{"id":2524,"date":"2023-04-20T20:11:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T20:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vetmed.iastate.edu\/future-dvm-students\/veterinary-animal-and-research-experience\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T18:53:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T18:53:45","slug":"veterinary-animal-and-research-experience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vetmed.iastate.edu\/future-dvm-students\/prospective-student-information\/pre-veterinary-requirements\/veterinary-animal-and-research-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterinary, Animal, and Research Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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The purpose of experience is to give the applicant a good understanding of the various aspects of the veterinary profession. The applicant should have a goal of at least 200 hours of quality experience (veterinary\/animal\/research)\u00a0to meet the expectations of the Admissions Committee.<\/strong> The level of responsibility, variety and duration of the experience is considered. In addition, the applicant should have a letters of recommendation that speak to their experiences. There is no minimum number of hours required to qualify for admission, but students meeting or exceeding the minimum of 200 hours are more likely to be admitted. Experience may be voluntary or paid.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

ANIMAL EXPERIENCE<\/strong>\u00a0may include working with livestock, breeding or showing various species, working at a zoo, aquarium or pet shop, or volunteering at an animal shelter.\u00a0This does not include pet ownership\u00a0or educational coursework.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

VETERINARY EXPERIENCE<\/strong> may include companion animals, equine, production animals, pocket pets or zoological animals. Veterinary experience must be completed under the supervision of a DVM or VMD.<\/p>\n

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE<\/strong>\u00a0can be gained in any field of study and is NOT limited to animal research.\u00a0It is expected to be under the supervision of a person with a DVM, MS or PhD.\u00a0Valid research experience is considered to be more than general maintenance (washing glassware, feeding animals, cleaning cages, collecting specimens, etc) and should include activities that support an understanding of scientific method, evidence of problem solving and observational skills, data entry and analysis for the purpose of reflection\/study and other related experiences that exhibit a significant contribution to a research project.\u00a0Listed below are examples of research experience:<\/p>\n