All students entering the program must have completed a professional degree program in veterinary medicine and must hold the degree of D.V.M., V.M.D., or equivalent. This program is only offered at the Penn State College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The Department of Comparative Medicine is a basic science, academic department of the College of Medicine. It is concerned with the range of variation of normal and abnormal structure, function, and behavior in a variety of species of animals used for teaching, testing, and research. Its faculty, staff, and students work in a multidisciplinary and collaborative fashion with all other departments in the college to advance the research mission.
Graduate study in laboratory animal medicine consists of advanced training in biology, medicine and methodology pertinent to animal-based research, and the development of scholarship and research capabilities within the specialty. The general plan is one that provides a broad, basic foundation upon which the individual can build a career in teaching and research and/or in the professional direction of research animal facilities.