Murdoch's Veterinary Degree - Course Structure

The first degree of Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Veterinary Biology is awarded upon satisfactory completion of the first two and a half years of the Veterinary Studies of predominantly pre- and para-clinical study. The second degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVMS), with Merit Honours based on academic performance, is awarded after a further two and a half years of predominantly clinical study. An Honours degree based predominantly on research can be completed immediately after either the BSc or the BVMS degrees. Your units will provide you with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to qualify you to graduate as a veterinarian and to meet the criteria for registration as a veterinarian with state veterinarian boards.

Murdoch University offers a wide range of postgraduate qualifications by coursework, including a Master of Veterinary Studies through external study, as well as the postgraduate research degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy for Honours graduates.

What You Will Study

From 2008, the veterinary science degree is changing and students will enter after completing their first year of tertiary study in any subject (which includes some prerequisites). The first two and a half years of veterinary science encompasses both normal and abnormal aspects of vertebrate structure and function, comprising units which cover animal development, structure, function and metabolism, and the causes and nature of disease and its control. More opportunity to gain clinical experience has been added to the final years of the course. These latter years are directed towards the acquisition of knowledge and skills required to diagnose, prevent and treat disease in animals and to optimise animal health and productivity.

The new Veterinary Science course description
(More information will be provided when the 2008 Handbook is available)

Veterinary Biology

Year 1
VET240 Veterinary Anatomy I
VET244 Veterinary Physiology I
VET241 Veterinary Biochemistry
VET242 Animal Systems I
VET212 Veterinary Anatomy II
VET243 Veterinary Physiology II
VET209 Veterinary Professional Life I

Year 2
VET340 Processes in Animal Disease
VET346 Veterinary Nutrition and Toxicology
VET342 Animal Systems II
VET341 Veterinary Microbiology
VET347 Veterinary Immunology
VET344 Veterinary Parasitology
VET348 Veterinary Professional Life II

Year 3
VET345 Veterinary Pharmacology and Chemotherapeutics
VET343 Veterinary Applied Pathology
VET442 Animal Systems III
VET425 Veterinary Professional Life III

These units of study complete the requirements for the BSc in Veterinary Biology

Applied Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
Veterinary Clinics and Externships
Veterinary Electives

Year 1 Required Units

A University Foundation Unit (one of the following)
      FOU130 Age of Information
      FOU140 Evolution and Revolution
      FOU108 Life and the Universe
      FOU150 Reinventing Australia
      FOU105 Structure, Thought and Reality
VET102 Animals, Plants and Ecosystems
VET107 Principles of Vertebrate Biology
MAS184 Biostatistics and Information Retrieval
VET108 Topics in Vertebrate Anatomy and Physiology
VET106 Animal and Human Bioethics
BIO152 Cell Biology

plus

Year 1 General Electives

A unit may be chosen from almost any of the programmes offered by the university.

Years 2 and 3 Required Units

VET241 Veterinary Biochemistry
VET244 Veterinary Physiology
VET240 Veterinary Anatomy
VET247 Veterinary Immunology and Molecular Genetics
VET243 Veterinary Form and Function
VET246 Animals and Society
VET340 Processes in Animal Disease
VET341 Veterinary Microbiology
VET346 Nutritional Biochemistry and Toxicology
VET343 Diagnosis
VET344 Veterinary Parasitology
VET345 Veterinary Pharmacology and Chemotherapy

During the second or third year, you will be required to gain practical experience by spending some of your vacation on farms, and also be rostered for one week in the Murdoch University Small Animal Hospital and one week in the Murdoch University Equine Hospital.

These first three years of study together with the practical experience complete the Veterinary Biology degree and the requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Science.

Year 4 Required Unit

VET401 Applied Veterinary Medicine I

This continues your coordinated study of animal disease, by integrating the disciplines of medicine, clinical pathology and pathology. In addition, this is the year in which you will commence the study and practice of animal surgery, diagnostic imaging and therapeutics. The components of anaesthesiology, reproduction, veterinary public health and epidemiology extend the understanding of health and disease.

Year 5 Required Units

VET501 Applied Veterinary Medicine II

This is the intern year of the BVMS degree where there is a strong emphasis on practical clinical training with students taking responsibility for the management of clinical cases in the Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital and Murdoch University Veterinary Practice. The species-oriented study of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of health and production problems is continued and expanded to involve wildlife and laboratory animals. Problems in both the individual animal and in herds and flocks are considered.

There are units in the economics of animal production, veterinary ethics, and business management. The study of epidemiology, regulatory veterinary medicine and public health continues, as does the study of the diagnostic disciplines of pathology, clinical pathology and diagnostic imaging.

VET502 Special Assignments in Veterinary Studies and Industry Practicums

These are a series of elective units, and the topics available each year vary to allow you to hone your veterinary skills in areas of special interest. Students are also required to spend periods of time in a wide range of veterinary practices, laboratories and other veterinary institutions, largely by completing 12 weeks of vacation work.

These last two years complete the study of Applied Veterinary Medicine and the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.