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

If you are aiming for a career as a vet but do not yet have the required science qualifications, this six-year route gives you a supported and structured way to get there. The preliminary year builds your scientific knowledge and confidence so you can progress directly into our five-year Veterinary Medicine and Surgery degree. You will study integrated modules in animal biology, animal care and behaviour, and chemistry, designed to show how core science subjects connect and how they apply to real veterinary practice.

After successfully completing and passing examinations for the preliminary year, you automatically join the main degree. Veterinary medicine is a hands-on profession, so your training focuses on early and continuous 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 using 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).