Dakota Farmer

New program aims to increase veterinarian numbers

South Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota have partnered together for the program.

March 10, 2020

2 Min Read
Close up of monument sign at South Dakota State University
LOWER COST: South Dakota State University is the site of a new program that makes it possible for students to reduce the cost of getting a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Lon Tonneson

South Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota have teamed up to reduce the cost of earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree and to increase the number of veterinarians.

The new program will allow admitted students to complete the first two years of their veterinary medicine education at SDSU and the final two years at the U of M’s College of Veterinary Medicine in St. Paul. The first group of 20 students is expected to begin classes at SDSU in 2021.

“This professional degree addresses the need for more veterinarians in South Dakota and adjoining states, particularly those who work with food animals,” says John Killefer, dean of the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. “I look forward to working with faculty at both universities to implement a veterinary medicine curriculum that will complement several existing academic programs and a robust research enterprise that already exist within the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.”

 “The new program is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education,” says Laura Molgaard, interim dean of the U of M College of Veterinary Medicine, “which will monitor our progress. This permission to proceed is a testament to the outstanding work of faculty and staff on both campuses plus the investments both states are making.”

The AVMA Council also approved an expansion of the U of M’s graduating class from 105 up to 125 students.

The new collaborative program will focus on rural practices and help to address a shortage of veterinarians, create additional opportunities for South Dakota students to pursue careers in veterinary medicine and support the agriculture industry in the region.

South Dakota students participating in the new program will pay tuition based on in-state rates, realizing an estimated savings of thousands of dollars per student for their veterinary education through a subsidy from the South Dakota legislature, according to Killefer.

"I’m very excited to be back at SDSU to continue all the great work that has been done thus far to create this new collaborative veterinary program,” says Gary Gackstetter, director of the Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine at SDSU. “I’m convinced we can make a positive difference in South Dakota agriculture and animal health by training those students interested in rural clinical practice.”

For more information about SDSU’s Professional DVM Program in Veterinary Medicine, contact Gary Gackstetter, director of the Professional DVM Program in Veterinary Medicine, at [email protected], or Jane Hennings, head of the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, at [email protected].

Sources: SDSU and U of M, which are solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

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