Why Combined Degree Studies at Penn?
Penn Vet provides an outstanding environment for the training of future leaders. The School is in the heart of a large biomedical research campus perfectly suited for combined degree studies. Students have more than 500 research laboratories to choose from for their doctoral research, and benefit from two world-class veterinary hospitals for their clinical training (Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital, with one of the largest emergency case loads in the nation, and George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals with one of the largest equine case loads). Each year the University of Pennsylvania ranks near the top of the nation with regard to research funds from the National Institutes of Health, and ranking of its individual schools. The University consists of a vast network of research laboratories and core facilities, and operates many multidisciplinary research institutes and centers.
Research
Penn Vet was founded in 1884 and currently ranks near the top of all veterinary schools in NIH funding. Penn Vet consists of four departments with 130 faculty members. The School maintains close ties to the Penn School of Medicine, our nation’s oldest medical school, which also ranks near the top of all medical schools in research and NIH grants. Penn Vet operates 12 multidisciplinary research centers and faculty members participate in numerous research centers and graduate groups throughout the Penn campus. Students in the VMD-PhD program become active members of the entire University research environment and perform their thesis research with any of the 500 biomedical faculty members within the University. An extraordinarily rich environment for combined degree studies is provided by the 500 active research laboratories, the vibrant Biomedical Graduate Groups, the multiple seminar series throughout the University, and the numerous campus-wide Institutes and Centers.
Clinical Training
Students receive outstanding veterinary didactic and clinical training at two locations. Small animal clinical training is performed at the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Ryan) located on the main Penn campus. Ryan opened in 1981 and enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence. This hospital has the largest small animal caseload of any veterinary school in the United States (31,000 cases per year) and one of the busiest emergency units in the world with 13,000 patient visits annually. Students receive clinical training on large animals at the George D. Widener Hospital located on the New Bolton Center Campus in Kennett Square (45 minutes from Philadelphia). The Widener Hospital for Large Animals sees 6,000 large animal patients annually and carries the largest equine caseload in the U.S. Both hospitals are well equipped with excellent clinical facilities.
The outstanding University-wide Biomedical Research environment and the rich Clinical Training Programs at the School of Veterinary Medicine are woven together to produce an unparalleled environment for VMD-PhD combined degree studies.