Rowan University to Establish School of Veterinary Medicine

On Dec 30, 2021

Rowan University announced that it is establishing the first school of veterinary medicine in New Jersey. Currently, there are only 33 veterinary schools in the United States.

The Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine will offer New Jersey’s first Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, as well as additional degrees and training programs designed to shape the future of veterinary medicine and animal health care in the state.

In November, the New Jersey Legislature approved $75 million in funding to construct the school’s primary academic and clinical facility in Sewell. The school plans to welcome its inaugural class of 60 students in fall 2025, pending approval from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (COE).

“Launching New Jersey’s first school of veterinary medicine at Rowan University is just the latest in a series of strides we have made in expanding and improving the quality of medical education and research over the past decade,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “With this investment, we will be able to keep our best and brightest veterinary students in New Jersey, and we will attract aspiring veterinarians from other states to study here as well.”

Of the 33 accredited veterinary schools in the United States, only five are on the East Coast. In 2006, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges predicted a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians in the nation within 20 years. Applications for veterinary medical colleges have increased 6-7% in recent years and grew 19% in 2020-’21, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

With the addition of the new school, Rowan will become one of two universities in the nation to offer Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees. The University offers its MD program through Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and its DO program through Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Rowan will establish undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and internship/residency programs at the veterinary school. Additionally, an A.S. in veterinary technology to B.S. in veterinary technology pathway program will be offered in collaboration with Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester.

The School of Veterinary Medicine’s primary academic and clinical facility will be located on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell, near the new Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) facility. There, SOM will soon welcome 70-plus medical school students to its newest academic expansion, partnered with the clinical practices already serving hundreds of patients.

Designs for a 100,000-square-foot veterinary medical complex are underway and will include academic classrooms, diagnostic and teaching laboratories, a teaching hospital, and administrative and faculty offices. The teaching hospital will provide core experiential learning to students. It also will offer animal health care services to the public, as well as specialty referral and diagnostic services to veterinary practices in the region.

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