Pictured | Kayla Fulbright | Biological Sciences / Pre-Veterinary Medicine | Mishawaka, Indiana (hometown)

Veterinary Medicine

A Bachelor's degree, either B.A. or B.S., is generally expected for acceptance into veterinary school, although a student may be admitted without a degree upon completion of all required prerequisite courses.

Students may major in any subject; due to the overlap between the degree requirements and entrance requirements for veterinary school. the most common majors are Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry.

It is not possible to earn a degree in "pre-veterinary medicine." For the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, all courses listed below must be completed prior to matriculation, but it is not necessary to have completed all the courses listed prior to submitting an application for admission.

All required courses must have letter grades; no courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis are accepted and credit by exam (such as AP or IB credit) is not accepted. Students interested in pre-veterinary coursework at IU South Bend should contact the pre-health professions advisor, Dr. Ann Grens, in the Department of Biological Sciences, soon after admission to IU South Bend to discuss an appropriate degree program. Send e-mail to agrens@iusb.edu or call (574) 520-4426.

Requirements (71-72 cr.)

All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.

Biology (21 cr.)

• BIOL-L 101 Introduction to Biological Sciences 1 (5 cr.)
• BIOL-L 102 Introduction to Biological Sciences 2 (5 cr.)
• BIOL-L 211 Molecular Biology
• BIOL-L 311 Genetics
• MICR-M 310 Microbiology
• MICR-M 315 Microbiology Laboratory (2 cr.)

Chemistry (23 cr.)

• CHEM-C 105  Principles of Chemistry I
• CHEM-C 106 Principles of Chemistry II
• CHEM-C 125 Experimental Chemistry I (2 cr.)
• CHEM-C 126  Experimental Chemistry II (2 cr.)
• CHEM-C 341 Organic Chemistry Lectures 1
• CHEM-C 342 Organic Chemistry Lectures 2
• CHEM-C 343 Organic Chemistry Laboratory 1 (2 cr.)
• CHEM-C 344 Organic Chemistry Laboratory 2 (2 cr.)
• CHEM-C 484 Biomolecules and Catabolism

English (3 cr.)

• ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I

Physics (10 cr.)

Select one of the following sequences:

Sequence 1

• PHYS-P 201 General Physics 1 (5 cr.)
• PHYS-P 202 General Physics 2 (5 cr.)

Sequence 2

• PHYS-P 221 Physics 1 (5 cr.)
• PHYS-P 222 Physics 2 (5 cr.)

Speech (3 cr.)

• SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking

Statistics (2-3 cr.)

Select one from the following:

• BIOL-L 220 Biostatistics (recommended)
• MATH-K 310 Statistical Techniques
• MATH-M 261 Statistical Inferences (2 cr.)

Electives (9 cr.)

• Minimum of 9 credit hours in humanities or social sciences courses

Photo credit | Teresa Sheppard