Research/Theses in DVM programs?

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disabled&proud

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Do students in DVM (or equivalent) programs have research requirements/theses? Or be disallowed from graduating even if you meet GPA requirements if they don't pass something else? This feels like a silly question, almost. Do DVM programs require active students to pass NAVLE in order to be allowed to graduate?

I don't mean voluntary research programs that students apply for or can opt into in some way to improve chances at a post-DVM goal (like if they want to go into academia/research, which, to be clear, is not my goal). I mean mandatory non-coursework, non-clinical experience requirements like writing a thesis paper or completing original research in order to graduate, especially if that experience is weighted heavily enough that you could be disallowed from graduating even if you got a 4.0 in all your courses. Usually a PhD thesis is original research under the umbrella of an advisor's research portfolio or totally original research. Mine was the latter, but that is less common. Some PhD programs won't let you graduate until you have research publications (and in that case your thesis is essentially a portfolio of those publications), although that is less common.

Background: I have two terminal degrees (a masters and a PhD, in two different and non-overlapping fields that I really disliked but life is complicated so I completed the degrees - I wish they'd had the same experience hours requirement that vet med does so I could've figured that out before even applying, ha!). I do not know if medical degrees use that terminology, but in academia, a terminal degree is the highest degree in the field, and means you are qualified to teach college and graduate school in that field. Both had thesis requirements (which is standard but probably not universal). In any case, it is possible in thesis based terminal degrees to fail out even if you get a 4.0 in all your coursework, if your thesis isn't passed (usually people get 2 tries, and usually if you don't pass by the second try it's an advising problem more than anything else, so it's quite rare, and often if this happens you can petition to be given a masters degree as kind of a consolation prize, if your PhD didn't provide you with a masters en route, which some do for all students, just depends). More commonly than failing a thesis defense twice, people stall out after passing all their coursework and just never finish. So just given all this "grad school baggage" I have I'm trying to understand how a DVM program is structured. Also, if there is a thesis requirement at all, or even just some, vet schools, that will help me decide which ones I want to apply to since I would obviously not want to go to a vet school at all if no faculty there would be qualified to mentor me on a thesis I might be interested in. (Although TBH I've done 2 theses in my life already, and I don't feel the need to do any more. One would have been sufficient. Doing a thesis is very different from doing research as a professional in a lot of ways that I can't say I would like to repeat.)

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even if you meet GPA requirements if they don't pass something else?
NAVLE/research not required for graduation. With that said, certain schools may have more than just classwork you need to pass in order to graduate. Speaking for my alma mater, we had to pass clinical skills exams in both 2nd and 3rd year before being allowed to continue on through the curriculum. We had two chances to remediate any deficient skills, but we had to be passed on all the tested skills to pass the exam (unlike an exam, where you just need an overall passing grade). AFAIK, no one has failed out over the skills exams, but you could get dismissed over them in theory.
 
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Oregon requires a senior paper and 15 min oral presentation in order to graduate. Not a thesis by any means, but still required research and writing. We can either do a research study or summarize recent literature on any vet med topic.
 
Thank you all! Writing a paper is no big deal for me (I have so much practice lol), but a third thesis just sounds Extra. Clinical and lab skills exams to move on to the next year make total sense.
 
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