Veterinary Medicine and Surgery including a Gateway Year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, Bachelor of Veterinary Surgery - BVMBVS

If you want to become a vet but need a supported route into the degree, this six-year course begins with a gateway year designed to help you build the scientific knowledge, confidence and practical skills you need to progress. It is aimed at widening participation in veterinary medicine and offers a strong foundation in animal biology, chemistry, animal behaviour and animal care. Teaching is delivered through integrated modules that show how these subjects connect and how they apply to real veterinary work.

During the gateway year, you also explore the wider role of animals in society and gain an understanding of the industries linked to veterinary practice. You begin developing your animal handling skills and start to build the academic habits that will support you throughout the rest of the course. After successfully completing and passing the examinations for the gateway year, you automatically join our five-year Veterinary Medicine and Surgery degree.

Veterinary medicine is a hands-on profession, so your training focuses on early and continuous hands- on experience with live animals, real clinical environments and a broad mix of small animal, farm animal and equine practice. With world-recognised accreditation and a unique network of clinical associates instead of a single teaching hospital, our vet school offers one of the widest and most varied experiences in the UK. 

From the beginning of the main course, you'll work with a full range of species, including companion animals, livestock, horses, wildlife and exotics. You’ll learn in modern facilities at our Sutton Bonington campus, including a clinical skills lab, on-site farm, stables for student-owned horses, exotic animal care facilities and the Peter Rubin Centre, a mock veterinary practice designed to build confidence before entering real clinics.

Your final year is entirely lecture free and spent in clinical rotations with our clinical associates, which include small animal practices, farm animal vets, equine hospitals, wildlife centres, zoos and referral hospitals. You will experience first opinion and second opinion cases in real working environments. You’ll also complete 30 weeks of extra mural studies (EMS), which are a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon (RCVS) requirement. This is supported by a dedicated team who help you find placements in the UK and abroad.

Life on Sutton Bonington campus is welcoming and close knit. With over 40 societies, an active Vet Soc, the Big Vet Little Vet mentoring scheme, an award-winning farmers market and an annual SB Fest, you quickly feel part of a vibrant community. 

With accreditations gained through this course, graduates are eligible to practise in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland – and in Europe or the USA and Canada subject to further examinations. This leads to careers in clinical practice, pathology, research, industry, charity work and many other areas.

Uniquely, our courses have an integrated BVMedSci, providing an honours degree level qualification that is achieved after completion of year three. This part of the course will enhance your ability for continual learning and development in veterinary medicine through research.

Why choose this course?

* Experience animal handling and RCVS Day One Competences from day one in our purpose-built vet school.

* Opportunities for placements in veterinary surgeries, farms, zoos and specialist animal centres.

* Graduate with three qualifications – a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM), Bachelor of Veterinary Surgery (BVS), and an additional award of BVMedSci after completing an integrated research project in your third year.

* We’re ranked 3rd in the UK for veterinary medicine (Complete University Guide 2026).

* 100% of School of Veterinary Medicine and Science undergraduates secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23).