Established in 1978, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is a leading biomedical teaching and research center and the in-state veterinary college for residents of Virginia and Maryland. The college's locations include the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia; the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center in Roanoke, Virginia; the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia; and the Gudelsky Veterinary Center in College Park, Maryland.

The college is focused on the development and delivery of a One Health education, integrating multidisciplinary research and educational opportunities that provide health care solutions for animals, people, and communities.

Parent universities

Unique among U.S. veterinary colleges, VA-MD Vet Med is operated by two land-grant universities:

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. The university fulfills its role as a land-grant institution by fostering a collaborative environment that integrates technology into all disciplines so that the Virginia Tech community can serve as a force for positive change around the commonwealth, the country, and the world.

The University of Maryland, College Park, is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. The university discovers and shares new knowledge every day through its renowned research enterprise and programs in academics, the arts, and athletics.

Virginia Tech campus
Virginia Tech campus
University of Maryland campus
University of Maryland campus

At a glance

  • The four-year professional program leading to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine features a curriculum that combines basic and applied sciences through integrated courses based on function, emphasizes team-based learning, and offers early entry into clinics.
  • The multidisciplinary Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences graduate program offers M.S. and Ph.D. curricula that prepare students to be scholars and researchers who will advance veterinary and biomedical knowledge benefiting animal and human health.
  • Focused on signature research and practice areas in One Health and rural and Appalachian health, the Public Health Program offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in public health, delivered in partnership with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
  • Dual degree programs, including DVM/Ph.D., DVM/MPH, and M.D./MPH, provide multidisciplinary training and skills, along with opportunities to work at the interface of human and animal health in academic, government, or corporate careers.
  • The college is fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education (AVMA COE). The last AVMA COE site visit was in 2021; the next visit is scheduled for 2028.
  • The college is fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International, most recently in 2017.
  • The Master of Public Health program was first accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) in 2013, and was reaccredited in 2018 for a seven-year term through 2025.
  • The Small Animal Hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia, marked 30 years of accreditation with the American Animal Hospital Accreditation (AAHA) in 2018.
  • In 2017, Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services (ViTALS) became the first diagnostic laboratory in Virginia to be fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), they were fully accredited again in 2022, effective until Dec. 31, 2027.
  • Virginia Tech is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award doctoral, masters, baccalaureate, and associate degrees.
  • Since the charter DVM class of 64 students graduated in May 1984, the college's Alumni Society has grown to more than 3,000 members.
  • VA-MD Vet Med alumni serve in veterinary and human hospitals, specialty practices, academic institutions, federal government agencies, research laboratories, international and public health organizations, the military, law enforcement agencies, and even the halls of Congress.

Major college boards and committees at VA-MD Vet Med include the following:

  • Executive Board
  • Operations Board
  • Academic Standards Committee
  • College Promotion and Tenure Committee
  • College Safety Committee
  • Faculty Honorifics Committee
  • Community and Diversity Committee
  • DVM Admissions Committee
  • DVM Curriculum Committee
  • Faculty Advisory Executive Committee
  • Graduate Affairs Committee
  • Library and Instructional Technology Committee
  • Research Committee
  • Scholarship and Awards Committee
  • Staff Association Executive Committee

Faculty members are elected or appointed, depending on the committee. Student members and alternate members elected by the students of each class serve on the DVM Curriculum Committee as voting members.

When necessary, ad hoc committees, task forces, and working groups are appointed to address important issues that extend beyond the normal charges of standing committees. For example, an ad hoc Curriculum Review Working Group was appointed to conduct a comprehensive review and to develop a proposal for potential revision of the DVM curriculum.

The college's approximate current enrollment:

  • 480 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students
    Allocation of seats per class: 50 Virginia residents, 30 Maryland residents, and 40 at-large applicants, including up to six West Virginia residents
  • 90 Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences M.S. and Ph.D. students
  • 104 Master of Public Health students
  • 172 Bachelor of Science in Public Health majors, 67 minors
  • Approximately 130 faculty and 340 staff members in Virginia facilities
    For teaching, research, and support services in classroom, clinical, and laboratory environments
  • 13 faculty and 10 staff members in Maryland facilities
    For research, advising Maryland pre-vet students, and supporting the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine

The college's three hospitals and large animal field services treat some 79,000 animals each year.

  • The Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia, provides primary, specialized, and emergency medical care and large animal ambulatory field services to animals residing in the Blacksburg area or referred by practitioners in the region, and conducts clinical research that advances animal and human health.
  • The Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, a full-service equine hospital located in Leesburg, Virginia, at Morven Park, provides advanced specialty care, 24-hour emergency treatment, and diagnostic services; education for referring veterinarians, future veterinarians, and clients; and cutting-edge research to the equine industry.
  • The Animal Cancer Care and Research Center, located on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, Virginia, offers comprehensive, integrated services, including medical, surgical, and radiation oncology, for dogs and cats, and conducts clinical research that seeks to advance cancer treatment in pets and people alike.

The college conducts basic/molecular and translational/applied research that aims to better understand diseases afflicting both humans and animals, and to develop vaccines and innovative cures. Our research strengths include

  • A One Health focus that brings together veterinarians, physicians, and other scientists to address public health threats affecting people and animals;
  • Basic biomedical sciences in infectious (viral, bacterial, and parasitic) and non-infectious (immune-mediated and oncologic) diseases;
  • Veterinary clinical research, including primary research focused on advancing the treatment and diagnosis of diseases through companion animal clinical trials, and comparative research, in which spontaneous diseases in animals can be used as models of human disease; and
  • A translational research approach that aims to take laboratory findings directly to clients in a clinical setting.