Pre-Veterinary
DVM • Prepare for veterinary medicine. Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine is the flagship Texas DVM program. Note: Animal Nutrition (required by TTU-SVM) is not offered at UT Austin, plan to take it at a community college or through a summer program.
3.5-3.7
school-specific
Avg Applicant GPA
300-1,000+ animal experience hrs
Typical Experience
15 courses
Required Courses
4 areas
Key Experiences
Required Courses
Click any course to see who teaches itThese courses are required by most DVM programs.
Recommended Courses
Not required but strengthen your application significantly.
Key Experiences Needed
How applicants actually build each one. Not just what to do, but how.
Paid veterinary experience
- 1Get hired as a veterinary assistant. Most clinics train on the job, and it pays
- 2You need hours under a licensed vet; get BOTH large and small animal (TAMU requires it)
- 3Aim for 800-1,000+ hours across a mix of paid work and clinic experience
Animal handling variety
- 1Volunteer at Austin Pets Alive! or Austin Animal Center for shelter medicine exposure
- 2For large animal, drive to a mixed-animal clinic in Bastrop or Georgetown
Research
- 1Join a biology or biochem lab, research is highly valued at TAMU
- 2Present if you get the opportunity
GRE prep
- 1Required by TAMU, study junior year
- 2Verify requirements for any other programs you target
Build your Pre-Veterinary plan
Map your courses by semester & plan your experiences →
Quick Links
💡 UT Austin Advantage
Vet schools like TAMU weigh research heavily, and UT's Freshman Research Initiative, the largest undergraduate research program in the country, puts you in a real lab your first year. For animal hours, Austin's shelters plus mixed-animal clinics a short drive out (Bastrop, Georgetown) cover the large- and small-animal experience TAMU requires. Course requirements vary by school, so always verify TAMU, TTU-SVM, and any out-of-state targets.
📍 Austin Resources
- • Austin Animal Center (volunteer)
- • Austin Pets Alive! (shelter medicine observation)
- • Austin Humane Society (volunteer)
- • Georgetown/Bastrop area mixed-animal clinics (large animal hrs)