VMD | PhD

How the Program Works

The goal of the Penn Vet VMD|PhD program is to train outstanding clinician-scientists who will make valuable contributions to science and medicine through research, clinical activities, and teaching. Addressing the complex problems in animal and human medicine today requires investigators with broad experience across multiple species. Biomedical research often involves studies on various species, each with unique properties. Individuals with comparative medicine training and rigorous research experience are particularly well-equipped to identify unique features of animal models for human disease and advance both human and animal health. Penn Vet provides an exceptional environment for training future leaders by selecting outstanding individuals for their programs and offering career counseling and advice throughout their training.

The program interweaves VMD and PhD studies throughout the curriculum. Students begin with the core basic science veterinary curriculum in the first two years and perform laboratory rotations in the summers, providing a solid foundation in medically relevant biomedical science. During the third year, students complete their PhD coursework in the Graduate Group of their choice, with access to over 600 thesis laboratories. After passing their graduate qualifying exam, students engage in full-time thesis research, typically for about three years. A clinical connections program helps students maintain their clinical skills during thesis research years. The program concludes with veterinary clinical requirements, and students receive both VMD and PhD degrees concurrently.

Sample Curriculum

• Year 1: Full time Vet School curriculum; 1-2 Graduate courses, Laboratory Rotation
• Year 2: Full time Vet School curriculum; 1-2 Graduate courses, Laboratory Rotation
• Year 3: Full time Graduate courses, Laboratory Rotation, Candidacy Exam
• Year 4 and beyond: Thesis Research, Clinical Connections
• Final Year: Clinical Core, Clinical Rotations, Graduation

The average time required for completion of the program is usually eight years. The largest variable is the time needed to complete the PhD thesis research phase of the program.

While we are committed to providing students with training that is completed in as short of a period as possible, we do not believe that an abbreviated PhD thesis training period best prepares our students for the future. We therefore, provide extensive oversight and advising that enables students to complete the program as efficiently as possible, while at the same time maintaining excellence in their PhD thesis research.

Biomedical Research

The complex problems presented by human and animal medicines today are ideally approached by investigators with broad experience in numerous species and who understand biology in both molecular and whole animal contexts. Veterinary scientists have played key roles in the fields of stem cell biology, molecular immunology, transgenic animals, and virology (amongst many other biomedical-related fields). Veterinary scientists address scientific problems in multiple species at the molecular level and apply that knowledge to whole animal physiology.

Human Medicine

Basic biomedical advances obtained in multiple species drive progress in human medicine. Individuals with comparative medicine training, coupled with rigorous research experience, are particularly well equipped to identify unique features of various animal models for human disease, and to press forward frontiers in both human and animal health. Veterinary scientists make key biomedical advances directly applicable to human medicine.

Public Health

Epidemics arise when infectious diseases move from animals to humans then acquire the ability to move between human individuals. Veterinary scientists are highly skilled at understanding how diseases spread between multiple species, as well as how they spread within populations of the same species. Recent public health outbreaks of Ebola virus, SARS-CoV2, and West Nile Virus illustrate this point well. Veterinary scientists have played important roles in diagnosing these outbreaks and in developing responses to outbreak containment. Veterinary scientists thus, play crucial roles in protecting public health.

Preparing for the Future

Biomedical Research is entering an era that requires the application of molecular knowledge to organismal physiology. Individuals trained in comparative medicine will be uniquely qualified for making advances in Biomedical Research, and for addressing worldwide public health, biosafety, and bioterrorism issues. Nationwide there is a great shortage of individuals with this training.

Research and Clinical Training

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 115 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 numerous multidisciplinary research centers and faculty members participate in many 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 600 biomedical faculty members within the University. An extraordinarily rich environment for combined degree studies is provided by these 600 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 exceptional veterinary training at two locations. Small animal clinical training occurs at the renowned Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital on the main Penn campus, opened in 1981, boasting one of the largest small animal caseloads in the U.S. and a world-class emergency unit.

Large animal clinical training takes place at New Bolton Center Hospital in Kennett Square, PA. This facility handles diverse patients, including equine, bovine, and porcine, cases.

Both hospitals feature top-notch clinical facilities, and the School of Veterinary Medicine, along with the University-wide Biomedical Research environment, creates an unparalleled setting for VMD-PhD combined degree studies.

Career Opportunities

Fifty-five percent of Penn VMD-PhD graduates pursue academic careers, with more than half holding titled positions. They also excel in industry, with many serving as presidents or directors of companies. Their broad training makes them well-suited for roles at government health and science agencies like the NIH and NSF, where they conduct research and set public health policy. Veterinary scientists are crucial in public health and emerging diseases, understanding disease spread between species and within populations. They also contribute to wildlife conservation and reproductive health, working for organizations like the CDC, WHO, and various public health agencies. Additionally, they monitor food and drug safety for the USDA and FDA, supervise animal shipments, test for diseases, and design disease control programs. Some continue using their clinical skills in veterinary schools or private practice.