Admission Requirements

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine considers applicants from a variety of educational backgrounds.  No preference is given to any particular program, college or university.

 For us to consider your application:

i.      You must be an Alberta resident with Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status (see 2. Alberta residency requirements). 
ii.      If you have completed 4 or more terms of fulltime undergraduate study at the time of application, the last 4 terms as of January will be calculated.  If you are currently completing your 4^th term at the time of application, the GPA will be calculated for the 3 complete terms for interview and all 4 terms for admission.
iii.      You must have completed or be in the process of completing the 10 required courses.  Required courses may not be repeated more than once for consideration. Grades achieved in a course completed three or more times will not be considered.
iv.      In-progress courses for consideration (including distance learning courses) must be completed by April 30, 2012.

In selecting veterinary students, no consideration will be given to the gender, race, religion, or socio-economic status of the applicant.  The vocation of an applicant’s parent, guardian, or spouse will not be a consideration in the selection process.

UCVM will not normally accept applications from students who have withdrawn, who have been required to withdraw, or who have been expelled from any school or college of veterinary medicine.

Interviews will be held at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Foothills Campus, normally on the last Saturday of March. On the interview day, applicants are required to complete a timed on-site essay and participate in an interview process with faculty members and community veterinarians. The interview will employ the multiple mini interview (MMI) process, which is a series (between 6 and 8) of 10 minute interviews that consist of situational events where applicants are given a scenario and asked to work through an issue or behavioral type question meant to assess one competency at a time. More information regarding the nature of the interview can be found here.

Interview day FAQ

General FAQ

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine considers applicants from a variety of educational backgrounds. No preference is given to any particular program, college or university.

Normally, minimum academic requirements from undergraduate studies to receive consideration for admission are as follows:

a)       A minimum average of 3.00 (B or its equivalent) in the last four fulltime terms
b)       A minimum overall average of 2.70 (B- or its equivalent) with a passing grade in each of the following required courses: 

*The course numbers are presented for University of Calgary courses as examples of the required courses and against which courses from other university are compared for equivalencies.  Equivalents to all these required courses are obtainable for many post-secondary institutions in Alberta.  Please refer to the Alberta Transfer Guide website at http://acat.gov.ab.ca for established course equivalents.  We recommend that you contact the academic program counsellor at your post-secondary institution to ensure that you have the required equivalent courses.

The Admissions Committee advises Albertans who are studying abroad to complete at least one full time year of study at an Alberta university or college, or to be prepared to supply additional independent information to the Admissions Committee for the purpose of grade comparison. If you have studied outside of North America, additional independent information is required for the purpose of grade comparison.  World Educational Services (WES - http://www.wes.org/) will provide these services for a fee at the cost to the applicant. You must ensure enough time is allowed to meet the deadlines. 

 Albertans who are enrolled at post-secondary institutions outside of Alberta should contact the academic program counsellor for their program of study to identify a list of 10 equivalent required courses.  These courses will require review by the Committee in order to determine their acceptability.  These will only be reviewed once an application for admission has been received by the UCVM Admissions Office.  Please send the course syllabus and calendar description for each course to be reviewed by the Committee by email (vet.admissions@ucalgary.ca).  UCVM may request additional documentation if required.  If you have questions regarding the suitability of the program in which you are currently enrolled you should contact UCVM Admissions.

 Applicants who present required courses that have been taken greater than 10 years prior to the application date will not normally be considered for admission.  Rare exceptions may be made for applicants who have continued to work or study in a health-sciences related field following completion of an undergraduate degree.

For questions regarding academic requirements please contact vet.admissions@ucalgary.ca.

To be eligible for admission, applicants must be Alberta residents. The Provincial Guidelines regarding Alberta Residency status are as follows:

(a) the residence of an applicant remains that of his/her parent(s) unless a new residence has been established in accordance with clause (b);

(b) the residence of an applicant shall be considered to be Alberta if the applicant has last resided in Alberta for a period of twelve consecutive months (without including any period during which the applicant was attending a college or university) prior to enrolment on the first day of classes;

(c) a Canadian citizen who is a resident outside Canada and intends to re-establish residence in Canada shall be considered a resident of the province or territory of Canada where he/she last resided for a period of twelve consecutive months before leaving Canada; and,

(d) a person who is a permanent resident as defined in the Immigration Act (Canada) shall be considered to be a resident of the province or territory where he or she first landed unless the person is considered to be a resident of another province or territory of Canada pursuant to clause (b).

In interpreting these guidelines, reference will be made to the residency sections within the Student Financial Assistance Regulation (Alberta). Proof of residency within Alberta for twelve consecutive months may be required. If you have questions regarding your residency status, please email vet.admissions@ucalgary.ca.

English language proficiency must be demonstrated for all applicants for whom English is not their first language. English language proficiency can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

(a) Completion of at least two full years within a degree program offered by an accredited university in a country which the University of Calgary recognizes as English language proficiency exempt.

(b) A minimum score of 92 on the internet based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and a minimum score of 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE); or a minimum score of 237 on the computer based TOEFL and a minimum score of 50 on the TSE; or a minimum score of 580 on the paper based TOEFL and a minimum score of 50 on the TSE.

For questions regarding academic requirements or admissions please contact vet.admissions@ucalgary.ca or (403) 220-8699