Pre-veterinary students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the admission requirements for the professional DVM program at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Students should seek knowledgeable pre-veterinary counselors and/or advice when enrolled in pre-professional programs other than at LSU.

A minimum of 66 total semester hours is required for consideration for admission into the professional DVM program. This must include the 46 semester credit hours of the courses listed below. If there are any questions regarding equivalency of courses, please contact the LSU SVM Student Affairs Office (e-mail: admissions@vetmed.lsu.edu; Phone: 225-578-9538; Fax: 225-578-9546).

Biological Science - 12 sem. hrs. - Must include at least 8 sem. hrs. (two-semester course sequence with laboratory) in general biology or introductory zoology. Must also include at least 4 sem. hrs. (one-semester course with laboratory) in microbiology at a level appropriate for premedical students. LSU courses— Biology 1201, 1202, 1208, 1209, and 2051.

BIOL 1201 - Biology for Science Majors I (3) -- General concepts in cellular structure, cellular metabolism, cellular communication, and genetics. Prereq: minimum ACT composite of 23 or “C” or better in CHEM 1201. Primarily for students in science, agriculture, or education. Credit will not be given for both this course and BIOL 1001.

BIOL 1208 - Biology Laboratory for Science Majors I (1) -- Prereq: credit or registration in BIOL 1201. Credit will not be given for this course and BIOL 1005 or 1207. 3 hrs. lab. Primarily for students majoring in science, agriculture, or education.

BIOL 1202 - Biology for Science Majors II (3) -- General concepts in evolution, ecology, and the function of organisms. Prereq: BIOL 1201. Primarily for students in science, agriculture, or education. Credit will not be give for this course and BIOL 1002.

BIOL 1209 - Biology Laboratory for Science Majors II (1) -- Prereq: Credit in BIOL 1208, credit or registration in BIOL 1202. Credit will not be given for this course and BIOL 1005. Primarily for students majoring in science, agriculture, or education.

         -- OR in place of a combined Lecture/Lab above --

BIOL 1503 HONORS - Introductory Zoology (4) - S Prereq: BIOL 1201 and consent of instructor. 3 hrs lecture; 3 hrs lab. Special honors emphasis for qualified students.

Inorganic Chemistry - 8 sem. hrs. - Must include laboratory and must be at a level for science or engineering majors. LSU courses— Chemistry 1201, 1202, 1212.

CHEM 1202 - General Chemistry (3) -- Additional theory with emphasis on solution chemistry and a quantitative approach; descriptive chemistry of selected elements and compounds from the main groups and the first transition series. Prereq: CHEM 1201 or 1421. Credit will not be given for both this course and CHEM 1422. For science/engineering curricula. Continuation of CHEM 1201.

CHEM 1212 - General Chemistry Laboratory (2) -- Basic laboratory operations including selected experiments and introductory inorganic qualitative analysis. Prereq: credit or registration in CHEM 1002, 1202, or 1422. 6 hrs. lab. Credit will not be given for both this course and CHEM 1431. Laboratory usage deposit.

Organic Chemistry - 3 sem. hrs. - Must cover aliphatic and aromatic compounds, with emphasis on the biological aspects of organic chemistry. LSU course— Chemistry 2060.

Biochemistry - 3 sem. hrs. - Must include 3 sem. hrs. of basic concepts and an introduction to the nature and physiological uses of natural substances. LSU course— Biochemistry 2083.

Mathematics - 5-6 sem. hrs. - Must be at the college algebra/trigonometry level or higher. LSU courses—Mathematics 1020/1021, 1022. Students who qualify for more advanced mathematics may substitute Mathematics 1023 (5 sem. hrs.) for 1020/1021 and 1022.

         -- ALONG WITH --               

MATH 1022 - Plane Trigonometry (3) -- Trigonometric functions and identities, inverse trigonometric functions, graphs, solving triangles and equations, complex numbers, polar coordinates. F,S,Su Prereq: MATH 1021 or placement by department. Credit will not be given for both this course and MATH 1015 or 1023. 3 hrs. lecture; 1 hr. lab.

         -- OR --   

MATH 1023 - College Algebra and Trigonometry (5) -- F,S,Su Prereq: placement by department or grade of "A" in MATH 0092. Credit will not be given for both this course and MATH 1015, 1021, or 1022. For qualified students, a replacement for MATH 1021 and 1022 as preparation for calculus.

Physics - 6 sem. hrs. - Must be at a level for science majors and must include mechanics, heat, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, and topics in modern physics. LSU courses— Physics 2001, 2002. NOTE: Physics Labs are not required.

Communication Skills - 9 sem. hrs. - Must include 6 sem. hrs. of English composition AND 3 sem. hrs. of public speaking or interpersonal communication course. LSU courses— English 1000/1001, 1002 and Speech Communication 2010 or 2060.

         -- OR --

ENGL 1001 - English Composition (3) -- Introduction to writing in forms of expressive and informative discourse. Placement by department. Credit will not be given for both this course and ENGL 1000.

