Veterinary Medicine and Science BVMSci (Hons) – 2024 entry

Applications received from UCAS are initially considered on the basis of academic achievement, achieved/predicted grades and personal statement. Most applications which do not meet the minimum requirements will be rejected at this stage. Applications with incomplete information may also be rejected at this stage. Applicants who pass the preliminary shortlisting will be emailed details of our online questionnaire.

Please note that we will do our best to review academic eligibility before we send the questionnaire. However, due to time constraints, there may be cases where we have been unable to do so prior to sending the questionnaire. These applicants may still be rejected for not meeting entry requirements at a later date.

Applicants with an outstanding decision/live application will be emailed the questionnaire on Wednesday 18 October 2023 with a deadline to return 12 noon (midday) Wednesday 25 October 2023. After this time, if the completed questionnaire has not been received the application may be rejected. If you are unable to access the online questionnaire please contact the Recruitment and Admissions office on +44 (0)1483 682222.

The online questionnaire is designed to enable you to demonstrate your current knowledge and understanding of the veterinary profession and that you have the necessary motivation and insight to undertake a degree in veterinary medicine. The questionnaire includes a number of Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) which assess key attributes outlined by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Day One Competencies. You will be asked to review each judgement test and rank in order the statements based on how you would react to the situation.

The completed questionnaires, are given an overall mark and placed into one of three categories accordingly:

1. Interview
2. Hold in waiting list
3. Reject

All Veterinary Medicine programmes are highly competitive with limited places. Therefore, it is possible that a number of very good applicants will not be invited to interview due to the very high number of quality applications.

Once short-listed for interview, you will be sent an invitation to a Multiple Mini Interview, which will take place online. Interviews will take place between November 2023 – January 2024 and will last no longer than an hour.

Candidates will be assessed and independently marked against agreed criteria on each of the MMI questions and placed within one of three categories:

1. Interview
2. Hold in waiting list
3. Reject

All offers are made subject to satisfactory Occupational Health clearance and appropriate vaccinations.

Waiting lists

Candidates who are held in a waiting list (category 2) at any stage may receive an offer as places become available later in the cycle. All formal offers will be made through UCAS no later than 31 March 2024. Those who fall into category 3 will be rejected by the same date.

Feedback

Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications received, we will be unable to give detailed feedback following rejection of an application. We are, however, able to indicate areas for improvement based on your competency scores. Requests for feedback should be made to Vet-Feedback@surrey.ac.uk and feedback will be given after 30 May 2024. Please note that feedback cannot be given before this point in the admissions cycle.

All applicants who are made an offer to study Veterinary Medicine and Science by the University of Surrey will be offered the opportunity to attend an offer holder day. During the day you will be able to view the University and School facilities, meet current students and teaching staff together with interacting with some of our highly professional and innovative collaborative partners. This will be a real opportunity to engage with the programme teams, meet fellow applicants and enable you to make a fully informed and sound decision.

You’ll have rotations in the following core areas of general practice:

1. Small animal general practice I
2. Small animal general practice II
3. Small animal referral practice
4. Equine practice
5. Production animal practice
6. Veterinary pathology and public health (VPPH)
7. Special interest elective.

For your seventh placement, you’ll have the option to study an area of personal interest, which can include clinical specialisms and non-clinical areas such as research or business. Alternatively, you can repeat one core species.

Your placements will take place throughout the UK with one of our 80+ partner veterinary practices. For each of your rotations, you’ll be assigned a different practice.

We’ll allocate you a veterinary practice for each of your rotations. We’ll ask you for your preferences of practices and we’ll try our best to accommodate these, where possible.

We take the following criteria into consideration when deciding on your practice:

• Care commitments
• Disability and neurodiversity
• Medical reasons.

All the above are subject to availability and as such, may change.

You’ll typically be placed with at least one other Surrey student.

There may be opportunities to change the practice you’ve been allocated but these are limited and are dependent on capacity and availability.

