Utah’s first four-year veterinary school received a letter of assurance from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Education Committee last month.
The University of Utah (USU) College of Veterinary Medicine has received assurance from the American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Education (AVMA COE) that it will receive provisional accreditation in March 2025, marking a major step toward becoming the premier four-year veterinary degree program in Utah.
“Receiving the Letter of Reasonable Assurance paves the way for us to fulfill our commitment to developing outstanding veterinarians who are not only experienced practitioners, but also compassionate professionals who are prepared to address animal health issues with confidence and competence,” said Dirk VanderWaal, DVM, in a news release from the organization. 1
Receiving the letter means USU’s program is now on track to meet 11 accreditation criteria, the highest standard of achievement in veterinary education in the United States, VanderWaal explained in a statement. After USU announced it had received the letter, it officially opened applications for the first class, and admitted students are expected to begin their studies in the fall of 2025.
According to a press release, Utah State University dates this milestone back to 1907, when the Board of Trustees of Utah State University (formerly the Utah College of Agriculture) proposed the idea of creating a college of veterinary medicine. However, the idea was delayed until 2011, when the Utah State Legislature voted to fund and create a veterinary education program in partnership with Utah State University’s College of Agriculture and Applied Science. This 2011 decision marked the beginning of a partnership with Washington State University. Utah State University veterinary students complete their first two years of study in Utah and then travel to Pullman, Washington, to complete their final two years and graduate. The partnership will end with the graduation of the Class of 2028.
“This is an extremely important milestone for the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Utah. Reaching this milestone reflects the hard work of the entire faculty and administrators of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the leadership of the University of Utah, and the numerous stakeholders across the state who enthusiastically supported the opening of the college,” said Alan L. Smith, M.A., Ph.D., interim president of the University of Utah.
State leaders predict that opening a statewide veterinary school will train local veterinarians, help support Utah’s $1.82 billion agriculture industry and meet the needs of small animal owners across the state.
In the future, Utah State University hopes to increase class sizes to 80 students per year. Construction of a new state-funded veterinary medical school building, designed by Salt Lake City-based VCBO Architecture and general contractor Jacobson Construction, is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026. New classrooms, labs, faculty space, and teaching spaces will soon be ready to welcome new students and the School of Veterinary Medicine to its new permanent home.
Utah State University (USU) is one of many veterinary schools in the U.S. preparing to welcome its first students, and one of the first in its state. Rowan University’s Schreiber School of Veterinary Medicine in Harrison Township, New Jersey, is preparing to welcome new students in the fall of 2025, and Clemson University’s Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine, which recently opened its future home, plans to welcome its first students in the fall of 2026, pending accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council of Veterinary Schools of Excellence (AVME). Both schools will also be the first veterinary schools in their states.
The Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine recently held a signing ceremony to establish the beam.
Post time: Apr-23-2025