Applying to DVM
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Program Admissions
Admission to the four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program at the Ontario Veterinary College is highly competitive, requiring planning and preparation by applicants. Applicants are assessed on a combination of academic and non-academic attributes, in order to recruit applicants into the program who have thoughtfully prepared themselves for both the program and for a fulfilling and rewarding career in the profession.
The DVM program is very fortunate to have a large pool of academically prepared applicants, and the academic averages presented by our applicants are highly competitive. While strong academic performance positions applicants to thrive throughout the demanding veterinary curriculum, non-academic traits such as interpersonal skills, leadership, cultural humility, community-mindedness, self-regulation and resilience are similarly essential qualities within the program and beyond graduation as a veterinarian. The OVC DVM program admissions criteria reflect this critical balance, and our goal is to recruit applicants into our DVM program that already have a strong foundation in these areas, to then further build on these qualities throughout training in our curriculum.
Entry intake into the DVM program is in the Fall semester each year. Applicants will begin to submit their materials in the year prior to desired entry to the program.
To apply to the DVM program at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, each applicant must submit an application to the program and associated fees, as well as their academic transcript(s), background information, personal essays, and contact information for referees. As well, applicants are required to submit their score from an online situational judgement test that assesses multiple non-academic attributes. Top-ranked applicants are interviewed for final ranking. Each of these components of the application package are further described below.
Only four applications per person are allowed to the OVC-DVM program at the University of Guelph. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to build a strong application package (both academic and non-academic) prior to applying to the program. All application deadlines are firm and must be met in order to be considered at each stage of the applicant review process. Applicants who choose to withdraw their application and not have it counted as an application attempt must confirm their intent to withdraw in writing. Applicants must submit their withdrawal request via e-mail to Admission Services at admdvm@uoguelph.ca, by February 1st. Any application packages that do not have complete components as required by each of the posted deadlines, as well as application withdrawal requests received after the February 1st deadline, will not be considered further in the current admissions cycle, but will be counted as an application attempt.
Policies regarding admission to the DVM program can be found in the University of Guelph Undergraduate Calendar: Specific Subject Requirements and Recommendations
Applicants may not contact members of the DVM program Admissions Committee for information. For any further inquiries, please only contact: admdvm@uoguelph.ca
Veterinary Licensure
Applicants to the DVM program are responsible for ensuring their own eligibility for veterinary licensure in advance of applying to the program. For information on the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE), National Examining Board (NEB), and generally about licensure as a veterinarian in Canada, see the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association website.
Eligibility to Apply
Application Cohorts
There are three application pathways for the DVM program: Domestic Undergraduate Cohort, Domestic Graduate Cohort and International Student Cohort. Applicants may only select ONE cohort option when applying to the DVM Program (Providing they meet the residency requirements).
Advanced Standing:
Applications for admission with advanced standing/transfers from students enrolled in DVM programs at other institutions are not accepted.
Those wishing to study veterinary medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College must apply for entry into the first year of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program and have the academic and non-academic prerequisites as listed under the admission requirements section of this website.
Veterinarians Educated in Non-AVMA accredited schools (foreign-trained veterinarians):
Although the NEB/CVMA requirements permit foreign-trained veterinarians from non-AVMA accredited schools to complete clinical training at a Canadian accredited veterinary institution towards Canadian licensure, the Ontario Veterinary College does not presently offer this training.
If you already hold a DVM degree or equivalent from an institution that is not accredited, you are not eligible to retake the DVM degree program at the University of Guelph. Instead you must go through the NEB/CVMA licensing process in order to practice as a veterinarian in Canada.
If you are a foreign-trained veterinarian requiring information on licensure in Ontario, please see the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) website or contact them at questions@cvo.org.
