The overall mission of the Veterinary Science graduate program is to train students to become creative and critical thinking scientists with the contemporary skills and knowledge to perform independent research and to effectively communicate their results. The primary goal of research in the Veterinary Science program is to improve our understanding of the biology of Equidae, with emphasis placed on investigating the causes and mechanisms that affect the production and performance of horses, regardless of breed.
Veterinary Science offers both the Master of Science (MS) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, with specialization in infectious disease, parasitology, immunology, genetics, reproductive physiology, pharmacology, and musculoskeletal sciences. Each of these subspecialties has a general emphasis on the horse.
Admission Requirements
Applicants need a strong academic background with undergraduate course preparation in biology, chemistry and mathematics. Students accepted into the program should have an appropriate degree (i.e., in a STEM discipline) from an accredited institution, a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with lesser qualifications will be accepted only on the recommendation of a graduate faculty member who is willing to support financially and serve as the research advisor for the student and with the approval of our full graduate faculty.
Degree Requirements
Students enrolled in the PhD program need to satisfy 36 credit hours of pre-qualifying residency, followed by at least two semesters of VS 767 (Dissertation Residency Credit; 2 credit hours/semester). For students with an earned Master’s or DVM (or equivalent), up to 18 of the 36-hour pre-qualifying requirement may be waived at the discretion of the student’s advisory committee, the DGS, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Students pursuing both the MS and PhD in Veterinary Science must take two semesters of graduate-level biochemistry/molecular/cell biology (selected from CHE 550 & CHE 552 OR IBS 601 , IBS 602 , IBS 603 , IBS 606 ) and one semester of graduate-level statistics (STA 570 or STA 580 ) or demonstrate equivalent coursework completed elsewhere. Students in the MS program must enroll in VS 770 , Departmental Seminar, and give a presentation in at least one semester. Students in the PhD program must enroll in VS 770 and give presentations in at least 2 semesters. As well, VS 600 , Ethics in Scientific Research, is strongly recommended.
Any additional coursework is determined by each student in concert with the major advisor and the PhD advisory committee.
http://vetsci.ca.uky.edu/content/graduate-education
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