General Information: The Pre-Veterinary Medicine program at the University of Alberta is intended to allow the student to meet the entry requirements of either the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine or the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan while working towards a degree offered by the Faculty. Only Alberta residents are eligible to apply to the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, while the Western College of Veterinary Medicine typically admits only students from western Canada with quotas for each province. Students with the highest academic standing during their pre-veterinary years will generally receive preference. Application may be made to veterinary programs once necessary requirements are met, after two or more years of study. For detailed information on residence policy and admissions procedures, contact the Admissions Office of the veterinary schools.

Applicants should be aware of the total time required to obtain a veterinary degree and license to practice in Alberta - a minimum of two years of pre-veterinary studies (normally three to four years pre-veterinary), then four years of veterinary studies at an accredited institution, at which point the DVM degree is awarded.

Students planning to enter Pre-Veterinary Medicine should note the entrance requirements in §15.1.8. Inquiries about the program should be addressed to Student Services, 231 General Services Building, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta. E-mail questions@ales.ualberta.ca.

Required Courses: A minimum of two full years of university training are required for admission to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine or to the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The program of study, completed over two to four years, includes the following: Biochemistry (6), Biology (6), Chemistry (6), English (6), Genetics (3), Introductory Microbiology (3), Mathematics or Statistics (6), Organic Chemistry (3), and Physics (6) (WCVM only).

In addition, to the above preprofessional courses, degree program requirement courses and free program electives totaling 15 will be taken to make up a full course load.

Courses taken in the Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program (60)

Completion of Programs in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences: Students will complete the requirements of the pre-veterinary medicine program while registered in the Faculty and working towards one of the degrees the Faculty offers. Alternately, students may complete all the requirements of the pre-veterinary medicine program and then transfer into a degree program and earn one of the degrees that the Faculty offers. Undergraduate students seeking advice on academic matters should refer to §33.8.