Veterinary Medical Sciences
at the University of Florida
|
Graduate
Studies in Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Florida |
The University of Florida is home to the state's only College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1976. The College currently has enrolled 320 professional students and over 60 graduate students. There are 95 faculty members who during the past year have attracted more than $6,000,000 in external research awards. The College maintains the largest funded biotechnology program among veterinary colleges worldwide, with an emphasis on tropical diseases of livestock. Other unique programs offered at the College include Wildlife and Zoo Animal Medicine, Equine Neonatal and Perinatal Studies, Veterinary Sports Medicine, and Interinstitutional Food Animal Health Training. Some of our research efforts concentrate on animal diseases that affect our food supply, diseases that affect horses, aquatic mammals and wildlife. Other programs study diseases common to animals and man, comparative medicine, and where appropriate, diseases unique to humans. The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital provides the most sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in the state. Our Small Animal Hospital, Equine Hospital, and Food Animal Hospital offer 15 different clinical specialty services that are available to referring veterinarians in private practice and the public.
Programs of Study, Course offerings Veterinary Medical Sciences, Research Facilities, Financial Aid, How to Apply, Correspondence and Information Access a complete on-line version of the U.F. Graduate Catalog
The College of Veterinary Medicine offers advanced graduate study leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The professional DVM program is not a graduate degree program, and applications are handled separately from the graduate program. Major areas of concentration in graduate study are administered by three departmental programs: Physiological Sciences, Infectious Diseases and Experimental Pathology, and Veterinary Medical Sciences. Within these departmental programs, training includes appropriate course work and research in areas such as Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, Animal Nutrition, Comparative Toxicology, Immunology, Pathology, Parasitology, Epidemiology, and Infectious Diseases. This College also offers certification training in Forensic Toxicology both by distance education and as an add-on to MS and PhD degrees earned in this and other University of Florida colleges.
The graduate program provides training in basic and applied veterinary medical research for qualified students with a baccalaureate degree or a D.V.M. or equivalent degree. Qualified individuals may pursue graduate training concurrently with the professional DVM degree or residency training in a clinical speciality. Applicants are expected to have a strong background in the biological sciences. Prerequisites for admission in addition to those of the Graduate School include a broad educational base of mathematics, physics, organic and analytical chemistry, genetics, physiology and statistical methods.
Completion of the M.S. degree program usually takes two years, and completion of the Ph.D. degree program usually takes four years. Certification in Forensic Toxicology involves completion of five specified courses totalling 15 graduate credits and takes least 12 months to complete. Interdisciplinary collaborative programs among the departments in the College and with other UF departments in the Health Science Center and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences provide the students with an excellent combination of educational programs. Graduate students plan their program with the advice and assistance of a Supervisory Committee made up of three to five graduate faculty.
The Veterinary Graduate Student Association Home Page provides a look at our graduate program as seen through the eyes of our own graduate students.
Current Employment Status of our MS & PhD Graduates.
Computer Access Requirements for CVM graduate students.
Research and Training Programs are supported by modern laboratory facilities, including numerous individual labs devoted to basic and clinical research, central research facilities designated for multidisciplinary use, and special facilities of the Biotechnology Institute and the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University. The Biotechnology Institute has recently opened a high tech livestock facility. This highly sophisticated, large animal facility is designed for studies on the prevention and control of infectious diseases of veterinary significance. With its high level of bio-safety (BSL-2), this 3.1 million dollar structure is one of only four in North America. The livestock facility has more than 25,000 square feet of space, including laboratories and large animal pens (10 in air conditioned space; 30 in ambient air space). The Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research has established core laboratories in protein chemistry, biological computing, DNA sequencing, DNA synthesis, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, a hybridoma laboratory, a biological NMR core, and a transgenic animal core facility. Additional facilities for research devoted to horses are provided on campus and in Ocala at the Horse Research Center as part of a unified equine program at the University of Florida.
The College has recently expanded its facilities with a new 40,000 square foot equine hospital, three new equine barns, and a new 120,000 square foot Veterinary Academic Building involving a total capital investment of 30 million dollars.
