A Veterinary Professional degree prepares our students for a variety of exciting careers that share a focus on animal health and welfare. Since accepting our first class of students in 1973, we have trained more than 2,700 veterinarians who have gone on to excellence in private primary and specialty veterinary practices, biotechnology and pharmacology industries, public health, and academic research and teaching.
We also have a rigorous and active graduate program that trains towards the PhD degree. PhD training is open to both DVMs and those with undergraduate degrees interested in biomedical research. Although there are excellent opportunities in many research areas within the school, our graduate programs excel in research on equine health, vector-borne infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, and molecular medicine and imaging. As evidence of this excellence, we rank in the top third of veterinary schools in the United States in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Our faculty also obtain multiple grants from foundations including the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) which funds research on mechanisms underlying lower respiratory diseases, the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) which funds projects concerning companion animal health and welfare, and industrial partnerships in which we help evaluate new treatments.
We collaborate extensively in our research, education and service missions with other institutions in Louisiana, including the Tulane National Primate Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the National Hansen’s Disease Center and the LSU Health Sciences Centers. We work with these institutions to relentlessly pursue new understanding to foster new discoveries leading to the treatment and prevention of animal and human diseases.