Program Description

Veterinary Biomedical Sciences (MS)

The Veterinary Biomedical Sciences (VBS) program is a College of Veterinary Medicine-based program leading to a Master’s (MS) degree. This program is governed by the rules and regulations adopted by the University Graduate Faculty and the Graduate Council as set forth in the Graduate Faculty Handbook and by additional program policies established by the Graduate Faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The graduate faculty in the college have established programmatic requirements for supervision and completion of the degree and provide both the course instruction and the research training to complete the MS degree. The program offers opportunities and encourages DVM students to concurrently work on a dual degree program (DVM/MS).

Areas of Emphasis

Three Areas of Emphasis have been established within the VBS program: Anatomy and Physiology, Clinical Sciences, and Pathobiology.

Credit Requirements

A minimum of 30 hours of credit is required for completion of the VBS MS Degree.

Regular MS Students: Students with a bachelor’s degree must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit. Students with a DVM degree may apply up to 12 credit hours toward the 30 semester hours of credit required for the MS degree.

Dual-Degree DVM/MS Students: Students with a bachelor’s degree who are concurrently pursuing the DVM degree may apply up to 12 credit hours from relevant courses in the veterinary curriculum toward the 30 semester hours of credit required for the MS degree provided that the grades in these courses are consistent (B or higher) with Graduate School requirements. The specific courses from the veterinary medicine degree transcript for which credits are being claimed must be listed on the program of study under the transfer credit(s) section.

Program Options

The VBS MS degree program offers three different academic plans:

Thesis: As part of the degree program requirements, the student will complete a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 credit hours of research (AP 899 Research; CS899. Research in Clinical Sciences; DMP 899. Research in Pathobiology); and will write and defend a thesis as the culminating experience for the degree.

Report: As part of the degree program requirements, the student will complete 2 credit hours (AP898. MS Report: CS898. MS Report; DMP898. MS Report)) of a specified research project or a specified problem in the major field. The student will write and submit a report on the research project or identified problem as the culminating experience for the degree.

Non-Thesis/Non-Report (course work only): The student’s degree program will consist of course work only, but will include evidence of scholarly efforts, such as term papers, as determined by the committee. This option is not available in the Clinical Sciences Area of Emphasis.