Liverpool was the first British Veterinary School to
be established as an integral part of a University (1904), and the first to develop a
rural site for its equine and farm hospitals (Leahurst, 1941). The school is strongly
committed to teaching, with over 50 academic staff, supporting around 400 students
studying for their BVSc, with overseas students accounting for a quarter of each year's
intake. The Faculty also provides the opportunity for post graduate study and continued
professional development. Students also benefit from the excellent research carried out in
the Faculty. World renowned clinical techniques have been developed through the Faculty's
three referral hospitals.
The Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of
Liverpool is organized into three main departments:
They are based in the Main Veterinary Building and Small Animal Hospital
on the Main Campus
in Liverpool and at the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, at 'Leahurst',
approximately 12 miles outside Liverpool on the Wirral Peninsula.
In addition, Veterinary Anaesthesia is based in the Department of Anaesthesia in the
Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Veterinary Parasitology
is based in the Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine.
Veterinary Conservation Medicine
(Intercalated
BSc Hons for veterinary students)
Why an intercalated
degree in Veterinary Conservation Medicine?
All the UK
veterinary schools are enthusiastic about veterinary students intercalating Honours (level
3) BSc courses, usually after years 2 or 3 of the veterinary course. Indeed at Liverpool,
we run a special BVSc in which all students must intercalate. The Veterinary Conservation
Medicine course at Liverpool is particularly aimed at those students with an interest in
the veterinary aspects of conservation. Doing this course does not mean you will end up as
a zoo vet (though, with appropriate post-graduate training, such as the RVC/IoZ's MSc in
Wild Animal Health, you might), but it will enable you to have a much greater
understanding and knowledge of the concepts and issues involved in conservation and a
wider appreciation of the roles veterinarians can play protecting and improving our
environment.
What sort of person
are we looking for?
You must have
successfully completed at least the first two years of an appropriate EU, or other
RCVS-registrable, veterinary course from which the University of Liverpool can accept CAT
points (if you are at a UK or most EU veterinary schools, you are almost certainly
eligible).
UK veterinary
undergraduates are advised to discuss intercalation with the relevant contact person at
their own school. There is likely to be strong competition for places, and priority will
be given to applicants with a particularly good academic record and/or evidence of a
particular interest in conservation-related matters such as experience working with
conservation and environmental bodies, wildlife or zoo animals or other non-domestic
animals.
What would you be
doing after you graduate?
You will return
to your original veterinary school to complete your veterinary degree with a wider
knowledge and understanding of biology and of the role that veterinary surgeons can play
in improving our environment. Your Veterinary Conservation Medicine BSc will enthuse you
to consider a wider range of veterinary careers once you have qualified than might
otherwise have been the case, particularly in areas related to conservation and
research.
There is growing
recognition that effective conservation requires a multi-disciplinary approach, and that
the veterinary profession should play a larger role in the field. Indeed, every veterinary
practice and individual veterinary surgeon can be involved (and, perhaps, should be more involved) in local projects, and
this course will enable you make a more effective input to such schemes whatever your
final career path.
Many
organisations that fund postgraduate study for veterinarians prefer to fund graduates with
intercalated science degrees.
Special features of
the Liverpool course
Its unique!
The University
for Liverpool is the only UK university currently offering this course, tailor-made for
intercalating veterinary students.
Excellent teaching
and research opportunities
Teaching at the Veterinary Faculty at
Liverpool scored (like the other UK veterinary schools) very highly in the
recent Subject Review by the QAA,
and we scored 4 in the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Since the last RAE, the
Liverpool school has invested heavily in research, and in particular in groups working
with wild animals - for example in infectious diseases,
epidemiology
(including the MAFF Epidemiology Fellowship
Unit) and behaviour.
In this we are
fortunate to be part of a large University with
(uniquely amongst UK Universities) Schools of Medicine, Biological Sciences
and Tropical Medicine,
with all of whom we have very strong research links. In addition, the Veterinary School
has strong links with Chester Zoo, the
largest zoo in the UK and one with an excellent record of involvement in conservation projects
both in the UK and overseas.
The course will
be based at the Veterinary Teaching Hospitals
at Leahurst, although some modules will be based in the School of Biological
Sciences on the main Liverpool campus, and some at Chester Zoo.
This will provide you with the chance to meet and discuss conservation medicine with
people from a wide pool of backgrounds and experience. A variety of properly-funded
research projects will be available (although students will be invited to design their own
- with appropriate advice) within the veterinary school and elsewhere in the University
and at Chester Zoo or with other local conservation groups. The Veterinary Faculty has a
long history of running very successful BSc Honours research projects through its links
with the School of Biological Sciences that often result in publications in scientific
journals.
Studying at the
University of Liverpool
What our students
say
This is a new
course, so we'll have to wait to see what you will say when you finish. But the University web site
has links to feedback from students graduating from our BVSc other degrees in the
University (many of which are also open to intercalating veterinary students from
throughout the UK). The Veterinary Faculty has for many years hosted Honours Projects from
the School Biological Sciences,
so we have a lot of experience in this area - many of our students have then gone on to
careers in research, and several have published papers in scientific journals based on
their projects with us. |