Historically Black Tennessee State University has partnered with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine to help agriculture students at Tennessee State transition to veterinary school once they complete their bachelor’s degrees.
Qualified first-year students at Tennessee State will be identified and immediately set on an academic trajectory to successfully meet the requirements for admission into the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, or other institutions of veterinary medicine. Students will be notified in September if they are accepted into the program. The students will be assigned mentors — one each from TSU and UT-CVM. The mentors will work together to advise each student, monitor their progress, ensure ongoing commitment, and support other training opportunities, such as summer jobs or internships.
The new partnership “provides a pathway for students majoring in animal science at Tennessee State to get into the veterinary school at the University of Tennessee. We are very pleased with this new arrangement between the schools,” said Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State. “It will help increase minorities in the veterinary profession and help us prepare our students appropriately for veterinary college. Health care for pets is a huge demand in society today. Many of our students are interested in the veterinary profession and we welcome this opportunity to prepare and place students in this competitive and demanding field.”
