Veterinary Medicine 兽医学
Degree Length: 5 years (UG); 1 year (PG)
Tuition Fees: 15,000 GBP/year (no scholarships).
IELTS: 6.5-7.0
Veterinary Science (allowing you to become a Vet) is another one of those majors that are difficult for most Chinese to study in Britain. There are only 6 universities in the UK that have Veterinary schools and they are:
Bristol
Liverpool
Royal Veterinary College (University of London)
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Cambridge
(Note: degrees at Glasgow, Edinburgh & London are recognised in North America).
An undergraduate degree takes 5 years (6 for Cambridge). You do not need to have studied A-Levels to be eligible for entry but there are no Foundation courses that guarantee entry for Chinese High School graduates. If you wish to apply you must be an excellent student with high grades at high school in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. You cannot apply directly from high school instead you can:
- Study for one year in a Chinese university in a science major
- Study in a Science International Foundation programme
You must also have experience of working with animals and this usually includes some part-time work on a farm. Entry is extremely competitive and places are few so being accepted on to a Veterinary degree cannot be guaranteed. Applications must be made through UCAS and the deadline for applications is Oct 15.
At postgraduate level all the institutions offer many fields to study including: Parasitology, Epidemiology, Clinical, Physiotherapy, Animal Behaviour. Most courses are clinical and they therefore require membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to be admitted. This is difficult for International students, you have to take their exam in May/June/July in the UK and, must apply by March 1 and you must pay an exam fee of 1,000GBP (registration@rcvs.org.uk).
Related Fields
Veterinary Nursing: if you want to work with animals but think the demands of Veterinary Science are too difficult you could become a Veterinary Nurse. To study this subject at undergraduate level is much easier for Chinese students and can be done at many more universities and colleges. If you are a High School graduate you can take a Foundation course in the UK. If you are interested in this area check out the course search at www.ucas.com/search
Careers
If you qualify as a Vet in the UK you are eligible to work throughout the world. Vets are very much in demand in the UK and receive a very good salary. However because they are self-employed it will be very difficult for Chinese students to get a work visa to work in Britain after the graduate. In China, Vets do not generally get a good salary, however, as wealthy people in the modern cities increasingly see a pet as a Fashion item it may be possible for graduates to start successful practices.
The universities are presently ranked by The Times as:
1.Liverpool
2.Edinburgh
3.Royal Veterinary College
4.Glasgow
5.Cambridge
6.Bristol
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