General Requirements
If you are contemplating a career in veterinary medicine, you should have a sound
foundation in the biological and physical sciences and a general knowledge of the
arts and humanities in both high school and college. In addition, you should be motivated
by a respect for animals, a sincere desire to serve the public, a propensity for the
biological and medical sciences, and a deep interest in promotion of the health of
animal and human populations. You must have a high aptitude for scientific study and
must possess an excellent moral and ethical character.
Candidates for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree must complete a minimum
of six years of college education (two or more years of undergraduate or pre-veterinary
coursework plus four years of veterinary school). The pre-veterinary requirements
may be completed at LSU or at any other accredited college or university offering
courses of the quality and content of those prescribed in the LSU General Catalog.
The minimum requirement of 66 semester hours, including 20 hours of elective courses,
may be completed in a minimum of two years. A Bachelor's degree is not a requirement
for acceptance into LSU Vet Med's DVM program, although applicants are strongly encouraged
to follow an undergraduate degree path in the event that entrance into the DVM program
is not granted. Successful completion of a pre-veterinary program does not ensure
admission to the school for professional training. Typically, there are more qualified
applicants each year than there are spaces available to the entering class.
Instruction in the four-year program is available only through LSU Vet Med. Scholastic
achievement is measured by performance in the prescribed pre-professional courses.
A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 (“A” = 4.00) in these courses is required for
consideration for admission. A grade of less than “C” in a required course is unacceptable.
Physical education activity courses may not be used as electives for meeting pre-professional
requirements. Course requirements are not waived in lieu of work experience and/or
earned degrees.
Credit earned through advanced standing is acceptable, but is not used in the computation
of the grade-point average. Evaluation of the applicant’s record in the pre-professional
program is made in accordance with LSU procedures. Credit is not granted for College
Level Examination Program (CLEP) general examinations. Granting of credit for CLEP
subject examinations may be considered in those subjects recommended by various departments
of the University upon receipt of test scores indicating the student meets the minimum
acceptable scores required by those departments.
International Applicants
International transcripts (including those from Canadian schools that issue transcripts
in French) must be electronically processed through the World Education Services credential evaluation and received at VMCAS before September 15. Please request a
course-by-course equivalency evaluation report.
- It is recommended that transcripts be submitted to the WES translation service at
least one month before the VMCAS deadline.
- VMCAS does not require a WES credential evaluation for transcripts from English-speaking
Canadian institutions.
- WES will expedite your request for an additional fee.
TOEFL scores are required for all international applicants from a country whose primary
language is not English. Students are exempted from the TOEFL requirement if the official
language of their country is English, they have recently earned a degree at an American
university, or they are from Puerto Rico or an English-speaking Canadian territory.
