Undergraduate Applicants
Academic Achievement and Attitude
In view of the need to efficiently and quickly learn large amounts of factual material and to solve problems, applicants must have demonstrated achievement in the comprehension of scientific material. This will be evaluated by the scrutiny of transcripts and previous academic records. Attention will be paid to both the quality and consistency of grades in the program presented as preparation for admission. Course selections in an applicant's last two full-time semesters will be reviewed for academic coherence.
1) The prerequisites for all applicants to the Ontario Veterinary College includes a MINIMUM of four full-time university semesters and the specific courses listed below. All prerequisite courses must be completed in full-time (2.5 credits) semesters at the university level. Applicants from universities other than the University of Guelph are required to include a minimum of five half-year courses per semester. Please note: 0.5 credit = one semester course. Required courses proposed to be completed at an institution other than the University of Guelph should be approved as acceptable prior to registration. Applicants are required to request approval in writing by faxing requests to Penny Scott, Admission Services (fax: 519.766.9481). Requests must include:
i) a transcript of university courses completed to date;
ii) a list of proposed courses for the upcoming academic year (if applicable);
iii) a list of the eight courses to be presented as prerequisite courses and course descriptions of these courses.
・ Biological Sciences - 1.5 credits (with emphasis on animal biology; one must be a cell biology)
・ Genetics - 0.5 credits
・ Biochemistry - 0.5 credits
・ Statistics - 0.5 credits
・ Humanities/Social Sciences - 1.0 credits*
*Students entering the DVM Program should be competent across discipline boundaries recognizing the relevance of the humanities and the social sciences to their career choice. In selecting these courses from among those acceptable, the prospective veterinary student should consider topics such as ethics, logic, critical thinking, determinants of human behaviour and human social interaction.
A list of ACCEPTABLE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH COURSES is available from this site in PDF format. This requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Visit for a free download.
Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to any of the programs at the University of Guelph.
Courses need not be completed in a specialized college or faculty or in a designated Pre-Veterinary program. Students wishing to complete their preparatory work at the University of Guelph should seek admission to the Bachelor of Science or the Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) programs. Students who wish to complete their preparatory work at another university should select an institution that offers the specific course requirements listed above as part of a degree program and that has rigorous entrance requirements and a reputation for academic quality.
The DVM Admissions Committee cannot evaluate Honours, Pass-Fail, and Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory grading systems. Applicants should obtain a numerical or letter grade for all required courses and the grades should be certified by the Registrar of the university attended.
It is expected that the level of an applicant's courses will correspond to the semester level (year) of his or her program. Students who have completed a degree and are upgrading in a non-degree category for the purposes of DVM admission are expected to register in senior-level courses.
An applicant who is not following a prescribed program of study may be required to submit an explanation of his or her course selections.
The Admissions Committee reserves the right to deny the use of certain courses in the calculation of the admission average.
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2) The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) will be used for selection of all domestic applicants. International applicants may submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores in lieu of MCAT scores. The MCAT may be taken in April or August of each year; however students wishing to take the MCAT in the same year as intended admission to the DVM Program must do so in April. For Domestic Applicants, the deadline date for receipt of MCAT scores is June 15 of the year of intended admission to the DVM program. For International Applicants, the deadline for receipt of GRE or MCAT scores is February 1st.
A complete description of the MCAT is contained in the MCAT student manual available from:
Association of American Medical Colleges
Dept. 66
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
20055,
Telephone: 202.828.0416.
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/
The manual describes the areas in science and specific skills to be assessed by the test, the mathematical concepts required, general suggestions for preparing for and taking the test, and a full-length practice test. Preparation for the MCAT should begin with a careful reading of the student manual. Science topics covered on the test include basic principles and concepts in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, genetics and physics.
