About Our College

About the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The College of Veterinary Medicine welcomed its first veterinary students in 1948. Since then, we’ve established a proud history of innovation in such areas as anesthesia, oncology, pharmacology, protozoology, reproductive biology, toxicology, and technology in the classroom.

Part of a world-class research institution—the flagship campus of the University of Illinois—our college delivers on the land-grant mission: enhancing lives in Illinois, across the nation, and around the world through leadership in learning, engagement, and innovation. The college is also committed to building an inclusive institutional climate and preparing our graduates to work in a diverse world.

Located on our Urbana campus, we have three academic departments, a full-service teaching hospital, and the state’s only veterinary diagnostic laboratory. We are also home to an equine practice in nearby Farmer City, a primary care veterinary clinic in Chicago, and clinical, diagnostic, and research services in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Hands-on Veterinary Curriculum
The college is known for its innovative integrated veterinary curriculum, launched in 2009. Our curriculum is unique in devoting 23 weeks in the first three years to hands-on clinical rotations and 6 weeks in the fourth and final year of the program to individually tailored “professional development.” Throughout the program students are engaged in a world-class Clinical Skills Learning Center that combines simulation training with rigorous instruction and evaluation. Additionally, the Illinois program provides students with outstanding learning opportunities in biomedical and clinical research, business and financial management, and wildlife medicine.

Outstanding Online Options
Illinois has been delivering continuing education for veterinarians for more than 100 years—longer than the veterinary college has been in existence. The focus is on identifying and then meeting the needs of practitioners. Through the college’s i-Learning Center, opened in 2018, learners select their level of educational need, from brief tutorials to an online Master of Veterinary Science degree.

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