Top-Tier Veterinary Schools

Kansas City is located between two of America’s top veterinary schools – the University of Missouri-Columbia and Kansas State University. Plus, within a 300-mile radius of KC are five of the leading veterinary schools in the country with over 1,500 students currently enrolled.

University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine

The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine has graduated more than 2,700 veterinarians since its founding in 1946. The MU veterinary teaching hospital has specialty clinics in ophthalmology, cardiology, orthopedics, oncology, dentistry, and community medicine. MU is one of only a handful of schools offering student exposure to so many specialities.

Academic Departments:

  • Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
  • Veterinary Pathobiology
  • Biomedical Sciences

Service Units:

  • Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital
  • Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory
  • Research Animal Diagnostic Laboratory

Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory:

  • Fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians
  • 18 professionals with advanced training dedicated to service, teaching and research
  • Bacteriology, Molecular Diagnostics, Virology, Serology, Pathology, Immunohistochemistry, Clinical Pathology, Toxicology
  • Over 25,000 accessions annually

Research Animal Diagnostic Laboratory:

  • Cost effective research animal health monitoring
  • 8 professionals with advanced training
  • Bacteriology, Molecular Diagnostics, Virology, Serology, Pathology, Immunohistochemistry, Clinical Pathology, Toxicology
  • Research in animal models of human disease
  • Development of new testing modalities

Research Facilities:

  • Multiple BSL2 isolation suites
  • BSL3 isolation facility is under construction
  • Animal sciences facilities – livestock herds and poultry flocks
  • Internationally recognized site for laboratory animal diagnostic services and diagnostic techniques development in RADIL

Kansas State University

Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1905. Since then more than 5,000 men and women have been granted the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Departments within the College of Veterinary Medicine are anatomy and physiology, clinical sciences, diagnostic medicine/pathobiology.

Current Areas of Emphasis:

  • Food Supply Veterinary Medicine
    – Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL) – Production Animal Medicine (PAM) collaboration
    – Evidence-based medicine
    – Antimicrobial resistance
    – Diagnostic assay & vaccine development
  • Companion Animal Practice
  • Comparative Medicine
  • Public Health

K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory:

  • Accredited by American Association of Vet Lab Diagnosticians
  • National Animal Health Laboratory Network
    – Rabies lab – all species testing
    – Prion testing
    – FMD, CSFV, VSV molecular diagnostic proficiency testing
  • Laboratory Response Network/CDC
    – Multiple agent proficiency testing
    – BSL-3 lab capability

Molecular Diagnostics & Vaccine Research

  • PCR for routine and emerging diseases: Flu (all species), BVD, PRRS, Lepto, coronavirus, APP typing, Johne’s, circovirus, FMD, CSF
  • State-led flue surveillance program: serology, antigen detection (ELISA, PCR, isolation)
  • Multiplex detection of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma
  • Microarray identification of virulence and resistance genes
  • Evaluation of immune responses to infectious agents and vaccines
  • Vaccine development: liver abscesses, foot rot, Ehrlichia, coronavirus

Other Regional Veterinary Schools

  • Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is the oldest public veterinary college in the United States. It has been a leader in veterinary medical education throughout its history. Since its founding in 1879, the College of Veterinary Medicine has evolved into a major teaching, research, and service center for the state of Iowa and beyond. There have been 6,003 individuals receive the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University.
  • Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences engages in a variety of research areas aimed at fulfilling its mission of service to companion animal and livestock health and well-being. Among the areas of focus are infectious disease, surgical and non-surgical therapeutic uses of lasers, anesthesia and pain management, and reproductive sciences.
  • The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences is involved in research, teaching, extension and diagnostic service throughout Nebraska. The Nebraska programs focus primarily on infectious diseases, molecular/cell biology and biomedical sciences.