UC Davis, Cornell and Colorado State University held on to the top three spots in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of colleges of veterinary medicine.
The list, updated every four years, delivers positive publicity to highly ranked programs but measured responses from the colleges themselves and from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.
AAVMC’s official policy states that the organization “does not endorse third-party ranking systems” and that all of its accredited member institutions “provide a high-quality education that prepares students for success in the many different dimensions of modern professional practice.”
The University of California, Davis, pointed out that its veterinary program is “ranked first in the U.S. by all three organizations that rank veterinary sciences: U.S. News & World Report, QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.”
Referring to high marks the magazine gave to a number of UC Davis graduate programs, vice provost Jean-Pierre Delplanque, Ph.D., said, “These accomplishments reflect the impressive contributions of our students, faculty and staff across the university.”
Colorado State noted that its veterinary program “has held a spot among the top three vet schools in the country for at least two decades.”
“We are training the next generation of veterinary professionals to go out and improve the health of animals, people and the planet,” said Mark Stetter, DVM, DACZM, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The 2019 rankings, based on a survey of academics at peer institutions, looked at U.S. programs accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Twenty-six of the 30 accredited colleges were ranked. Not participating were Tuskegee University, Western University of Health Sciences and the two newest colleges: Lincoln Memorial University and Midwestern University.
The biggest gainer was the University of Florida, which jumped from No. 14 in 2015 to the ninth spot in 2019. Michigan State University and Kansas State University each dropped by five, to Nos. 17 and 19, respectively.
What Is the Top-Ranked Veterinary College in the U.S.?
Here is the complete list and the 2015 rankings in parentheses:
1. UC Davis (1)
2. Cornell University (2)
3. Colorado State University (3)
4. (tie) North Carolina State University (3), Ohio State University (5), Texas A&M University (7), University of Pennsylvania (7)
8. University of Wisconsin (5)
9. University of Florida (14)
10. (tie) University of Georgia (10), University of Minnesota (9)
12. Tufts University (10)
13. Purdue University (14)
14. (tie) Auburn University (14), Iowa State University (13), Washington State University (14)
17. Michigan State University (12), Virginia-Maryland (19)
19. (tie) Kansas State University (14), University of Missouri (23), University of Tennessee (21)
22. Louisiana State University (21)
23. University of Illinois (19)
24. (tie) Mississippi State University (25), Oregon State University (26)
26. Oklahoma State University (24)