The University of Minnesota (U of M) and South Dakota State University (SDSU) have officially announced a new Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine leading to a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Once students have completed their pre-veterinary requirements, the new program will allow admitted students to complete the first two years of their veterinary medicine education at South Dakota State University and the final two years at U of M’s College of Veterinary Medicine in St. Paul. The first 20-student cohort is expected to begin classes on the SDSU campus in Brookings in August 2021.

The new collaborative program will focus on rural practices in order to help address a shortage of veterinarians. It will also create additional opportunities for South Dakota students to pursue careers in veterinary medicine and support the agriculture industry in the region. South Dakota students participating in the new program will pay tuition based on in-state rates, realizing an estimated savings of thousands of dollars per student through a subsidy from the South Dakota legislature. 

“I’m convinced we can make a positive difference in South Dakota agriculture and animal health by training those students interested in rural clinical practice,” says Gary Gackstetter, DVM, MPH, PhD, director of the Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine at SDSU.