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 Master of Science and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees.

Options Available

• Comparative and Experimental Medicine – Thesis
• Comparative and Experimental Medicine – Coursework Only with Comprehensive Exam

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• Students entering the dual degree program must meet minimum admission requirements for both the MS and DVM programs.
• Applicants for the MS-DVM program must make separate application to, and be competitively and independently accepted by, the CEM program for the MS 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 coursework.

Credit Hours Required

• A dual program candidate must satisfy the graduation requirements of each program.
• The CEM program will award up to 8 graduate credit hours toward the MS 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 master’s committee.
• A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours of coursework are required for the MS degree (22 CEM course credit hours plus 8 credit hours accepted from the DVM program).

Required Courses

• For students who pursue a thesis, CEM 500  (minimum 6 credit hours)
• For students who elect the Coursework Only with Comprehensive Exams option, CEM 501  or CEM 510 , or CEM 515  or (6 credit hours), in which they prepare an analytic research paper
• CEM 504  (3 credit hours), CEM 541  (3 credit hours), and CEM 616  (1 credit hour)
• 4 credit hours of 500- or 600-level journal clubs
• 3 credit hours of 500- or 600-level statistics
• 2 graduate credit hours of electives

Non-Course Requirements

• Students enrolled in the dual MS-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 MS 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 MS, the student may still receive the DVM. If a dual student completes the MS requirements, but does not complete the DVM, the student may still be awarded the MS.
• Students who have been in the CEM program for at least two semesters must complete an annual progress report.
• The MS thesis or project will be presented as a seminar, followed by an oral comprehensive examination by the student’s committee.