Legacy D.V.M. Curriculum

The D.V.M. degree is awarded after 4 years of successful study’. We are no longer offering the thesis option.

Legacy Curriculum for V25, V26, and V27

The D.V.M. curriculum that the V25, V26, and V27 students are following has a proven track record of producing outstanding graduates who have had successful careers in private practice, academia, industry, and public service, to name but a few. Tufts D.V.M.s have made substantial contributions to the profession and to animal health and welfare through the application of their knowledge, skills, compassion, and civic engagement. The decision to implement a new curriculum doesn’t reflect any shortcomings in the program that has consistently produced excellence over the past decades, but it is a response to the evolving nature of both veterinary medicine and education. Students in both the Legacy Curriculum and the New Curriculum develop strong foundational biomedical knowledge and clinical acumen. The curricular revision reflects the school’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation while retaining all the considerable strengths of the current program. The V25, V26, and V27 classes are already benefiting, and will continue to benefit, from changes that we made in our program in anticipation of the curricular change, including increases in faculty and staff focused on teaching, new buildings, a state-of-the-art simulation lab, and increased numbers of teaching animals.

First Year

Tiger skeleton

The first year of the Legacy D.V.M. curriculum consisted largely of didactic teaching and laboratory instruction and focused on the basic biomedical sciences. The major emphasis was on the basic structural and functional relationships that occur in normal animals. The Clinical Skills course provided basic handling and husbandry of large and small animal species. The courses below formed the foundation for the subsequent 3 years of education and training.

Anatomy IFirst Year Farm Husbandry
Anatomy IIGeneral Pathology
Applied Epidemiology & Evidence Based MedicineHuman-Animal Relationships
Applied Molecular BiologyImmunology
Case Based Learning I & IIInternational Veterinary Medicine
Clinical Skills IIntroduction to Veterinary Nutrition
Communications I and IIOrgan System Structure & Function I & II
Comparative Anatomy and PhysiologyVeterinary Biochemistry and Metabolism

Second Year

2 veterinarians and a student examining a dog

The instructional program for the second year of the D.V.M. program is mainly concerned with the pathophysiology of specific disease entities as they affect organs in various systems of the body. In these courses, students relate the morphological and physiological manifestations of a specific disease to the functional abnormalities they cause in a particular body system. In addition, the second year introduces students to clinical and imaging topics. Clinical Skills II introduces students to basic physical examination and diagnostic procedures for all species.

See new curriculum here

Accelerated Clinical ExcellenceEthics & Veterinary MedicineRespiratory Pathophysiology
Basic PharmacologyGastrointestinal PathophysiologySecond Year Clinical Rotations
Cardiovascular PathophysiologyGeneral ParasitologySkeletal Pathobiology
Clinical PharmacologyHemic-Lymphatic and Clinical PathologyToxicology
Clinical Skills IIIntroduction to Veterinary Public HealthUrinary Pathophysiology
Diagnostic ImagingIntroduction to Zoological MedicineVeterinary Infectious Diseases
Diversity & Professional Perspectives IILaw and Veterinary MedicineVeterinary Microbiology Laboratory
Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals & Initial Accreditation TrainingPrinciples of SurgeryVeterinary Neurobiology
Endocrinology PathophysiologyReproductive Pathophysiology 

Third Year

student and veterinarian conducting an ultrasound on a small animal

During much of the third year, students integrate the pathophysiological aspects of specific diseases learned in the second year with a comprehensive discussion of the presenting clinical signs, diagnostic criteria and the treatment of these entities. Thus, the third-year curriculum is designed to provide students with a sound basis in clinical medicine with emphasis on diagnosis, prognosis and management. The third year culminates with a two-week period of advanced elective course offerings.

Anesthesia & AnalgesiaFarm Animal Medicine & Surgery
Bovine Procedures LabIntroduction to Small Animal Anesthesia and Surgery Techniques
Clinical Animal BehaviorOphthalmology
Clinical DermatologySmall Animal Clinical Procedures Lab
Clinical ReasoningSmall Animal Dentistry
Communications IIISmall Animal Medicine & Surgery I and II
Diagnostic UltrasonographyTeam Dynamics Workshop
Equine & Camelid Medicine & SurgeryTheriogenology
Euthanasia SeminarVeterinary Economics and Practice Management
 Zoological Medicine

Fourth Year

student caring for a baby lamb at hospital for large animals

By the beginning of the fourth year, all core didactic courses and some clinical rotations are completed. The student spends the entire year gaining further experience in clinical and other rotations. The core clinical rotation program utilizes the case method approach. Under supervision the student records case histories, performs physical examinations as well as diagnostic and surgical procedures, and learns to assume responsibility for treatment and case and client management.

Core Clinical RotationsWeeks
Ambulatory Medicine3
Anatomical/Clinical Pathology3
Anesthesia3
Cardiology2
Dermatology2
Diagnostic Imaging2
Emergency and Critical Care3
Ethics Seminar2 hours
Large Animal Medicine3
Large Animal Surgery3
Neurology2
Oncology2
Ophthalmology2
Small Animal Medicine3
Small Animal Surgery - Orthopedic and/or Chief Residency2
Small Animal Surgery - Soft Tissue2
Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic4
Wildlife Clinic1
Vacation4
Electives15
Total Core Rotations42
Total61