Organization and Implementation
In order to be awarded the doctor of veterinary medicine degree, students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University are required to complete a prescribed professional curriculum. The curriculum consists of four academic years and includes one required summer period of full-time study between the last two years. In addition to maintaining a satisfactory level of performance in the basic sciences and clinical course work, D.V.M. degree candidates may submit a research thesis. Each of the four academic years of study toward the D.V.M. degree is approximately thirty-eight weeks, plus the one required summer period. Classes begin in the fall of each academic year and end the following spring, except for the fourth-year class, for which classes begin in the spring and end the following spring, before graduation.
By means of a selective program, students may emphasize one or more areas of special interest. This program includes one or two afternoons per week in the first two and a half years, during which students choose from a menu of clinical, research, species emphasis, and other areas. Working with a mentor, they select either a sustained program, e.g., a combined degree, work within one of our signature programs, or they may experiment with several different interest options.
The problem-based learning (PBL) course, occurrin throughout the first two years of the curriculum, augments the didactic program, using clinical problems as a vehicle for learning basic science concepts and factual material. Working in small groups, students increase their interactive, self-teaching and evaluation, presentation, conceptualizing, library research, and problem-solving skills.
The Dean's Hour is a seminar program in which first and second year students are introduced to a variety of career opportunities available in the veterinary profession, as well as to current and future issues of concern to veterinarians.
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