The Comparative and Experimental Medicine (CEM) graduate program and the College of Veterinary Medicine offer a coordinated accelerated dual program leading to the conferral of both the Doctor of Philosophy  and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine  degrees.

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• The accelerated program is designed to prepare highly motivated students for a career in veterinary research.
• Students entering the dual degree program must meet minimum admission requirements for both the PhD and DVM programs.
• Applicants for the PhD-DVM program must make separate application to, and be competitively and independently accepted by, the CEM program for the PhD and the College of Veterinary Medicine for the DVM .
• Students who have been accepted by the College of Veterinary Medicine may apply for approval to pursue the dual program any time prior to or after matriculation. Such approval will be granted, provided that dual program studies are started prior to entry into the fourth semester of DVM course work.

Academic Standards

• A dual program candidate must satisfy the graduation requirements of each program.
  • The CEM program will award up to 32 credit hours toward the PhD for acceptable performance (a grade of at least a “B” in A–F-graded courses) in approved courses offered for dual credit by the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Credit Hours Required

• A dual program candidate must satisfy the graduation requirements of each program.The CEM program will award up to 32 credit hours toward the PhD for acceptable performance (a grade of at least a “B” in A–F-graded courses) in approved courses offered for dual credit by the College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Courses eligible for dual credit will be at the recommendation of the student’s CEM major professor in consultation with the student’s doctoral committee.
  • Students in the dual program who also hold a master’s degree may use up to 24 graduate credit hours from their master’s program and up to 8 credit hours of DVM course work as part of the 32 credit hours awarded toward the PhD, as approved by the student’s committee.
  • A total of 48 course credit hours, independent of the requisite 24 hours of dissertation (CEM 600), are required for the PhD degree (16 CEM core course credit hours plus 32 credit hours accepted from the master’s/DVM program).

Required Courses

• CEM 600  (24 credit hours)
• CEM 504  (3 credit hours), CEM 541  (3 credit hours), and CEM 616  (1 credit hour)
• 6 credit hours of 500- or 600-level journal clubs. Students should select appropriate journal clubs in consultation with their major professor.
• 3 credit hours of 500- or 600-level statistics. Students should select appropriate statistics classes in consultation with their major professor.
• A minimum of 8 credit hours of graduate course work in an area of emphasis.
  • Areas of emphasis may include hematology, oncology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, genetics, infectious disease, epidemiology, metabolism, public health or other areas of medicine.
  • Exceptions to accommodate students with specific interests must be approved by the director of the program.
• See College of Veterinary Medicine for required course work for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree  

Non-Course Requirements

• Students enrolled in the dual PhD-DVM program will be officially classified as primarily veterinary (DVM-seeking) students until the DVM coursework is completed, with the following exception: dual program students will typically enroll as primarily PhD students during the two summer semesters following completion of their first and second years in the veterinary curriculum. After the DVM is conferred, the dual student’s primary major will be CEM.
• Degrees do not need to be awarded simultaneously; if a student has not completed the requirements for the PhD, the student may still receive the DVM. If a dual student completes the PhD requirements, but does not complete the DVM, the student may still be awarded the PhD.
• The doctoral committee is chosen during the first year of full-time PhD study. At least one member must be from the College of Veterinary Medicine and at least one member must be from an academic unit outside of the department.
• A comprehensive examination must be passed before the end of the third year of full-time PhD study. Students must prepare and defend a prospectus outlining their proposed research projects before the end of their third year of full-time PhD study.
  • Exceptions to the comprehensive exam and prospectus requirements are provided for medical residents pursuing doctoral degrees who must successfully complete the comprehensive examination and research prospectus before the end of their fourth year of full-time PhD study.
• Presentation at least twice in the annual UTCVM Research Day event.
• Completion of an approved responsible conduct of research training program within their first two years of full-time PhD study.
• Students who have been in the CEM program for at least two semesters must complete an annual progress report.