Pre-vet info sheet

PRE-VETERINARY MEDICINE

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The Dordt Difference If you’re interested in veterinary medicine, Dordt College is a great place to combine hands-on experience with excellent classroom instruction from a thoughtful Christian perspective that values protecting the health and welfare of people and animals.

At Dordt you will be challenged to tackle all issues from a Christian point of view. You’ll discuss topics such as stewardship, agricultural policy, environmental health, rural community vitality, and animal welfare. Our view of agriculture rests firmly on our understanding that “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1).

Opportunities in animal husbandry abound in Sioux County, which leads the state in total livestock production. Iowa is #1 in the nation in egg and hog production, and Dordt College is located in Iowa’s #1 county for numbers of cattle and poultry layers. Sioux County farmers market approximately 438,000 cattle and three million hogs annually. They also rank high in dairy and sheep production.

Students enrolled in animal science courses at Dordt not only see large animal (livestock) veterinary care but also small animal (pet) care.

“Dordt offers a well-respected pre-vet program in the heart of a diverse agricultural region,” says Dr. Duane Bajema, pre-veterinary program advisor. “That gives you many opportunities to grow and develop professionally.”

THE PROGRAM FACILITIES Dordt’s Science and Technology Center offers well-equipped classrooms and laboratories, including an animal science lab, student project workrooms, and biology, microbiology, molecular biology, and chemistry labs.

The Agriculture Stewardship Center (ASC) located two miles north of campus is a working farm equipped with student research project facilities and classrooms. Working with live animals gives you the opportunity to see, touch, and smell—a big difference over simply reading a book or seeing animals on a video screen.

THE PROGRAM Pre-veterinary students at Dordt usually major in biology, animal science, chemistry, or agriculture, but occasionally choose business or another major. You can complete a bachelor’s degree at Dordt and then apply to veterinary school, or you may choose to take only the specific courses required before applying for admission to a particular school of veterinary medicine. Contact the school of your choice to learn their requirements.

Most veterinary schools suggest two and one-half years of college chemistry, a year each of biology, microbiology, genetics, English grammar, communication, and sometimes a physics or statistics course.

Agriculture is among Dordt’s top-enrolled programs. If you decide to change emphases, there are seven other B.A. degree emphases to consider: agri-business, agriculture education, animal science, plant science, ag missions, biotechnology, and general agriculture. A two-year associate degree program is also available.

HANDS-ON OPPORTUNITIES Dordt’s Agriculture Stewardship Center is an operational farm, raising cattle, hogs, calves, and sheep for agriculture education. You’ll administer shots and medications; dock tails; worm, dehorn, and castrate livestock; and help with other aspects of animal care. Class projects include dissecting reproductive tracts and digestive systems of poultry, sheep, and cattle.

You’ll get valuable experience through internships with local veterinarians, pharmaceutical companies, animal health businesses, and highly specialized biotechnology companies. Experiences such as these have helped our graduates gain acceptance into schools of veterinary medicine.Students have had internships with local veterinarians specializing in both pet and large animal areas as well as internships with biotechnology and veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturing companies like Trans Ova Genetics, Hematech, Sioux Biochemical, and Boerhinger-Ingelheim.

The Pre-Vet Club will help you network with each other and with a practicing veterinarian. Its advisor, Dr. Fred Sick, has been president of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and given leadership on legislative committees. You’ll have opportunities to shadow veterinarians and ask questions.

You’ll find opportunities to ride along with a local veterinarian or do an individual study at an internationally known embryo transfer center. Guest speakers and pharmaceutical representatives visit classes to share their professional expertise.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Dordt pre-veterinary graduates have earned the respect of faculty in schools across the U.S. and Canada. They include Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, and Kansas State University, where nearly 100 percent of those who complete our program and apply are accepted.

Most graduates of our program have been admitted to the vet school of their choice. The associate dean for Iowa State University’s pre-vet program says, “We have been pleased with the quality and background of the preveterinary students who attend Dordt College. Their knowledge and experience in agricultural and biological-based sciences is evident.”

The demand for properly trained veterinarians is high, particularly for large animal practitioners. While most veterinarians choose to work in private practice, others protect food safety or conduct research in public health departments, the military, regulatory agencies, and zoos.

THE FACULTY Duane Bajema, Ph.D., Iowa State University, pre-vet advisor, animal science, ag business, and ag education Gary De Vries, M.Ed., South Dakota State University, agriculture and agriculture program leader Jeremy Hummel, Ph.D., University of Alberta, plant science

John Olthoff, Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Lincoln, animal science.

Richard.Joerger@dordt.edu

John.Olthoff@dordt.edu

Mike Schouten, B.A., Dordt College, Agriculture Stewardship Center manager August 2015

Gary.DeVries@dordt.edu

Jeremy.Hummel@dordt.edu

Richard Joerger, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, agribusiness and ag education

Duane.Bajema@dordt.edu

Mike.Schouten@dordt.edu