You’ll be required to travel to your each of your placement locations and cover the upfront costs associated with this. You can claim back any travel expenses incurred over and above your normal journey to the University. This can include petrol, parking, taxis, and public transport fees.

You aren’t required to have a driving licence but having one and a vehicle will make it easier for you to commute to your allocated practice, especially if you’re happy to drive yourself and other students. You can also claim additional expenses for any passengers.

You’ll be required to return to us for university-based activities and exams throughout the year, so we’d recommend you maintain accommodation within a 60-mile radius of Guildford.

If you’re allocated a placement location deemed ‘non-commutable’ from your home base, you’ll need to stay in accommodation nearer to your allocated practice. We’ll help cover all or some of the costs of this, dependent on the circumstances:

• Where practices have their own accommodation, we’ll cover the full cost of this with the practice directly
• Where there isn’t practice accommodation, you’ll be required to find privately rented housing which we’ll give you a budget for (this is dependent on where you are in the UK and other factors). We’ll provide you with a lump sum at the beginning of your placements to use towards your accommodation. If you go over your allocated budget, you’ll be required to cover the costs of the difference.

If you decide to stay with family or friends, we’ll be unable to contribute towards any accommodation costs.

Throughout your placements, you’ll work a variety of shifts, including being on call, to ensure you get an accurate representation of working in a veterinary setting. Your shifts will typically be 8am till 6pm, but are dictated by the practice you’re allocated to, so may vary.

For on call and weekend shifts, you’ll usually be provided with a rota, to ensure you have enough downtime in between your shifts.

You won’t get paid for the work you do on your placement, as this forms part of your teaching and learning experience.

Before you go out on placement, we’ll work with you to set objectives, which we’ll map against day one competencies (PDF) outlined by the RCVS. We’ll also give you a list of skills to practise.

Throughout your IMR, you’ll keep a written portfolio of your work, including case reports, referral letters and critique of isolation facilities. You’ll get personalised academic feedback and advice for this.

You’ll have a clinical instruction mentor (CIM) out in practice, who’s a registered veterinary surgeon with an interest in teaching and mentoring. Each CIM receives extensive training from us, to ensure they can give you the best on-the-ground support. They’ll provide you with feedback and facilitate your in-practice assessments.

You’ll be allocated a member of university staff for each of your rotations, known as a Lecturer in Clinical Veterinary Practices (LCVP), who’s an experienced veterinary surgeon. They’ll be your main point of contact at the University. They’ll check in with you weekly and keep track of your training, to ensure you’re exposed to a wide variety of clinical scenarios. They’ll be on hand to answer any questions you may have or help with any issues you may be experiencing.

If you’re not sure who to contact for any queries, you can also get in touch with your course representative or personal tutor who can point you in the right direction.

When you’re on placement, you won’t have any scheduled lectures. However, if you’d like to go over any cases you’ve been working on and any topics that you’re less familiar with, you can arrange a session with your allocated LCVP.

Your practice may run in-house seminars, arrange study afternoons, or carry out journal clubs, where a veterinary professional will discuss past cases and complete guided learning with you.

You’ll automatically become part of a Microsoft Teams channel for each of your rotations and you’ll be encouraged to share interesting cases with your peers and to discuss clinical scenarios you may not have experienced.

See 'travel' section and 'accommodation' section for information on costs during final year.

The demands of final year IMR placements may impact on your ability to pursue paid employment during both semester and holiday time. This is due to commitments on placement such as weekend working and the final year following a different timetable to the typical University semester timetable.

However, there are several bursaries and other sources of financial aid available that can be applied for, with the support of your personal tutor if required, during the course. There is no additional equipment or uniform to purchase specifically for your final year, but you may need to replace items throughout the course due to wear and tear. It is also a requirement to retain a base in Guildford during final year but note you will be on multiple 4-week placements throughout the year which are geographically spread over the UK.