Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dual DVM/PhD Scholarship Program is in full swing with its first student to complete the DVM portion of the program. Charley Cull, College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2014, will spend the next year or so finishing his Ph.D. The college offers the dual DVM/PhD to a select group of students to make the option of earning the two degrees more financially practical. Although earning both degrees at the same time can be a demanding and financially challenging undertaking, it can also provide several career options beyond that of a traditional DVM, according to the school. Areas of graduate training include comparative medicine, infectious disease, clinical/production medicine and others. Participants can pursue graduate research training at Kansas State, cooperating United States Department of Agriculture laboratories and other qualified academic institutions. “The DVM profession has many opportunities through general practice and veterinary specialties, as well as working for the USDA, government or even politics,” Dr. Cull said. “The Ph.D. probably brings in more of the data-driven jobs — wanting to know more answers, seeing if we can treat populations of animals — while looking at disease processes and food safety.” The scholarship program covers tuition and fees for the students’ Doctor of Veterinary Medicine courses, regardless of their resident status. Those interested in a dual degree can apply any time after acceptance to the DVM program. Participants must maintain good academic standing in both the veterinary and Ph.D. programs. “Any student who enrolls in a dual-degree program has to have some time-management skill and has to be an excellent student,” said David Renter, DVM, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. “The DVM program in and of itself is very demanding, and to do a graduate degree alongside that DVM is challenging. You have to be a good student, and Charley has done well in that regard.” As a veterinary student, Cull took additional graduate courses in epidemiology and preventative medicine in the evenings. He also conducted research examining the effectiveness of vaccines and other interventions used to reduce E. coli contamination in beef. “I would promote this program to anyone,” Cull said. For program and application details, visit their website here.
