Intercalated BSc Comparative Pathology

An intercalated year allows veterinary students to gain an additional degree, focusing in a specific area relevant to their veterinary studies. Most students intercalate after their second or third year, and study a BSc course either at the RVC or at another university.

The additional year of study means that you will gain a more rounded education, additional scientific context, and gain valuable experience in carrying out in-depth, original, research. After the intercalated year you will rejoin your original course, and continue from the point you left it.

The Intercalated BSc Comparative Pathology is a one-year programme taught at our Hawkshead Campus with research projects undertaken at either the Hawkshead or Camden Campus depending on the project.

Pathology, the science of disease, is central to understanding and conduct of veterinary and biomedical research, clinical medicine and surgery. There is a need for veterinary scientists who are trained in pathology and pathology techniques to fulfil the ever-growing demand for such expertise arising from clinical practice, academia and industry.

• develop an understanding of the disease process in animals and how it is assessed at the molecular level, in the cell, the organ, and the whole animal
• show how contemporary technology is applied to dissecting and interpreting tissue responses in the pathological process
• establish understanding of how pathology can be used for research and diagnosis
• design experimental programmes appropriate for evaluating disease; to prepare and evaluate data; and to develop written and oral skills of communication

From data previously collected, it would appear that the majority of the students who took the previous Intercalated Veterinary Pathology programme went on to further postgraduate studies, either before or after time in practice.

Further studies include both PhD and Master's degrees and Senior Clinical Training Scholarships in either Pathology (Anatomic or Clinical) or Clinical disciplines. Indeed Intercalation in Pathology has been cited as one of the most important factors in selection of students for highly competitive post-graduate studies.

PhD's being undertaken by previous students:

Our previous students who are now undertaking, or have completed, a PhD.

• Kathryn Allan - "Investigating animal reservoirs of leptospirosis in Tanzania" supervised by Prof Janet Patterson-Kane & Dr Sarah Cleavland at the University of Glasow.
• Helen Booler - 'Pathogenetic mechanisms in the dystroglycanopathies' supervised at the RVC.
• Richard Booth - "Bovine Virus Diarrhoea (BVD) virus - a longitudinal farm study on biosecurity, health profile and costs benefit for control" - supervised by Prof J Brownlie at the RVC. 
• Stephen Burr - "The Metabolic Regulation of Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1" supervised at the University of Cambridge. 
• Emily Chapman (nee Barker) - "Haemotropic mycoplasmas of mammals" supervised by Dr Chris Helps & Dr Séverine Tasker at Bristol University. 
• Jen Claridge - "Does infection of British dairy cattle with the parasite Fasciola hepatica affect the susceptibility of these animals to infections normally controlled by a Th1 or proinflammatory immune response" - supervised by Tropical Medicine and Vet Faculties, Liverpool. 
• Kathryn Cosgrove - "Adaptation of viruses when they cross the species-barrier" - supervised at the University of Bristol, School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine.
• Melanie Dobromylskyj (nee Scaife) - "Identification & characterisation of natural killer receptor ligands in cattle" - supervised by Shirley Ellis at the Institute for Animal Health, Compton. 
• Sarah Hewitt (nee Hughes) - "Evaluating the relationships between beef herd performance indicators and overall enterprise success" - supervised at the University of Nottingham.
• Jenny Larsson - "Neonatal diarrhoea - an old problem with new and serious implications in modern pig production" - supervised by Magdalena Jacobsson at the University of Uppsala
• Alex Mastin - "Investigating Echinococcus spp (granulosa, multilocularis, shiquicus) amongst Tibetan communities in Sichuan province in China" - supervised at Salford University.
• James Mount - "The origin and regulation of progenitor cells in the regenerating antler" supervised by Prof J Price at the RVC. 
• Alan Mueller - "Post genomic science and Systems Biology" supervised at the University of Liverpool.
• Oskar Nilsson - "Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE)" - supervised at the National Veterinary Institute, Upsala, Sweden. 
• Laura Peachey -"Failure of cervical dilation in mares" - supervised at the RVC
• Chris Pennelegion - "The use of CRD-Fc Proteins to enhance bacterial killing" - supervised by Prof Dirk Werling at the RVC.
• Rob Pope - "A study of pathogenesis of Peste-des-petits ruminants virus - emphasising changes in tissue tropism with time and varying virulence" - supervised by Prof J Brownlie at the RVC and Prof Tom Barrett at the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright. 
• Simon Priestnall - "The role of a novel coronavirus in canine infectious respiratory disease" - supervised by Prof J Brownlie & Dr Kerstin Erles at the RVC. 
• Steph Reed - "Molecular and cellular mechanisms of virulence in BVDV" - supervised by Prof J Brownlie, Dr C Thomas & Dr M Collins, RVC. 
• Natalie Robinson - "Use of sentinel practices to obtain data regarding common clinical conditions and presentations in small animal consultations" supervised at the University of Nottingham.  
• Eoin Ryan - "The pathogenesis of foot-and-mouth disease in foetal and neonatal lambs" supervised by Prof J Brownlie at the RVC and Dr Zhidong Zhang at the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright. 
• Sam Sharpe - supervised by Prof Janet Patterson-Kane at the University of Glasgow.
• Elizabeth Slack - "The role of phosphoinositide 3-kinases in regulatory T-cell function" at the RVC. 
• Laura Spoor - "Comparative veterinary medicine and pathogen discovery, investigating the population genetices of S.aureus (including MRSA) in animals and humans" - supervised by Dr Ross Fitzgerald, at the University of Edinburgh
• Ryan Waters - "Transmission and persistence of foot-and-mouth virus in the ovine foetus" - supervised by Prof Joe Brownlie at the RVC and Dr Zhidong Zhang at the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright. 
• Elspeth Waugh (nee Simpson) - supervised at Glasgow Vet School.
• Louise Welch - "Characterisation of novel Th cell subsets in the chicken - Th17 and Th9" - supervised by Prof Pete Kaiser at The Roslin Institute. 
• James Wiseman - "Bovine tuberculosis" - supervised at University College Dublin.

If you would like to apply for undergraduate studies, you must complete an application through the general undergraduate application process using the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), unless you are applying as a North American College applicant to our Veterinary Medicine course, in which case you must apply through VMCAS (see here for further details).

Please consult undergraduate course information for individual course entry requirements. Qualifications and procedures vary depending on the course you apply for.

The RVC no longer requires any applicants to sit the Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT) when applying to the Veterinary Medicine programme, or any other RVC course.

For any further questions regarding undergraduate courses, please contact our Admissions Office: [email protected].