Curriculum
Our non-tracked curriculum accommodates diverse career paths, from private practice and specialty settings to research and public health. The curriculum provides opportunities to learn alongside our faculty who bring a blend of science and veterinary medical expertise to the program, including robust opportunities for hands-on experiences. The core curriculum is supplemented by a range of on-campus electives and off-campus preceptorship and externship experiences, allowing students to tailor their education to their unique needs and interests.
We pride ourselves on our commitment to creating a positive learning environment, fostered by the adoption of modified pass-fail grading more than 20 years ago. Our grading system allows students and faculty to focus on learning rather than exam points, reducing competition among students, encouraging them to work together, share knowledge, and focus on mastering the material.
During your first three years of instruction, our program emphasizes case-based learning, simulation-based education, and professional skills, while offering ample opportunities – starting your first semester – for clinical training in the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Your fourth year includes clinical rotations in our teaching hospital, the leading referral center in the Pacific Northwest.
WSU has a grading system that promotes collaboration and support between students. The pass-fail grading system alleviates the pressure of traditional letter grades. It rather encourages us to focus on mastering our skills. I love how it prioritizes genuine understanding over competition. There is an undeniable sense of community at WSU and this P/M/F system allows for us to maintain that feeling while still being in a very challenging environment.
-Jordan Johnson (2027 DVM)
The first year of the curriculum focuses on helping students understand the healthy animal, emphasizing how different biological systems are organized and how they function together to maintain health.
Fall semester
- Veterinary Microscopic Anatomy
- Veterinary Anatomy I
- Veterinary Physiology I
- Animal Handling and Orientation
- Principles of Surgery
- Animals, Society, and the Veterinarian
- Clinical and Professional Skills
Spring semester
- Veterinary Anatomy II
- Veterinary Physiology II
- Veterinary Neurology
- Veterinary Immunology
- General Pathology
- Basic Nutrition
- Clinical and Professional Skills
The second year is devoted to teaching diseases and their causes, focusing on what happens when things go wrong in the body and how to recognize and diagnose these issues.
Fall semester
- Fundamentals of Pharmacology
- Veterinary Virology
- Veterinary Bacteriology
- Systemic Pathology
- Clinical Pathology
- Diagnostic Challenge
- Clinical and Professional Skills
Spring semester
- Clinical Communication
- Veterinary Toxicology
- Veterinary Parasitology
- Veterinary Medicine and Human Health
- Transboundary and Emerging Disease of Animals
- Epidemiology
- Clinical Anesthesiology
- Radiology
- Clinical and Professional Skills
In the third year, students continue to learn about the principles of medicine and surgery, focusing on what to do when things go wrong and how to apply medical and surgical interventions to restore health.
Fall semester
- Clinical Communication
- Clinical Veterinary Pharmacology
- Small Animal Medicine I
- Small Animal Surgery
- Small Animal Surgery Lab
- Agricultural Animal Medicine I
- Equine Medicine
- Large Animal Surgery
Spring semester
- Small Animal Medicine II
- Clinical Specialties
- Agricultural Animal Medicine II
- Theriogenology
- Theriogenology Lab
- Veterinary Clinical Nutrition
Clinical rotations begin in May at the end of year three. Students train alongside board-certified practitioners in the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, applying what they have learned in the classroom to care for patients.
The core curriculum is comprised of 30 weeks of both small and large animal rotations, and a one-credit senior paper. In addition, students must complete 13 weeks of supplemental core rotations. Students will preference which rotations they would like to complete, or even repeat, to satisfy the supplemental requirement. In this way, a student may choose to focus their studies more on one species or area of veterinary medicine.
Rotation offerings currently include:
- Small animal, exotics and wildlife, and large animal medicine
- Regional, guided preceptorships with over 50 partner practices
- Student-identified supplemental externships
- Shelter medicine and surgery, and community outreach
- Research and epidemiology project partnerships with program faculty
For a full list of rotations offered, please see this document.
During or after their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) professional program, candidates must take and pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) to practice in the United States.