Required Coursework

Courses

Biology
Genetics or Animal Breeding
General and Qualitative Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Biochemistry

General Physics
Statistics
English Composition or Journalism
Social Sciences or Humanities

General Biology OR Zoology

A one semester introductory animal biology course and a lab. General biological principles; cell structure and organization, genetics, development and evolution, and structure and function of physiological systems.

Genetics OR Animal Breeding

A one semester lecture course. The principles and application of inheritance including concepts of Mendelian, population, and molecular genetics.

General AND Qualitative Chemistry

A two semester lecture series and a lab. The principles and the application of inorganic chemistry that provides preparation for continued study of chemistry.

Organic Chemistry

A one semester lecture course, that has general chemistry as a prerequisite. A foundational study of the principles of organic chemistry that satisfies the biochemistry prerequisite.

Biochemistry

A one semester lecture course that has organic chemistry as a prerequisite. A study of the principles governing biologically active molecules applicable to molecular biology and modern medicine.

General Physics (2 semester lecture series or 3 terms at a quarter credit institution)

A full academic year semester of physics. An introduction at the non-calculus level. Principles of mechanics, heat and sound, electricity and magnetism, light, atomic and nuclear physics with applications to a number of different fields.

Statistics

A one semester introductory course. A foundational study in probability and distributions, sampling inference, hypothesis testing, linear regression, and analysis of variance.

English Composition OR Journalism

• a satisfactory score on a college English placement exam, or an introductory English composition course, PLUS completion of one of the following:
• an English composition or Journalism course, graded on the basis of writing skills, or
• evidence that writing skills were included in the grading of a specific college-level course.

Social Sciences OR Humanities

Important

Courses taken on other campuses to fulfill the above required course work should be equivalent in scope and content to UW-Madison courses. A course equivalency list for UW-Madison and many other campuses is available through the Office of Academic Affairs. Decisions on these course equivalencies and satisfactory completion of course requirements rest with the Office of Academic Affairs and the Admissions Committee.

Because the School admits a very diverse group of students, some students may have taken only the minimum sciences courses required for admission. Current students in the SVM have suggested that applicants who are "light in the sciences" consider taking additional science courses before matriculating in the program. Some examples are: anatomy, physiology, bacteriology, and cell biology. By doing so, students will be better prepared for the academic rigor of the DVM program.