Australia Question

[MillersGirl60]

Hi there!



All the Australia threads are pretty old, going to see if I can get current info.

Do you need a degree of some kind to go to vet school in Australia, going from the U.S.? And if so, what kind? I am curious because Australian students go to vet school straight out of high school, and their vet program is considered undergrad.

Any info is appreciated, thank you!

Kim 😀

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[Lady Wombat]

Hi Kim,

So the university system here in Australia is a little different to what you have over in the US. Most of your graduate courses where you need to have completed a general undergraduate degree in order to study fields such as medicine, veterinary, law, etc. can be studied directly from high school in Australia and are undergraduate degree courses, for example if you study veterinary science you end up with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science instead of a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. So basically if you complete year 12 (our final year of schooling in Australia) and have undertaken all the prerequisite subjects that the university stipulates final year high school students must take in order to be considered for entry into their degree you can apply and be considered for entry. That being said not everyone gets into the courses they want in particular veterinary science as demand exceeds supply and the score you need to get into veterinary science direct from high school is exceptionally high. Many people, like me, who have studied at university already also apply for entry into these degrees so there generally is a mix of younger and older people.

Here is where it gets a little tricky, back in 2008 or 2009 The University of Melbourne decided that they wanted to move to what they called The Melbourne Model which is basically like the model you have in the US where you do a generalist undergraduate degree and then a professional graduate degree afterwards such as a DVM. So Melbourne shelved their Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree as well as a number of other undergraduate degrees. Now they only have six broad undergraduate degrees in Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce, Environments, Music and Science. Now at Melbourne if you want to study veterinary science you cannot straight from high school you must first complete an undergraduate degree then apply for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. If you do get a very high mark in your final year of high school you can get a guaranteed entry into the DVM program after completing a Bachelor of Science however this is contingent on you getting good marks throughout your undergraduate science degree. The University of Adelaide is the only other university in Australia that offers the DVM. There has been talk about The University of Sydney moving to a DVM program similar to Melbourne’s however currently next year’s intake (2013) will be studying for the Bachelor of Veterinary Science. The rest of the universities in Australia that offer veterinary science are undergraduate degrees and take students straight from high school and those without a previous degree.

Universities that offer veterinary science that take students directly from high school/individuals without a degree:

The University of Queensland – Bachelor of Veterinary Science, 5 years, AVMA accredited (http://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=2036)
The University of Sydney – Bachelor of Veterinary Science* (May change to a DVM in the next couple of years), 5 years, AVMA accredited (http://sydney.edu.au/courses/Bachelor-of-Veterinary-Science)
Murdoch University – Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, 5 years, AVMA accredited (http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Courses/Veterinary-Science/)
James Cook University – Bachelor of Veterinary Science* (No international student intake), 5 years (http://www.jcu.edu.au/vbms/)
Charles Sturt University – Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/Bachelor of Veterinary Science* (No international student intake), 6 years (http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/undergraduate/veterinary_science/course-overview#.UN-_QW-cd8E)

Universities that offer veterinary science that only take students with an appropriate undergraduate degree:

The University of Melbourne – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, 4 years, AVMA accredited Prerequisites: At least one semester of study in both cellular/general biology and biochemistry (http://www.vet.unimelb.edu.au/futurestudents/dvm.html)
The University of Adelaide – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, 3 years, Prerequisites: A completed Bachelor of Science (Pre-Veterinary) or equivalent recognised degree and completion of 12 weeks animal husbandry extramural studies (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/degree-finder/dvm_drvetmed.html)

Feel free to ask me anymore questions 🙂

 

[MillersGirl60]

Thank you Lady Wombat!! 😀

Here's more questions:

Is it true that with the undergrad vet degree from Australia, you can practice as a vet in the U.S. but won't have DVM after your name?

Are there loans programs available in Australia or should I attempt to get loans in the U.S.?

I will be getting an associate of science (AS, two-year) degree this spring, in biology. I've taken bio, chem (not organic), calculus, all the fluff classes. Did not take physics. Would I have a shot applying to an Australian vet school without a four-year degree?

I have been accepted to UC Davis for the fall, animal science program. Should I go and just do the four-year, or stop this spring with my two-year degree and get lots of practical work/volunteer experience and apply to Murdoch next year?

I am looking at Murdoch specifically, for a few reasons. Is there anything you can tell me about this school, good or otherwise?

 

[Lady Wombat]

Hi again Kim 🙂

As long as you get a degree from an AVMA accredited university you can practice in the US, this is something I want to do. Basically getting a degree from an AVMA accredited university means that you can sit the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination which I believe all American veterinary students have to do if they intend to practice veterinary medicine (please feel free to tell me if this assumption is wrong). As to your question about the DVM after your name, no you won’t have it after your name as the degree is not a DVM it’s a Bachelor of Veterinary Science. Here in Australia vets still have Dr. before their name even though it’s technically an undergraduate degree unlike the DVM, that being said I’m not sure what happens in America. In the end though as long as you pass your course (be it a Bachelor of Veterinary Science or a DVM) and pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination you can practice as a veterinarian in the US, just like any other US veterinary student.

So I’m not sure about the financing for international students, Australian citizens and permanent residents have a completely different fee structure as local students get government subsidised tuition. For local students it’s approximately $6,746 per year and this payment can be deferred. The repayment of the loan is only taken out of our taxes in small increments once we earn over a certain threshold (it’s something like over $47,000). There is no real interest changed on this debt but the accumulated loan is indexed annually in line with changes in cost of living. For international students it’s a completely different story and you pay approximately $46,000 per year. Regarding the loan question I suggest you ask someone who deals with student financial queries at your current university they would be much more knowledgeable on American financing for students studying abroad as I have absolutely no idea. Also there are American students that attend Murdoch that are on these forums so maybe one of these people could give you some information.