Students are encouraged to seek external sources of financial aid. Several nationally competitive fellowship opportunities are available to qualified individuals. In addition, graduate students are eligible for a limited number of assistantships, fellowships, and other awards provided directly by the College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Florida. Several teaching assistantships and research assistantships are available from the College of Veterinary Medicine and many faculty offer additional grant-funded research assistantships. Assistantships include an initial salary of $18,629 to $20,910 per year, depending on years of relevant experience, for those students holding the D.V.M. or equivalent degree. For other students, assistantship include an initial salary of $11,694 to $13,078 per year, depending on years of relevant experience. Four NIH fellowships in laboratory animal medicine are available to those holding the DVM degree or an equivalent degree. Supplemental fellowships over and above these amounts are available to students having exceptional credentials. Waivers of approximately 90% of the non-resident tuition and 80% of in-state tuition are available for most students on assistantships or fellowships. For new students who may need a cash advance when arriving on campus, there is a graduate student revolving loan fund at the College.
In 1996 a total of 13 Graduate Teaching Assistantships were granted to CVM graduate students for a total of $115,115. The CVM awarded four scholarships to students upon recommendations of an ad hoc committee of graduate faculty. These were the Charles F. Simpson Memorial Scholarship ($500), the FVMA Auxiliary Graduate Studies Scholarship ($500), the UF Veterinary Auxiliary Graduate Studies Scholarship ($500), and their Achievement Award in Graduate Studies ($1,500). A new Graduate Student Award was initiated this year called the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Superior Academic Contribution Award ($200). Through the generous donation of $10,000 by the UF Veterinary Auxiliary and the assistance of Phi Zeta in administering financial arrangements, a revolving loan fund has been established for use by graduate students. A total of $11,475 in short terms loans were granted by the Associate Dean to 15 students. All loans were fully repaid on time.
Application for admission must be made as soon as
possible before the beginning of the desired term of admission. A
bachelor's degree from an accredited college, an average of B or
better for the last two years of the baccalaureate program, and
satisfactory scores on the general test of the GRE are required
for admission. Persons holding a professional (DVM, DDS, MD,
etc.) or graduate degree (MA, MS, MPH, etc.) from a regionally
accredited U.S. institution may not need to submit a GRE score
for admission to PhD studies. However, submission of a strong GRE
score will increase the applicant's likelihood of receiving a
graduate stipend, and the College of Veterinary Medicine reserves
the right to request a GRE score from any applicant when it is
felt that such information will contribute useful information to
the admissions decision process with respect to that individual.
A catalog and application forms may be obtained from the Director
of Admissions, Registrar's Office, University of Florida, 201
Criser Hall, Gainesville, Florida 32611. However, electronic application for admission to
graduate study in Veterinary Medical Sciences is now available
and is the preferred method for making an application. If your
web browser cannot handle forms, materials for a paper
application may be downloaded and printed from the electronic application page. Regardless
of the form your application takes, the application process will
be expedited greatly if copies of your application materials are
sent to this College's Associate Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies.
Office of Research and Graduate Studies
College of Veterinary Medicine
Box 100125
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32610
(352) 392-4700, ext 5100
e-mail:courtneyc@mail.vetmed.ufl.edu
Veterinary Medical Sciences Graduate Program (Large
Animal)
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Box 100136
University of Florida
Gainesville FL 32610
(352) 392-4700, ext 5641
e-mail: archbaldl@mail.vetmed.ufl.edu
Graduate Program in Infectious Diseases and
Experimental Pathology
Department of Pathobiology
College of Veterinary Medicine
Box 110880
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32610
(352) 392-4700, ex. 5819
e-mail: abarbet@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu
Veterinary Medical Sciences Graduate Program (Small
Animal)
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Box 100126
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32610
(352) 392-4700, ext 5754
e-mail: samuelsond@mail.vetmed.ufl.edu
Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences
Department of Physiological Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Box 100144
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32610
(352) 392-4700, ext 3859
e-mail: reep@ufbi.ufl.edu
Office of Research and Graduate Studies Home Page
College of Veterinary Medicine Home Page