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3) Veterinary and Animal Experience As part of the application process, applicants must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the profession, its dimensions, and the industries it serves to permit the applicant to make and defend his or her career choice. This requires the applicant to spend adequate time under the supervision of veterinarians in clinical practice situations (volunteer or paid) in order to gain hands-on experience with a range of animal species. Practice situations include, but are not limited to, large, small, equine, mixed, avian and exotic animal clinics, thus introducing the applicant to food producing, companion, zoo and wildlife animals, or aquaculture. Other work or volunteer experience with veterinarians can include non-practice situations such as industry (e.g. veterinary products, pharmaceutical), research and academia (universities), and government (e.g. public health, regulatory affairs). For each animal or veterinary experience, there is an expectation that applicants will be able to identify the role of the veterinarian, production and breeding systems, general features of housing and feeding, productivity measures and norms, marketing systems, animal behaviour relevant to restraint, feeding, and reproduction, and emerging trends and issues in the industry.
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4) Personal Skills and Knowledge
A number of attributes are required for admission to the DVM Program. In addition to those already identified above under Admission Requirements a number of others, some of which relate to certain University of Guelph Learning Objectives, have been identified. They are presented here to assist prospective applicants in preparing themselves for admission:
a) Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy and numeracy are the bases on which all knowledge is founded. The ability to read, write, and calculate are fundamental intellectual tools. Students entering the DVM Program will be able to demonstrate literacy skills at least to the basic level as described under Literacy in the University of Guelph Learning Objectives. They will be able to assimilate and comprehend written language at a basic level, to summarize information in a coherent manner, and use appropriate language in context. Successful applicants must be able to devise a topic or concept for discussion, frame its bounds and communicate its content. Students entering the DVM Program will understand the value and principles of describing situations in numeric terms. They will be able to assimilate and comprehend numeric data and use appropriate tools to manage such information. They must be able to use skills of numeracy to check validity of information, to use and correctly interpret appropriate statistics to describe the distribution of observations in individuals and populations, and be able to perform basic tests of hypotheses (t-test, chi-square and simple regression) and interpret these correctly.
b) Communication Skills
Communication is the process of interacting with others respectfully and involves an exchange of information, feelings and values. It includes intrapersonal communication (self-understanding, self-evaluation, and reasoning) and interpersonal communication (interaction with others, relationship and self-disclosure). Through interpersonal communication, relationships are started, maintained, or destroyed. Good communication involves an understanding of self-awareness, of self-esteem, of feelings and emotions, the development of listening skills and the willingness to disclose oneself truthfully and freely. Good communication also requires an understanding of principles of language and verbal interaction, principles of non-verbal communication, and of interpersonal communication and relationships (relationship development and deterioration, improvement of interpersonal communication, conflict management, interviewing skills etc.) Students entering the DVM Program will be able to: listen respectfully and comprehend appreciatively; practice the elements of good interpersonal communication successfully; demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively; and communicate effectively by oral, written, and electronic means at the basic level of literacy. Successful applicants will be able to recognize the non-verbal aspects of communication by considering feelings, emotions, and values as elements of communication.
c) Judgement
Students entering the DVM Program will be able to use knowledge, observational and analytical skills, with due consideration of value systems, to evaluate and implement decisions. They will be able to identify and articulate their personal value system; identify ethics and standards of conduct; and identify the values and assumptions that may be operative in various contexts. They must be able to identify, critically evaluate and accept the implications and consequences of decisions, to re-evaluate decisions based on new information, and deal effectively with uncertainty. They will be able to accept that self-assessment of ethics and standards of conduct is a professional responsibility, and accept that others may have different values and assumptions and respect those differences.
d) On-Going Curiosity (self-initiated learning)
Students entering the DVM Program must be able to use self-initiated learning to maintain and enhance depth and breadth of understanding. They must recognize limitations of their knowledge, skills and attitudes, identify sources of ongoing learning opportunities, and demonstrate a commitment to on-going learning and self-evaluation.
e) Forms of Inquiry
Students entering the DVM Program will be able to identify and articulate the strengths and weaknesses, similarities and differences of various forms of inquiry (i.e. those used by the physical scientist, the biological scientist, the social scientist and the scholar of humanities). They will be able to describe and apply the scientific method, and articulate and evaluate personal problem-solving processes.
f) Technical Skills
Students entering the DVM Program must have observation and motor skills which necessitate the functional use of all senses. Applicants must declare disabilities which might interfere with observation and motor skills and their ability to elicit information by palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic manoeuvers, procedures, or perform general and emergency care of patients.