Top Veterinary Schools in the U.S. and Costs

The cost of tuition for veterinary schools is not cheap. Having said that – depending on the school and whether in-state or out of state, the tuition average may have declined just a bit compared to last year.

Depending on in-state or out-of-state, the tuition over four years is about $180,000 to over $300,000. That’s approximately an 30 to 50 percent increase over 2016 which is significantly more than the cost of inflation.

Here are rankings of the top veterinary institutions. Having said that – it’s important to note, if you want to attend school for something specific – such as emergency response the school listed as number 25 might be the best bet.  Unlike medical or law schools, veterinary rankings are largely reputation-based peer surveys, meaning differences among the top schools are often modest and specialty-dependent. Clinical exposure, cost (especially in-state tuition), residency placement strength, and intended species focus usually matter more than a few ranking positions, and student’s specific interest.

For example, not all veterinary schools have a veterinary parasitologist a veterinary behaviorist on staff but if either are your interest the best school for you might be one which focuses more on your special interest.

The list below also does not include Ross Veterinary School in St. Kitt’s or on Granada’s St. Georges School of Veterinary Medicine, both accredited vet schools but off-shore from the contiguous U.S.   This list also does not include the Schreiber School of Veterinary Medicine at Rowan University or Utah University College of Veterinary Medicine which opened in 2025. Also, several additional accredited veterinary schools are expected to open in 2026 and 2027.

1. University of California–Davis

Consistently ranked the #1 U.S. veterinary school, UC Davis combines the nation’s largest teaching hospital network with exceptional research funding and species-spanning clinical breadth.

2. Cornell University

Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine stands out for intense clinical exposure (tens of thousands of annual hospital cases) and extremely selective admissions. It regularly competes with UC Davis for top-tier reputation scores. Also boasts the first all-feline medicine center in the U.S.

3. Colorado State University

Colorado State is especially strong in oncology (home to the Flint Animal Cancer Center) and translational medicine. It ranks among the top U.S. programs for research productivity and clinical simulation-based training.

4. University of Pennsylvania

PennVet’s integration with human medical research via partnerships inside the university strengthens its comparative-medicine and one-health leadership. Dual teaching hospitals support exceptional equine and companion-animal clinical experience.

5. Texas A&M University

Texas A&M is nationally prominent in food-animal and rural veterinary practice training. Its large DVM class size and extremely high North American Veterinary Licensing Examination pass rates help sustain its top five placement.

6. University of Florida

Florida’s program is particularly strong in companion-animal clinical medicine (including a focus on feline medicine) and shelter medicine. Its modern teaching hospital and expanding research footprint helped move it upward in recent ranking cycles.

7. Ohio State University

Ohio State combines a large referral caseload and practical experience for students with strong surgical and imaging specialization training. It has remained a top-five–to–top-ten institution for decades nationally.

8. North Carolina State University

NC State is widely recognized for infectious-disease research and translational biomedical work and recent breakthroughs for cat health. It also has strong residency placement outcomes relative to its size.

9. University of Wisconsin–Madison

Wisconsin’s program emphasizes public health, epidemiology, and infectious-disease research. Its strong interdisciplinary collaborations enhance its reputation among academic veterinarians.

10. Michigan State University

Michigan State maintains a large clinical caseload and strong diagnostic-lab infrastructure. Its teaching hospital system supports broad exposure across species.

11. University of Georgia

Georgia provides strong training across small-animal, food-animal, and wildlife medicine. Its diagnostic labs and conservation medicine programs are especially notable.

12. Purdue University

Purdue emphasizes hands-on clinical instruction with relatively small cohorts and strong mentoring and a focus beyond what some institutions offer regarding the human animal bond.. Students benefit from extensive teaching-hospital case exposure early in training.

13. Tufts University

Tufts offers a highly selective program with strong international and public-policy veterinary links. Its clinical curriculum integrates One-Health concepts across species and ecosystems.

14. University of Minnesota

Minnesota’s program excels in population medicine, production-animal systems, and public-health training. Its extension programs connect strongly to agricultural practice needs.

15. Iowa State University

Iowa State remains a national leader in livestock medicine and diagnostic pathology. It serves as a major referral center across the Midwest agricultural region.

16. Kansas State University

Kansas State has long been respected for food-animal and rural-practice preparation. Its graduates are highly represented in production-animal medicine nationwide.

17. University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Strong in both companion-animal and food-animal medicine, research in veterinary pathology and infectious diseases, and large teaching hospital.

18 Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

This joint regional program provides strong mixed-animal clinical training and equine-medicine exposure. Its collaborative structure expands clinical rotations across two states.

19 Auburn University

Auburn (in Alabama) is especially strong in small-animal surgery and regional clinical outreach. It also plays a key role in veterinary workforce supply across the Southeast.

20. Mississippi State University

Mississippi State emphasizes primary-care veterinary practice readiness. Its mobile clinical units and community engagement strengthen hands-on training.

21.University of Missouri

Missouri offers advanced imaging, oncology, and regenerative-medicine research strengths. Its veterinary health center supports broad clinical case exposure.

22. Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma State provides strong training in rural mixed-animal practice. Its graduates frequently enter community-based primary-care roles.

23. Oregon State University

Oregon State collaborates with regional partners for distributed clinical education. Its program is particularly strong in wildlife and environmental health.

24. Washington State University

Washington State emphasizes One-Health research and infectious disease. Its teaching hospital supports strong companion-animal clinical training, and a focus on environmental.

25. University of Tennessee

Tennessee offers notable equine-medicine training and regional referral services. Its diagnostic-lab system supports significant research contributions.

26.Louisiana State University

LSU’s veterinary school plays a major role in Gulf-region animal health and disaster response medicine. It provides extensive exposure to livestock and aquatic-species medicine.

27. Tuskegee University

Tuskegee has a historic legacy training diverse veterinary leader nationwide. Its program remains influential in public-service veterinary medicine and workforce diversity development.