Required Prerequisite Coursework

The following required pre-requisite courses can be completed at Kansas State University or at another accredited college or university, and serve as minimum preparation for the professional program and curriculum:

Required Pre-requisite Course Credit Hours
Chemistry I 4
Chemistry II 4
General Organic Chemistry with Lab 5
General Biochemistry 3
Physics I 4
Physics II 4
Principles of Biology or Zoology 4
Microbiology with Lab 4
Genetics 3
Expository Writing I 3
Expository Writing II 3
Public Speaking 2
Social Sciences and/or Humanities 12
Electives 9
Total 64

All required science courses (the 35 credit hours’ worth of chemistry, physics, biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, and genetics) must have been taken within six (6) years of the date in which the prospective applicant would enroll in the professional program.

All required pre-requisite courses must be graded. Pass/Fail or credit/no credit courses are not accepted to fulfill requirements. Spring 2020 semester or quarter grades will be the exception to this requirement. KSU CVM will accept Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades earned in the Spring 2020 semester/quarter to fulfill requirements. Applicants must have earned a Pass or Satisfactory equal to a C- or above to fulfill the requirements. Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades will not be accepted for any other semester/quarter at this time.

AP and Test credits appearing itemized on an official transcript will be accepted for fulfillment of requirements.

Requirements are not waived for any reason. All applicants must have completed all requirements by the spring semester prior to entering the DVM program.

Public Speaking requirement can be fulfilled by a public speaking course, an interpersonal communications course or a course designed to fulfill the public speaking requirement of the applicant’s undergraduate institution. Applicants should provide a syllabus to admit@vet.k-state.edu to support the course speaking requirement if it is not clear in the name of the course.

Expository Writing requirement can be fulfilled by composition courses, courses designed to fulfill the writing requirement of the undergraduate institution or any course with an ENG prefix. Applicants should provide a syllabus to admit@vet.k-state.edu to support the course writing requirement if it is not clear in the name of the course.

Principles of Biology or Zoology can be fulfilled by an introductory biology or zoology course or higher level biology courses if desired.

Social Sciences and/or Humanities are fulfilled by courses focused on the study of human behavior and interaction in social, cultural, environmental, economic and political contexts. The Humanities and Social Sciences have a historical and contemporary focus, from personal to global contexts and consider challenges for the future. (Areas of study: law, history, ancient languages, modern languages, philosophy, religion, appreciation of visual/performing arts, anthropology, criminology, administration, archaeology, education, economics, psychology, linguistics, political science)

General Biochemistry is fulfilled by courses focused on chemistry and metabolism of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and nucleic acids.

Genetics is fulfilled by courses focused on the study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics. Reproduction courses do not fulfill this requirement.

Microbiology is fulfilled by courses studying microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, archaea, fungi and protozoa including fundamental research on the biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, ecology, evolution and clinical aspects of microorganisms, including the host response to these agents.

Electives are fulfilled by courses not used for any other requirement and are of the applicant’s own choosing.

KSU CVM understands institutions package courses uniquely and the credit hours may not exactly match our required credit hours.

Strongly recommended courses include: Anatomy and Physiology, Business courses, Immunology, Animal Science courses

In order to convert quarter hours into semester hours, please see our Conversion Chart.

Course substitutions must be petitioned to the Admissions Committee by way of the Assistant Dean for Admissions in the College of Veterinary Medicine through admit@vet.k-state.edu.

In order to be eligible for an interview and admission to the program, applicants must complete the required pre-requisite courses with a minimum of 2.800 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at an accredited college or university, and a minimum 2.800 grade point average in the last 45 semester hours of undergraduate college work. Any grade less than a “C-” in a required course is not accepted. A grade of D or F on a transcript at the time of application will disqualify the application.

Only those individuals who can complete the required 64 semester hours of required pre-requisite courses by the end of the Spring term of the year in which they are seeking admission will be considered to the professional program.