I don’t feel comfortable or qualified to tell you what to do about either going to study the 4 year animal science program or just doing the 2 year degree that is something you have to decide. I will tell you though it is competitive to get into vet in Australia (for local students, not too sure for internationals but I imagine it would be similar) so the more experience you have with animals and the higher your grades the better. The only thing I can suggest is maybe apply to Murdoch but don’t decline your UC Davis offer, think of it like a backup plan if you don’t get into Murdoch you start at Davis and can apply again in the next intake. You do need to be aware that in order to be accepted into the 5 year degree at Murdoch you need to have completed at least one year of university study, including the pre-requisite units or their equivalent (introduction to chemistry, statistical data analysis and databases and cell biology). If you haven’t studied these subjects I believe you can be offered a place in the vet entry year which adds an extra year to the degree, after successful completion of a full year of study you have a guaranteed progression into the 5 year veterinary course. You could also maybe enrol in these prerequisite subjects in the US instead of doing the pre vet year at Murdoch it would probably end up being cheaper. If you have questions about the prerequisite subjects I suggest you send Murdoch an email, I’ve found everyone very helpful with my queries.

Currently I’m waiting to find out if I got into Murdoch for the 2013 intake so I know a little about what you have to do. You need to send them a curriculum vitae, I know they like to see that you have experience with animals such as shadowing a vet or working with animals, so this would definitely be a good thing to have. References are also important I had a reference from an animal shelter I’ve been volunteering at for a couple of years and another one from my Master of Science supervisor. You will also need a strong academic transcript as this course is very competitive, are your grades from your 2 year degree strong or do you think they could be better? A personal statement of no more than 500 words is also required where you describe your motivation for studying veterinary science. From what I have read in forums this personal statement is very important and time should be taken when writing this. I guess as long as you send them a strong application I can't see how not having undertaken a 4 year degree would be an issue for Murdoch, maybe you could send them an email inquiring about this though just to make sure.

Murdoch’s veterinary science course has a good reputation around Australia for producing good graduates. I’m not from WA, I’m from the east coast of Australia in Melbourne so I don’t know anything about living in WA or what the facilities at the vet school are like. I’m sure they are good though because you wouldn’t be able to produce competent graduates unless you have the proper training facilities, you also wouldn’t be able to get international accreditation, which Murdoch has. Once again there are current Murdoch students on this forum so I’m sure they’d be able to help you with info on the vet school, its facilities and what the course is like.

 

[GeekOut4Animals]

Wow lady wombat covered a bunch! I just wrote about US financial aid under the forum topic titled Murdoch 2013 I believe. It was on the first page of the pre-vet thread. I also agree with lady wombat about not declining UC Davis for the four year. I have gotten accepted to Murdoch to start feb. 2013 without a four year degree but I have had four years of undergrad. I had two years of biology degree which did include organic plus i have done math thro calculus and statistics and cell bio. then I transferred colleges and started an animal science/vet tech degree where I have had a lot of animal classes plus biochemistry, physiology, and two years of physics, but since I transferred I actually haven't graduated with a bachelors quite yet. Since I got accepted to Murdoch I actually stopped studying this last semester to save money before the move. So I do suggest getting some higher level courses on you CV. My CVwas very detailed about certain animal labs that I got to do cool things like assist with a ram vasectomy and in an abdominal artificial insemination of a ewe, plus I had two years at an animal hospital as a kennel attendant where the doctors let me see some really cool things. Soo education and experience needs to be balanced. Also I highly agree that the personal statement needs to be top notch. That is the piece that gave me the most trouble but showing it to as many teachers that would read it was super helpful. I also sent in 4 references which is more than most but I really couldn't cut anyone out. I had two professors, one of which was also a veterinarian and then two veterinarians that I have worked with out of the 5 I've observed. I also sent in my high school transcripts because I went to college part time during my senior year which I felt was important to highlight along with a bunch of community service i have done. I had a really high GPA,but I do not think my stats are competitive especially when it comes to experience when it comes to US vet schools. My grades and my references really got me the spot at Murdoch. Also since there is four applications for ALL international students for Murdoch you never know the caliber of students that your application is up against. So with that said there is no harm is printing out the application for the school (two pages) and sending it in with your cv and stuff just to see what happens. It only cost me 30dollars to send my stuff and I honestly just wanted feedback on how my application ranked. I never expected to get in and I planned on doing more shadowing hours, soooo you never know what will happen!


If you search Murdoch in the search bar you should come across a thread where I give details of how to find the application to print because the website heavily relies in the online application, but i preferred to send it with everything else. Good luck with schooling, experience, and application decisions!

 

[GeekOut4Animals]

Oh and yes you just sit the NAVLE and you can come back to the US to practice. The bachelors is equivalent to a DVM but you do not get to put DVM after your name on your scrubs. It will say BVMS, BSc because the first two and a half years at Murdoch is considered a Veterinary Biology degree, Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) and the second two and a half years is a degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. In the end we will all be called Dr. 🙂

 

[MillersGirl60]

I am so thankful to be getting such great, relevant information! I have a million more questions, but I'm visiting family right now and don't want to just blurt them out. Going to make sure they're thoughtful, hopefully I can post them tomorrow. As for today, have a wonderful New Years Eve! 😀

Kim