         -- ALONG WITH --

ENGL 1002 - English Composition (3) -- Introduction to writing persuasive, evaluative, and other forms of argumentative discourse. Prereq: ENGL 1000/1001 or placement by department. An honors course, ENGL 1003, is also available.

         -- AND --

CMST 2010 - Interpersonal Communication (3) -- Theories and research in human communication; one-to-one interactions.

         -- OR --

CMST 2060 - Public Speaking (3) -- Theory and skills needed by the effective communicator and critical consumer of speech; analysis of other speakers and practice in speaking. Credit will not be given for both this course and CMST 1061.

Elective Courses - In selecting the remaining required courses for admission to the professional program, applicants should consider the following:

• The objective of the D.V.M. program is to offer a well-rounded curriculum in veterinary medical education enabling the graduate to select from a wide range of professional opportunities. The selection of elective courses in the pre-professional curriculum should reflect the interests and the objectives of the candidate. Potential applicants should plan their programs with the recognition that these elective courses provide the only formal opportunity in the applicant's college years to obtain a broad general education.

• Applicants who have completed advanced preparatory courses in high school are, in all probability, qualified to complete the prerequisites within four semesters. These students are encouraged to take higher level university courses when so permitted. Applicants who are inadequately prepared may find it advantageous to complete the pre-veterinary requirements over a longer period.

• Although the primary objective of the applicant may be to complete the pre-veterinary requirements, those who have not previously obtained a baccalaureate degree are encouraged to plan for alternative career possibilities through registration in a degree-granting program which has similar course requirements. Several LSU curricula include all of the minimum mandatory requirements. Many other curricula which do not specify all of the requirements allow them as electives.

Since not all applicants will gain admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine on their first attempt, they should continue in degree programs while making themselves more competitive in subsequent years. Some students may elect to complete a baccalaureate degree in order to pursue graduate training during the first and second summers of the professional program.

LSU undergraduate students may want to contact the College of Agriculture to inquire about the 3+1 program. Through this program, students who earn a seat in the LSU SVM following completion of the first three years of the Animal Science curriculum (102 hrs) may receive the B.S. degree following the first year of the professional DVM curriculum. (Contact the LSU Department of Animal Sciences for more information.)

• All 46 credit hours listed above must be completed by the end of the spring semester prior to desired matriculation. (I.E. - If applying for matriculation into the fall '09 semester, all prerequisites must be successfully completed by the end of the spring '09 semester.)
• New knowledge, especially in the sciences, is accruing at a rapid rate and records of students who have completed their pre-professional requirements several years prior to application will be carefully scrutinized.
• Students who are enrolled at accredited institutions other than LSU must determine that courses taken conform in content and quality to descriptions contained in the latest issue of the LSU General Catalog, which can be accessed online or obtained for $3 per copy upon request from the LSU Office of Student Records & Registration, 112 Thomas Boyd Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803. If there is a question as to the course equivalence of a course taken, please email admissions@vetmed.lsu.edu. Note that full transcript evaluations are only performed once the application cycle has begun.
• At least one course in organic chemistry, biology, and physics MUST be completed within the last six years, and it is strongly advised that ALL required science courses be completed within six calendar years immediately prior to application. (For possible fall '09 matriculation, all science courses should be completed no further back than the fall '02 semester.)
• Prerequisites taken longer than 10 years ago will typically not be accepted. Written appeals regarding this 10-year policy can be sent to the Director of Admissions at admissions@vetmed.lsu.edu.
• Applicants may choose to re-take a course to better master the subject at any point. If a course that is more than six years old is retaken, the most recent grade will be used otherwise the two grades will be averaged together when computing grade point averages.
• Credit earned through advanced standing and advanced placement exams is acceptable, but is not used in the computation of the grade-point average. Evaluation of the applicant’s record in the pre-professional program is made in accordance with LSU procedures. Credit is not granted for College Level Examination Program (CLEP) general examinations. Granting of credit for CLEP subject examinations may be considered in those subjects recommended by various departments of the University upon receipt of test scores indicating the student meets the minimum acceptable scores required by those departments.
• A Bachelor's degree is not a requirement for acceptance into the LSU SVM's DVM program, although applicants are strongly encouraged to follow an undergraduate degree path in the event that entrance into the DVM program is not granted.
• What is a competitive GPA for an applicant? While the minimum GPA for eligibility is a 3.00, just meeting the minimum GPA requirement will not make an applicant competitive. There is no minimum GRE score; however applicants should certainly have a score as close to the average as possible (obviously higher than the average is better). An applicant has to be competitive on a broad scale, as there are three objective areas and two subjective areas (for more qualified applicants) that are evaluated during the admissions process. Interested applicants should visit the "Previous Class Statistics" page to get a better idea of what the class averages are that it will take to be competitive in the applicant pool. It is also strongly advised that interested applicants also read through the "Applicant Selection Procedure" page.