The undergraduate degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVetMS) is a contemporary and exciting curriculum, meeting the RCVS Day One Competences and also developing a wider range of professional attributes.

The course is delivered by the Harper & Keele Veterinary School

Veterinary careers are varied across the clinical and non-clinical sectors. Practising vets can focus on companion, equine, exotics or farm animal clinical work and their related specialisms where advances in animal science and technology are transforming both disease prevention and treatment. But career options in the non-clinical veterinary sector are also growing – with exciting avenues opening up in industry, education, research, business and innovation and working collaboratively across animal and human health.

A changing industry demands that the vets of tomorrow graduate with not only first-rate clinical skills but a broader set of capabilities. They need to be good communicators with a sound understanding of business and the growing importance of data science and technology in their roles. They also need to be confident and resilient first-opinion practitioners – who have benefited during their studies from access to a wide variety of placements in clinical practice and related veterinary industries. Finally, vets must recognise the varied roles they must play, sometimes as leaders of clinical teams, others as business advisors on animal health, welfare, and productivity. Vets must also be cognisant of the wide social connections they have either in supporting pet owners with difficult financial and ethical decisions but also farmers with wider sustainability considerations in relation to livestock production.

These factors have combined to lead to the creation of a unique and agile model for a vet school that meets the challenges of today’s veterinary industry. Harper Adams has a strong pedigree in animal sciences, veterinary nursing, veterinary physiotherapy and agricultural sustainability, whilst Keele has a long history in the life sciences and human medicine. Between them, they have 186 years of heritage in the combined animal, human and environmental health (one health) education sector.

Both institutions are well recognised for their strength in employability, student satisfaction and first-class teaching. Both are now focused on expertise in critical areas for the veterinary profession – sustainability, data science and innovation. The unique two-centre School provides students with the opportunity to take advantage of two institutions with not only a common commitment to excellence but also complementary skill sets and resources.

The Vet School is predicated on a community model of clinical education, whereby university-based teaching from research-active and teaching specialist staff is complemented by a range of vet practice and related vet industry partners. The latter affords vet students opportunities to spend prolonged periods of time in authentic veterinary workplace settings, better preparing them for a smooth transition to their early careers. This also offers students multiple opportunities to spend time with very many mentors working in the widest range of professional settings. The partnership network underpinning this model is critical to our vet school and is highly integrated in ensuring the best contemporary veterinary education.