Prerequisites

Required Coursework

These prerequisites ensure that you have a strong foundational knowledge before building upon that knowledge in the DVM program.

• Applicants must complete the courses outlined below with a grade of C or better at an accredited institution.
• Applants must also achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), prerequisite GPA of 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale), an advance science GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), and a last 45-hour GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). The Admissions Committee may choose to exclude courses over 10 years old from GPA calculations if the past 90 semester hours are consistenly higher grades.
• Applicants may receive no more than one grade of D and one grade of F in each required prerequisite course completed within the past six years.
• Online courses from accredited institutions will be accepted. An explanation statement as to why online courses were selected over in-person should be included in the application. If a lab component is required, the lab component is strongly encouraged to be completed in-person.
• Courses and laboratories completed during semesters impacted by COVID-19 may be graded as Pass/Fail. A course will fulfill the prerequisite requirement if a “Pass” grade was obtained only during these specific semesters, otherwise prerequisite courses must be graded using a letter grade scale.
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and AP courses will be accepted to meet eligible prerequisites if listed on an official college transcript, college board scores, or verified by the A-State registrar’s office.
• Applicants must complete all required coursework by July 15th of the admission year and advanced sciences courses must be completed within 10 years of the admission year.
• A bachelor’s degree is not required before starting the A-State DVM program.

The required coursework are examples of A-State courses. You are not required to take these exact courses at A-State to be eligible to apply to our DVM program. Additional details on the courses is provided to help applicants have a comparison for courses that may be used to fulfill the requirements at A-State or their home institutions.

Transfer Course Equivalency

If you have taken courses outside of A-State, the A-State Transfer Course Equivalency Tool can assist you in determining if those courses will fulfill the requirements. If you would like to petition for a course substitution or would like to request review of a course not found in the A-State Transfer Course Equivalency Tool, please utilize our substitution form.

Petition for a Course Substitution or Review

If you have any questions after reviewing the Admissions website and the A-State Transfer Course Equivalency Tool, please reach out to the Office of Student Programs and Admissions.

Prerequisite Coursework Summary

Subject Area	Course Name	Credits	Course Equivalent
Biological Science	General Biology/Zoology (for science majors)*	6	BIO 10503 (1303)  – Biology of Animals and higher
	Additional Details Two, three-hour semester courses in general biology with an accompanying in-person, physical laboratory component. A higher level biology course with accompanying laboratory may be accepted for substitution of the introductory biology/zoology courseswork and laboratory requirement.
Biological Science	General Biology/Zoology Lab	2	BIO 10501 (1301) – Biology of Animals Laboratory and higher
	Additional Details A laboratory accompanying the introductory general biology/zoology courses will fulfill this prerequisite. The lab may be included in the general biology/zoology course at your institution, and may not be listed seperately. A higher-level biology lab accompanied by the associated higher-level biology course may be accepted for substitution of the introductory biology/zoology lab requirement.
Chemistry	General Chemistry (for science majors)	6	CHEM 14103 (CHEM 1013) – General Chemistry I CHEM14203 (CHEM 1023) – General Chemistry II
	Additional Details General chemistry courses must be for biological science majors or chemistry majors. Non-science major chemistry courses will not be accepted. No course substitutions allowed.
Chemistry	General Chemistry Lab	2	CHEM 14101 (CHEM 1011) – General Chemistry I Laboratory CHEM 14201 (CHEM 1021) – General Chemistry II Laboratory
	Additional Details General chemistry laboratories must be for biological science majors or chemistry majors. Non-science major chemistry laboratories will not be accepted. No course substitutions are allowed.
Chemistry	Organic Chemistry I	3	CHEM 36053 (CHEM 3103) – Organic Chemistry I
	Additional Details Organic Chemistry I and/or Organic Chemistry II may be used to fulfill this requirement. A one semester survey/overview of organic chemistry will not fulfill this requirement. No course substitutions are allowed.
Biomedical Science	Biochemistry (must require Organic I and/or Organic II as a prerequisite)	3	CHEM 42133 (CHEM 4243) – Biochemistry
	Additional Details A course focused on chemistry and metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids. Must require organic chemistry I and/or organic chemistry II as a prerequisite. Biochemistry courses requiring a survey/overview organic course as a prerequisite will not fullfil this requirement. The course likely is a 300/3000s or 400/4000s level and lower level courses are generally not accepted to fullfil this requirement. A nutritional biochemistry and metabolism course may be accepted for substitution.
Math	Statistics or College Algebra or higher	3	MATH 11003 (MATH 1023) – College Algebra MATH 21003 (STAT 2003) – Introduction to Statistics
	Additional Details Any college algebra course or higher OR introductory statistics or statistics for health professionals or higher may be used to fulfill this course requirement.
English	Composition/Writing Intensive	6	ENGL 10103 (ENG 1003) – Composition I ENGL 10203 (ENG 1013) – Composition II
	Additional Details Courses on the fundamentals of written communication. Business writing courses can help fulfill this requirement. Advanced composition courses that are writing intensive or other writing intensive courses such as practical or technical writing may also fulfill this requirement. This requirement is waived if a bachelor's degree is completed prior to entry to the DVM program.
TOTAL		31

Required Elective Coursework Summary

Subject Area	Course Name	Credits	Course Equivalent
Sciences/Advanced Sciences	Upper division science courses (300 level or above) and up to 3 credit hours of general physics (200/2000 level or above)	14	ANSC 43003 (ANSC 3633)– Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology ANSC 34303 (ANSC 4683) – Reproductive Physiology ANSC 4673 – Digestion Physiology and Nutrition of Domestic Animals BIO 4104 – Microbiology BIO 4133 – Cell Biology BIO 4441 and 4443 – Comparative Animal Physiology PHYS 2054 – General Physics I
	Additional Details Up to three semester credit hours may be fulfilled by general physics courses (200/2000 level or higher), but physics is not required. The full fourteen semester credit hours may be fulfilled by upper division science courses (300/3000 level or higher). Recommended course topics include anatomy and/or physiology, cell biology, genetics, bacteriology, immunology, pathology/pathophysiology, nutrition, histology, parasitology, toxicology, and other relevant veterinary topics. Select animal science courses may also be used to fullfil this requirement.
Applicant Selected Subject Area	Courses which reflect the candidate’s interests and career objectives and provide a broad general education. Additional sciences courses accepted.	17	Various
TOTAL		31

AP Exams Accepted for Prerequisite Requirements

View minimum required AP scores accepted by A-State

CLEP Exams Accepted for Prerequisite Requirements