Pre-Vet

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A personalized pre-vet program designed to maximize your candidacy for admission to veterinary schools.

Overview for Pre-Vet

If you’re interested in a career that involves caring for animals, conducting research related to animal illnesses, or working with livestock in university or government settings, RIT’s Pre-Vet Advising Program can help you reach your career goals.

Veterinary medicine is a very competitive field, but one that is growing. To become a successful candidate for veterinary school, you need to begin assembling a collection of courses, experiences, and documents beginning in your first year of college. Occupations in veterinary medicine are expected to grow much faster than other occupations between 2023 and 2033, with thousands of new jobs opening annually. RIT’s Pre-Vet Advising Program will guide you in preparing to apply to veterinary school and in understanding the vast opportunities available to you in veterinary medicine.

What is Pre-Vet?

Being accepted into a veterinary medical school requires a strong academic record, GRE preparation (now optional in many programs), and documentation of direct animal care under the supervision of a veterinarian (DVM), researcher (Ph.D.), or other animal health professional. The best pre-veterinary programs provide you with individual, personalized support to help you fulfill the veterinary school requirements of the rigorous Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS), a centralized application service used by veterinary colleges. RIT‘s Pre-Vet Advising Program offers you hands-on advising and guidance on everything from selecting courses well-suited for pre-vet students, preparing for entrance exams, connecting you to opportunities for internships and direct animal care, and so much more.

What Can You Expect From RIT’s Pre-Vet Program?

Housed in the College of Science, RIT’s pre-vet program provides personalized advising and guidance focused around preparation for admission to veterinary school. This includes:

  • Personalized pre-vet academic advising for course selection, minors, and immersions
  • Support and guidance in identifying opportunities that fulfill veterinary experience requirements, including direct animal care hours required for veterinary school admission and internship opportunities
  • Assistance throughout the veterinary school application process
  • Opportunities for extracurricular activities with fellow pre-vet students
  • Guidance on summer, clinical, research, and co-op employment

RIT’s Pre-Vet Advising Program helps you acquire the research and real-world experience required for careers in veterinary medicine. Our experiential learning program can help you acquire the hours of animal care needed to help you become a competitive candidate for admission to veterinary colleges. The pre-vet program helps you find internships locally and nationally, including local opportunities such as internships at Seneca Park Zoo and Rochester Animal Services.
 

Over the past 15 years, RIT graduates have been admitted to top programs at some of the most highly ranked veterinary colleges in the nation, including:

  • Cornell University
  • Michigan State
  • Tufts University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Ohio University
  • Ohio State
  • North Carolina
  • Purdue University
  • University of Illinois
  • University of Florida
  • University of Guelph in Canada

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Featured Work and Profiles

  • Liliya Becktell standing next to a horse

    Life as a DVM: An Advocate for Animals and People

    Liliya Becktell ‘11 (pre-vet advising) Liliya Becktell ’11 knew RIT was home “the minute her feet hit brick.” The biology classes and faculty prepared her for Cornell’s DVM program and veterinary career.

    Read More about Life as a DVM: An Advocate for Animals and People
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FAQs

To become a veterinarian you must complete a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) degree at an accredited college of veterinary medicine. Admission to veterinary programs is competitive and typically requires applicants to have taken many science classes, including biology, chemistry, and animal science. Most programs also require courses in math, the humanities, and social science. The Pre-Vet Advising Program helps prepare you to become a competitive applicant for acceptance into veterinary schools.

No. At RIT, pre-vet is an advising program, not an academic major. The Pre-Vet Advising Program supplements your academic curriculum and provides valuable support in helping you become a competitive candidate for veterinary school admission.

The most common major for pre-vet students is biology because it offers a curriculum that fulfills veterinary school requirements. However, majors in chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology and molecular bioscience, biomedical engineering, and others can also include the required pre-requisite courses needed for veterinary school admission.

Careers in veterinary medicine are diverse and your choice of career path depends on your individual career goals and aspirations. There is a wide range of opportunity in the veterinary medicine field:

  • Companion-animal veterinarians: Treat pets and generally work in private clinics and hospitals.
  • Veterinary specialists: Work in particular areas of veterinary medicine, such as anesthesiology, dentistry, pathology, and surgery.
  • Food-animal veterinarians: Specialize with farm and ranch animals (e.g., pigs, cattle, and sheep), which are raised as food sources.
  • Food safety and inspection veterinarians: Inspect and test livestock and animal products to identify major animal diseases, and test the safety of medications and additives.
  • Research veterinarians: Conduct research to identify and improve methods for diagnosing, treating, and preventing health conditions in animals. Research veterinarians are often employed by government organizations, biomedical research firms, or universities.

You should contact the pre-vet advisor, Dr. Larry Buckley, as soon as you decide you want to pursue admission into veterinary school. Starting the process early ensures your course selections and curriculum meet the requirements for veterinary school admission. The program can assist you in identifying internships around the country or locally to help you fulfill hours of direct animal care required by veterinary schools. Local internships include those at Seneca Park Zoo and Rochester Animal Services.

The goal of the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) is to ensure that you are given all the tools you need to prepare you to apply for admission to veterinary colleges. You will complete your VMCAS application through the VMCAS website and indicate which veterinary colleges you want VMCAS to submit your application to. You may apply for admission to veterinary college a year in advance. Exploring the VMCAS website and understanding the application process and its requirements are crucial.

With an increase in consumer’s pet-related spending, employment of veterinarians is projected to grow by 19 percent from 2023 to 2033. With the advancement of veterinary medicine, today’s veterinarians offer many healthcare and treatment services that are comparable to those available to humans. Careers in veterinary medicine are diverse and growing. They include positions as veterinarians, veterinary technologists or technicians, veterinary assistants, and laboratory animal caretakers.

Contact

Program Contacts

Larry Buckley, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Science
ljbsbi@rit.edu, 585‑475‑7507

Susan Pagano, Associate Professor, Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
sbssbi@rit.edu, 585‑475‑7343