Admission Requirements

Who should apply?

The program is designed to provide basic training in laboratory animal science, animal resource management and study design to highly motivated veterinary students, veterinary technicians and research associates in educational or pharmaceutical research facilities.

Admission requirements for:

• Degree Seeking
• Non-Degree Seeking
• Certificate Seeking

The following elements are requirements to be considered for admission into the program:

• Bachelor's or graduate degree with a qualifying GPA of 2.5 or higher from a regionally and nationally accredited U.S. college or university or an international equivalent.
  • The program may grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis. 
  • Please be advised that all students in the School of Health Professions are expected to attain a term Grade Point Average of at least 3.0 to be considered in good academic standing and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 to graduate.
• Successful completion of two semesters each of college-level Biology and Chemistry and one semester of Mathematics.
  • No more than one (1) prerequisite course will be accepted without a traditional letter grade (e.g. Pass, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, etc.).
  • The courses without a traditional letter grade can only be accepted for intro level prerequisite courses of Biology I, Chemistry I or Mathematics I.
  • Replacement courses may be accepted for missing prerequisite courses, only with Program Director’s approval. Replacement course syllabus should be submitted by applicant for consideration.
• Minimum of three (3) months or 500 hours of hands-on experience, as described below is required prior to the start of the first semester.
  
  • Applicants who desire a future as a Laboratory Animal technologist are strongly encouraged to continue a full-time experience/employment during the two (2) years of the program to be eligible for LAT and LATG certification through American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).
• Two Applicant Reference Forms, one of which must verify the minimum hands-on animal experience requirement.
• Personal statement outlining the applicant's academic and professional goals.
• Computer and computer services with various specifications. 

Review the program's application review procedure.

Review instructions for international applicants.

Requirements for Admission

• Bachelor's or graduate degree with a qualifying GPA of 2.5 or higher from a regionally and nationally accredited U.S. college or university or an international equivalent.

Laboratory Animal Anesthesia and Handling Techniques Certificate

• A bachelor's degree with a GPA of minimum 2.5 is required.
• Successful completion of two semesters each of college-level Biology and Chemistry, and one semester of Mathematics.
  • No more than one (1) prerequisite course will be accepted without a traditional letter grade (e.g. Pass, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, etc.).
  • The courses without a traditional letter grade can only be accepted for intro-level prerequisite courses of Biology I, Chemistry I, or Mathematics I.
  • Replacement courses may be accepted for missing prerequisite courses, only with Program Directors’ approval. The replacement course syllabus should be submitted by the applicant for consideration.
• One Applicant Reference Form, which must verify the minimum hands-on animal experience requirement.
• Personal statement – Your statement must detail your experience and explain your goals for taking this certificate.
• In addition to meeting the admissions requirements above, international applicants are required to meet the following: Foreign Transcript(s) Request a course-by-course evaluation of all foreign transcripts showing GPA calculation on a four-point scale. The medical school does not endorse any particular evaluating and/or credentialing service. You can use the following agencies: World Education Services Educational Credential Evaluators Translation: If the academic institution that you attended does not issue documents in English, the credentialing agency will require that you submit a word-for-word translation of your transcripts. You can contact University Language Services to submit your transcript for translation and instruct them to send the translated transcript to the credentialing agency you choose. Transcript Evaluation: International students whose native language is not English may contact one of the following credentialing agencies to submit transcripts for official evaluation: WES or ECE. Instruct the credentialing agency to send the official evaluation (and translation) directly to GradCAS. You must provide both a course-by-course evaluation report along with an overall GPA calculation. Evaluations are mandatory even for transcripts from institutions that report grades in English. This provides the school with a U.S. credit equivalency and allows the transcripts to be reviewed accurately. WES and ECE are preferred credentialing services. If you wish to select a company other than these, please contact the program first.
• Test of English Foreign Language: International applicants whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL exam and receive a score as follows: Paper-based test: 550; Computer-based test: 213; iBT exam: 80.
  • Please go to the ETS website to take the TOEFL exam, and request your TOEFL scores be sent directly to GradCAS. ETS reports scores for two years after the test date. If you have previously taken the TOEFL but the two years has expired, the program will accept a personal copy if available. Note: If the candidate has received a BS or graduate degree from a college or university in a country where English is the primary language (like the U.S., Canada and UK), applicants could request for the TOEFL requirement to be waived by the Program Director or the Admission Committee.

Prerequisite experience

Applicants are encouraged to include all animal-related experience they have. Experience and skills related to the maintenance of the health and well-being of animals in research or laboratory animal facility settings will be considered as hour-for-hour against experience requirement. Such experience includes procurement, care, use, handling, treatment, surgical or necropsy activities, cage wash operations, clinical pathology, quality assurance and IACUC functions that relate to laboratory animal science or the direct supervision or training of personnel engaged in these activities, and experience gained as part of an externship, internship, preceptorship or fellowship in a laboratory animal facility.

Experience and skills in a laboratory animal facility that do not affect the health and well-being of laboratory animals — such as office/administration, selling laboratory animals equipment — or in a non-laboratory animal facility — such as veterinary clinics, zoos, pet stores or other similar businesses — will be considered based on a 3-to-1 ratio. Therefore, nine (9) months of such experience will be considered as equal to three (3) months of hands-on experience.

Transfer credits

Transfer of credit may be allowed for coursework taken at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, such as an accredited member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, for courses in which a grade of B (3.0) or higher was received and for a maximum of 9 transfer credits. Course grades obtained from another institution will not be counted in the GPA. All applicants seeking to transfer credit(s) should contact the program for special application or credential requirements. Decisions regarding applicability of transfer courses/credits will be made by the program director in consultation with faculty as deemed appropriate.