No, we do not require a bachelor's degree to apply. However, a bachelor’s degree is strongly preferred, and many of our students also have graduate degrees.

We require 90 completed college credits by the time of enrollment. If you are admitted without 90 credits by matriculation, your offer will be rescinded.

To receive a supplemental assessment, you must have at least an overall GPA of 3.0 for cumulative work, science-specific courses, and prerequisite courses. If any separate GPAs are between 2.75 and 2.99, we will consider your application and review it for GPA trends and experiences before sending an assessment email.

We do not have an expiration date for coursework. However, we recommend completing recent coursework to ensure preparation for our rigorous program.

Please refer to our prerequisites page to see the required courses. The courses listed need to completed by the time of matriculation, which will be each June prior to classes starting.

Prerequisites

We do not require a GRE. We will not view your score or use it in our consideration of your application if provided in VMCAS.

We require at least three letters of recommendation. At least one should be from an individual who can speak to your professional (not personal) interactions/experiences with animals. This could be a veterinarian, site coordinator, clinic manager, etc.

Applicants are required to provide, at minimum, one letter of recommendation from an individual who can speak to their professional experiences with animals. If you have participated in clinical activities or academic research, we would like to see letters of recommendation from professionals who worked with you—for example, a clinical or community service supervisor or a research mentor.

We will review all letters you include with your VMCAS application. Six is the maximum amount you can upload through VMCAS.

All letters of recommendation must be submitted through the VMCAS Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation service.

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Absolutely! 

To receive a supplemental assessment, you must have at least an overall GPA of 3.0 for cumulative work, all science-specific courses, and all prerequisite courses. If any separate GPAs are between 2.75 and 2.99, we will consider your application and review it for GPA trends and experiences before sending an assessment email.

Each application year will be viewed as a new process. There is no guarantee individuals will be invited to complete an assessment if they have reapplied.

Your supplemental assessment is the primary screening tool for considering your application for an interview. Your entire applicant portfolio will be considered and reviewed for acceptance.

The AVMA Council on Education facilitates a critical process to help universities and students achieve the highest education standards in any College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

In the fall of 2019, the College of Veterinary Medicine received a Letter of Reasonable Assurance, the first step in our accreditation classification.

Following the admittance of our first class, we were granted Provisional Accreditation. While in provisional status, we will continue to supply evidence of our compliance with the accreditation standards and will be evaluated on our progress until the graduation of our first class.

Accreditation status will be granted if there are no deficiencies in the Standards. Accreditation is granted for a period of up to seven years.  

If The School is Not Fully Accredited Until the First Class Graduates, Does This Affect Their Ability to Practice?

Graduates of our program during Provisional Accreditation will be able to take the NAVLE and become fully boarded DVM practitioners with the same rights and abilities as graduates from fully accredited universities.

The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) is the veterinarian licensing examination. The AVMA COE requires a minimum pass rate of 80 percent over two years to maintain full accreditation.

While the NAVLE pass rate is important, accreditation is based on many other essential factors. We are currently on provisional accreditation until 2025 and are confident that our overall trajectory to full accreditation is on track. Students enrolled in our program and future admits are considered graduates of an accredited institution. 

*Our 2024 NAVLE score satisfies the accreditation requirement because the binomial confidence interval includes 85%, which is included in the accreditation criterion in the case that the 80% benchmark is not met.

We can note if you are a previous applicant, but we will only see current VMCAS and supplemental materials.

It is up to you. Be highly critical of your answers and seek help to modify your responses. Minor revisions or corrections may be warranted. Try to reflect on the questions and see if your statements have changed based on new life experiences. Some may find that their responses have changed as a result of time between applications.

You can re-submit previously used letters of recommendation from your first application cycle, but we do not recommend this. Information about you may become outdated.

We encourage applicants to keep in contact with the individuals who provided letters so you can ask them to update the original letter, including adding new information about your recent experiences.

If you apply late in the admissions cycle, your application may not undergo numerous reviews before each round of acceptances. However, we still give each application a full review at least once.

Out-of-state applicants receive equal consideration after the interview process.

We will interview around 300 applicants every year.

When reviewing applicants, we look at metrics, supplemental assessment, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and interview scores. We also consider the unique history and an applicant’s overall fit with the mission and values of the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.

Holistic reviews guarantee a fair and equitable consideration of your entire application, including your experiences, attributes, and metrics. A minimum 3.0 GPA for cumulative work, science courses, and prerequisites is required to receive a supplemental assessment.

We do not accept letters of intent or updates.

The number of students on the waitlist varies year to year.

We will not rescind any offers until April 15 since that is the deadline to accept or decline. However, after April 15, we will reach out, and if we do not hear from the admitted student, we will rescind the offer.

With the limited number of positions that can be offered to prospective veterinary students, The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine expects that students accepted will matriculate in the year in which they are accepted. Prospective students should only apply if they anticipate accepting admission in the year offered. However, under limited circumstances, accepted students may request a one-year deferral of matriculation for a maximum of one year. The request must be submitted in writing to the Director of Admissions by May 15 of the acceptance year. Examples of circumstances for which deferrals may be granted include:

• Illness
• Unanticipated family hardship
• A meaningful educational opportunity (i.e., Fulbright, Rhodes, or Marshal scholarship)
• Completion of military service

If a deferral is granted, to activate the acceptance for admission in the subsequent academic year, the deferred student must notify the Admissions Office no later than May 15 of the year of the deferred matriculation. In addition, it is expected that the student will submit a statement of activities during the deferral year and official transcripts for any academic work attempted or completed since the commencement of the deferral year.

VMCAS requires all accepted students granted deferrals to submit a new VMCAS application for the year they will be entering.

After one year, if students do not activate their acceptance to the University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine, their acceptance will be withdrawn. If they wish to reapply, they must complete a new VMCAS application, including new supporting documents, and pay the required fees. Reapplication will be competitive with all other applicants.

We strongly encourage students contemplating pursuing other academic degrees and/or travel to delay application until they are ready to matriculate if accepted into The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.

Students may drop and/or add courses by following instructions and adhering to deadlines set by the Registrar  each semester. Change of Schedule (drop/add) forms are available in departments and can also be printed in .pdf format on the Office of the Registrar's Web site.  To see when a Change of Schedule form is required, see Dates and Deadlines.

More Information

Minimum Credit Units

171 

Core Coursework Requirements

The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree will be delivered over six pre-clinical semesters on University of Arizona campuses, followed by three clinical semesters within a hybrid-distributive network of clinical training sites. Semesters one through five will be an organ-system and competency-driven format addressing multiple species. Additionally, students will learn relevant professional skills related to business, finance, critical thinking, One Health, clinical skills and strategies for personal wellness as a student and professional.

Clinical training will be during semesters seven through nine and divided into 13 four-week blocks. Four of these four-week blocks will be considered “core” rotations required by every student to complete. The remainder of the clinical year is student-selected electives. Students can use these electives to explore veterinary career paths or further their proficiency in species or disciplinary areas of professional interest.

More Information

For graduates planning to stay and practice in Arizona, please visit the following website for information on acquiring Arizona licensure.

Arizona Licensing

For graduates planning to practice out of Arizona, visit the following link to find information about your specific licensing board.

ICVA Licensing Boards