Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary Medicine 

Admissions overview for Downing College 

Why study Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge?

The veterinary course at Cambridge aims to equip future veterinarians with the knowledge and skills to excel in clinical practice, advocating for animal welfare and to make meaningful contributions to society. At the end of the six years, students will leave with both the Cambridge BA and the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and become licensed to practice as members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) – the regulator of vets in the UK.

The first two years of the course are designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the science underlying clinical medicine and is taught by the departments of the Faculty of Biology. This provides the bedrock for clinical studies in the Department of Veterinary Medicine later in the degree. Throughout the preclinical phase, students are exposed to world-leading experts in both biological science and clinical veterinary practice, through university lectures, college teaching and extracurricular talks. Students are encouraged to be inquisitive, to read beyond the lecture material and to make links between scientific principles and clinical applications.

Uniquely in the UK, all Cambridge veterinary students study a third year from one of the University’s many departments to gain the Cambridge BA. Students often take advantage of this opportunity to expand their interests in biology but can look further afield (if they have the prerequisite skills) to most other third year courses. In recent years, Downing students have studied zoology, pathology, physiology, history and philosophy of science and engineering, amongst others.

During the clinical phase in years 4 and 5, students learn to apply their scientific knowledge to clinical conditions. Additionally, students are mentored in non-clinical skills such as communication, evidence-based medicine and clinical decision-making. The entirely practical final year gives students supervised patient responsibility in the hospitals and clinics of the Veterinary School, to put their accumulated knowledge and skills into practice.

Throughout the course, formal instruction is augmented by compulsory work experience, called extramural studies (EMS), during the vacations. In the first two years this will focus on gaining an understanding of animal husbandry and developing safe and ethical animal handling practices. During the final three years, these placements are taken in clinical practices, abattoirs or laboratories.

Studying Veterinary Medicine equips students for clinical practice in whichever species or discipline they find compelling. In particular, the Cambridge course provides a sound foundation for those wishing to pursue post-graduate qualifications or specialist status. A veterinary degree also provides options for non-clinical work, for example in public health, epidemiology and the pharmaceutical industry, or to progress to further study or research.

All teaching for Veterinary Medicine follows the same course outline set by the Faculties of Biology and Veterinary Medicine. Read more about the structure of the course.

Why study Veterinary Medicine at Downing?

There are around 15 veterinary students at Downing, with a strong community spirit. Students from all six years come together for social and academic events throughout the year, organised by both the Director of Studies and by the Whitby Medical and Veterinary Society.

A high priority for Downing is providing preclinical students (in years 1 and 2) contact with clinicians. Clinicians often talk at Whitby Society and other college events. Many of Downing’s undergraduate supervisors are qualified veterinary surgeons or medics, actively engaged in clinical practice. Therefore, our supervisors are not only subject experts, but bring experience of how preclinical topics will become important to clinical practice taught later in the course.

Downing hosts two Bye-Fellows in Veterinary Medicine. Dr Katie McCullum is a European and RCVS specialist in small animal internal medicine and an Associate Professor (Teaching) at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, with research interests in feline practice and canine hepatobiliary disease. The Director of Studies for all six years is Dr Tom Towers, a veterinary surgeon with clinical and research interests in evidence-based medicine, veterinary anaesthesia and critical care.

Who are we looking for?

Veterinary students at Downing must be strong scientists, as the scientific rigour of the course cannot be overstated. We are looking for candidates who are passionate about science, have developed problem-solving skills and demonstrate a natural inquisitiveness for how the world works. Additionally, we are looking for applicants who show an understanding of the breadth of the veterinary profession.

Work experience in animal settings is encouraged, but not compulsory. Please refer to the Veterinary School website for further information.

Detailed information about entry requirements can be found at the top of this page. Applicants who are taking IB Higher Level Mathematics, should note that, while the Applications and Interpretations option is acceptable, the Analysis and Approaches option is recommended for a strong application.

What Veterinary Medicine students have studied 

According to the University, 89% of Veterinary Medicine students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2018, 2019 and 2023) had studied:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Mathematics

How can you find out more about Veterinary Medicine?

The best way to prepare to apply for veterinary medicine at Downing is to be confident in your understanding of GCSE and A level (or equivalent) science and how it applies to the world at large, as your application of this knowledge will be tested at interview. You might wish to ask one of your teachers for a short practice interview.

We encourage you to look above and beyond the school curriculum, which will help develop some of the key scientific skills we are looking for. For example, this could involve reading books or scientific articles in magazines (such as New Scientist or Science) and newspapers; many examples of these are available in school or local libraries. You could read around the veterinary profession, for example browsing the news articles from Farmers’ Weekly, Horse and Hound, the RCVS website or the Vet Times, and you can also read books written by members of the profession. We would not expect you to read all this information and it is natural that you may not fully understand all the content at this stage. We have provided this list of suggestions to help you explore the subject and develop your own academic interests, but we would be most interested to hear about other reading you have undertaken.

You may wish to undertake specific trips or courses and there are several available in the UK and abroad, but this is not expected of applicants. UK veterinary schools, including Cambridge, have contributed to the Virtual Work Experience and Exploring the Veterinary Profession MOOC, which we do recommend you work through (but we do not expect you to pay to get the final certificate).

Applicants are encouraged to seek out work experience in animal settings. This might include time working in kennels, on farms or in medical/research laboratories as well as time spent seeing practice with vets in clinics or on the road. It should be noted that Cambridge does not have minimum levels of work experience that are needed to apply; should you be unable to undertake these activities, your application will not be adversely affected.