Pre-Veterinary Medicine

A veterinary professional points to a digital X-ray of an animal's torso on a computer monitor to analyze the skeletal structure.

Overview

The pre-veterinary medicine program at UMN Morris will guide you through every stage of your undergraduate education to prepare you for graduate-level professional schooling in veterinary medicine. The academic rigor and interdisciplinary strength of a UMN Morris education will greatly enhance your veterinary medicine path. You’ll gain the knowledge, experience and support you need to be ready for graduate school.

As a student in the pre-veterinary medicine program at UMN Morris, you will pursue your major while completing prerequisite coursework. The veterinary medicine prerequisites align best with the biology major, but strong knowledge in the subjects of chemistry and physics is needed.

UMN Morris also has an early admission program with the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine for students who are interested in working with food animals. This program is called the Veterinary Food Animal Scholars Track (VetFAST). VetFAST gives pre-veterinary medicine students at UMN Morris the opportunity for accelerated acceptance into the doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) program at UMN Twin Cities. As a VetFAST student, you can complete both your bachelor of arts and doctor of veterinary medicine in seven years rather than eight. You can apply to the early admission program after two completed semesters of UMN Morris coursework.

Degree Requirements

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Degree Requirements

Graduation Requirements

As a UMN Morris student following the pre-veterinary medicine track, you will need to complete the degree requirements for your chosen major. Pre-veterinary medicine itself is not a major or minor at UMN Morris. Rather, it is an academic program to guide you on your path to graduate school while you pursue your undergraduate degree.

As part of a well-rounded liberal arts education, UMN Morris offers courses across different disciplines that will help prepare you for graduate schooling in veterinary medicine. Be sure to work with your academic adviser to ensure proper course planning.

Suggested Courses

The following courses (descriptions can be found in the course catalog) meet the requirements for most doctor of veterinary medicine programs.

  • BIOL 1111. Fundamentals of Genetics, Evolution, and Development
  • BIOL 2111. Cell Biology
  • BIOL 2101. Evolution of Biodiversity
  • BIOL 2111. Cell Biology
  • BIOL 3121. Molecular Biology
  • BIOL 4111. Microbiology
  • BIOL 4211. Biochemistry
  • BIOL 4312. Genetics
  • BIOL 3701. Biological Communications
  • CHEM 1101. General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 1102. General Chemistry II
  • CHEM 2301. Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 2302. Organic Chemistry II
  • MATH 1021. Survey of Calculus
  • PHYS 1101. General Physics I 
  • PHYS 1102. General Physics II 
  • STAT 1601. Introduction to Statistics

General Education Requirements (Morris Core)

The University of Minnesota and its faculty are committed to providing an education that invites you to investigate the world from new perspectives, learn new ways of thinking, and grow as an active citizen and lifelong learner. The University’s general education requirements (Morris Core) are designed to be integrated throughout your four-year undergraduate experience. These courses provide you an opportunity to explore fields outside your major and complement your major curriculum with a multidisciplinary perspective.

Learn more about UMN Morris General Education Requirements (Morris Core)

World Language Placement Exam

Math Placement Exam

Transferring Credit

Will my courses transfer?

Put your credits to work for you at UMN Morris, where you’ll earn a degree from a highly ranked public liberal arts university. 

Learn more about how we transfer credits

Careers and Graduate School

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Careers and Graduate School

Careers

As a doctor of veterinary medicine, you will be filling a critical role in the care of small or large animals, while confronting conditions that challenge the health of animals, people and the environment. You will be able choose from a wide range of professional settings and roles in veterinary medicine:

  • Small or large animal clinical practice
  • Wildlife or exotic (zoo) animal medicine
  • Teaching and research
  • Government or public health work
  • Livestock disease control and food animal inspection
  • Biomedical research
  • Pharmaceutical or laboratory work

Graduate School

Having a UMN Morris degree will set you up for success when it’s time to take the next steps for graduate or professional school. UMN Morris pre-professional graduates have gone on to be accepted at many graduate schools. The VetFAST program at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is the most common path that UMN Morris pre-vet graduates take. If planning to attend graduate school elsewhere, you may need to familiarize yourself with the specific application requirements of that school.

Admission to veterinary medicine programs is very competitive; there are only 28 veterinary schools in the U.S. For the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, only 10 percent of applicants are accepted each year—most with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. UMN Morris has a great placement rate.

Costs and Scholarships

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Costs and Scholarships

Cost at a Glance

The University of Minnesota Morris is a national public liberal arts college committed to making a high-quality education available to students from across the country. Expenses for housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and personal expenditures can vary.

Learn more about costs

Use our net price calculator to estimate your cost of attendance

Scholarships

Research and Engagement

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Research and Engagement

Research

At UMN Morris, you’ll be able to do hands-on, undergraduate research. As a small-town campus with a Big 10 research university affiliation, UMN Morris is uniquely situated to provide beyond-the-classroom healthcare learning opportunities. 

Engagement

At UMN Morris, you may be able to volunteer or work at a local veterinary clinic or even the humane society.

UMN Morris has an extensive Community Engagement office that can help you find related opportunities in Morris or the surrounding community. There are also several great service learning opportunities, many of which provide course credit.

Contact Admissions

   Phone: 320-589-6035

   Toll-Free: 888-866-3382

   Email: [email protected]