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:
Utilize K-State’s Transfer Equivalency to evaluate requirements taken elsewhere to ensure courses meet the minimum KSU requirement.
Requirement |
Semester |
Quarter |
Chemistry I with lab | 4 | 6 |
Chemistry II with lab | 4 | 6 |
Organic Chemistry with Lab | 4-5 | 6-7 |
Biochemistry | 3 | 4 |
Physics I with lab | 4 | 6 |
Physics II with lab | 4 | 6 |
Biology or Zoology with lab | 4 | 6 |
Microbiology with Lab | 4 | 5-6 |
Genetics | 3 | 4 |
Writing I | 3 | 4 |
Writing II | 3 | 4 |
Public Speaking/Communications | 2 | 3 |
Social Sciences and/or Humanities | 12 | 18 |
Electives | 9 | 13 |
Total | 64 | 93 |
Requirements can be fulfilled by courses from any accredited institution, including online courses and labs. All courses used to fulfill requirements must appear on an official transcript. All official transcript from every institution attended must be submitted to the VMCAS application.
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. Questions regarding exceptions to the 6 year science rule should be directed to admit@vet.k-state.edu.
All required pre-requisite courses must be graded. Pass/Fail or credit/no credit courses are not accepted to fulfill requirements. Spring 2020, Summer 2020 and Fall 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, Summer 2020 and Fall 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/Communications 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.
Writing requirements 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.
Biology or Zoology can be fulfilled by an introductory biology or zoology course or higher level biology courses if desired. (KSU BIOL 198 equivalent or higher)
Organic Chemistry can be fulfilled by General Organic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry I or Organic Chemistry II. We recognize institutions package courses uniquely. Organic Chemistry courses consisting of 3 semester credits lecture and 1 semester credit lab will be accepted to fulfill the requirement.
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) On the VMCAS and KSU CVM Supplemental Applications, enter only enough courses to fulfill the requirements.
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. On the VMCAS and KSU CVM Supplemental Applications, enter only enough courses to fulfill the requirements.
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, a KSU CVM science prerequisite minimum 2.800 grade point average and a minimum 2.800 grade point average in the last 45 semester hours of undergraduate college work. The last 45 hours of undergraduate and graduate college work are calculated on the VMCAS application. Retakes of prerequisites within 6 years will be averaged for GPA calculation. Any grade less than a “C-” in a required course is not accepted. A course grade of D or F on a transcript at the time of application, in any required course, will disqualify the application. Required courses with a grade of D or F that have been repeated or replaced, and the grade improved, will be accepted. Applications are evaluated with grades appearing on a transcript at the time of application. Fall and spring grades during an application cycle will not be considered.
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.