |
5 |
NONE* |
| Calculus * |
3 |
MATH 1325 or 2413 |
| Physics |
8 |
PHYS 1401 & 1402 or PHYS
1301/1101 & 1302/1102 |
*Statistics is also a requirement but this
course can not be found at a community or Jr. college. Statistics
is a Junior level course that can only be found at a 4 -year
institution.
NONE* = Must be found at a
4-year institution only!
| NON-SCIENCES CATEGORY |
CREDIT HOURS |
TEXAS COMMON COURSE NUMBERS
(TCCN) |
| Composition and Rhetoric |
3 |
ENGL 1301 |
| Literature |
3 |
Any 3 hour literature course |
| Speech Communication |
3 |
SPCH 1315 or 1321 |
| Technical Writing |
3 |
ENGL 2311 |
All courses should be passed with a grade of "C" or better.
Failure to meet this requirement will be considered cause for
reevaluation of the student's application.
Prerequisite courses must be taken at any accredited institution
of higher education. These courses must be the equivalent of
comparable courses at Texas A&M University. See our additional
pages for Texas institutional equivalencies.
Preprofessional Testing
A score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required as
part of the application. Texas A&M University considers scores
on the verbal, quantitative and analytical writing sections.
Failure to submit scores directly to Texas A&M University using
the institution code #6812 (Texas
A&M University -- College of Veterinary Medicine) will result
in disqualification of the applicant's file.
Applicants must have taken the
GRE between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012 to be
considered for entry Class of 2013.
The Graduate Record Examination is given at various times and
locations throughout the United States, including Texas A&M
University. Application forms are available from the various
testing locations. Test dates and locations are usually available
at local universities.
If you have any questions regarding the GRE, please do not
hesitate to contact our office at:
Office of the
Dean
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843-4461
(979) 862-1169
To obtain testing dates and registration information for the GRE
at Texas A&M University, please call the Office of Measurement
and Research Services at (979) 845-0532.
For other locations and dates write
to:
The Graduate Record Examination
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6004
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6004
Telephone:
(609) 771-7670