How to apply for veterinary medicine (BVMS)
Thinking about applying to study veterinary medicine at the University of Central Lancashire? We have put together some guidance to help you with your application.
We recognise and value the importance and positive impacts of diversity within our Veterinary Medicine & Surgery (BVMS) programme, the wider university, and beyond.
Our BVMS programme welcomes applications from all students. Students who come from different backgrounds and life experiences have a range of perspectives. This enhances the educational experience for everyone.
We know that not all prospective students will come from a typical school-leaver background. We have created this guidance to support your application. This is regardless of whether you are applying from school, college or from the workplace. We also provide guidance on diversity and disability. You should refer to this before completing their application.
This page covers everything you need to know when applying for our BVMS programme, including:
Contextual admissions for BVMS
Widening participation is at the core of our mission. We firmly believe in helping people to seize every opportunity to flourish in education. We offer a reduced entry tariff for those whose life experiences may have resulted in academic challenges.
View our contextual admissions policyBefore you apply
Think clearly about why you want to study veterinary medicine and write a list of your reasons – it would be good to get these across in your application.
Where do you want to study? Whichever university you apply to, make sure you visit, talk to the students and have a good look around the campus and city. Five years is a long time.
We’d encourage you, where possible, to engage in voluntary or paid vocational experience. This helps to develop personal and professional attributes. It will also expose you to what it means to work with animals and people in different settings. This might include working with animals in some capacity, such as at a veterinary practice, farm, animal shelter or stables. It may also include roles that show your abilities in:
- Engaging with the general public;
- Communicating; and
- Problem-solving.
This could be in a retail or hospitality setting.
If you’re unable to access veterinary work experience then don’t worry. You can focus on other voluntary or paid work experiences, hobbies and activities. Make sure they show skills which could be applied in the veterinary context. Or you could study a relevant free open-access online course via platforms such as Coursera or FutureLearn.
Whilst we encourage vocational experience, we also recognise that it is not possible for everyone. A lack of vocational experience will not be a barrier to your application to veterinary medicine at UCLan.
If you have any questions before or during your application, feel free to contact the Course Enquiries Team by email.
Things to think about
Other choices
You won’t be judged for your other uni applications. It doesn’t matter if you also apply for a non-veterinary degree, as long as you can show a strong case for applying to veterinary medicine.Taking a gap year
If you want to take a gap year then do so. You could further familiarise yourself with the various roles of veterinary surgeons. Or you could develop your personal and professional attributes.Your background
University selectors are not influenced by whether your parents are veterinary surgeons, or what type of school you come from. It is you they are interested in.Be positive
Be positive about what you have to offer. If you get an interview, then be confident and relax. It’s your opportunity to show us why you would make a great vet. If you have any questions then don’t be shy to ask.
How to apply for BVMS
UK applications are submitted via UCAS
UK veterinary school applications are expected to be submitted by October the year before entry.
International applications can be submitted via UCAS or directly via our online application form
We accept direct international applications throughout the year. However, you should apply early so that we can process your application in good time.
Step 1: Initial application assessment
Your application will be assessed against both academic and non-academic set criteria.
Step 2: Interview selection
Your personal statement and academic reference will be evaluated and scored. This will determine if you will get an interview.
Step 3: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) and facilities tour
The interview stage normally takes place between December and April each year. This usually consists of an multi-station MMI. For interviews taking place at our Preston Campus you'll also have the opportunity to take a guided tour of our facilities.
Step 4: Offers and feedback to applicants
Offers are based on performance at interview. If you are successful at interview, you'll have to have occupational health screening as part of the enrolment process. This ensures we can meet the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) fitness to practise guidance. Please be reassured that we are committed to making veterinary education accessible.
There are several stages to the admissions process:
The first step is the assessment of your initial application against both academic and non-academic set criteria. Please make sure your application form is as comprehensive as possible.
If you are a home student your application must be submitted via UCAS.
A personal reflective statement is required as part of your application. The personal statement is a key element of the admissions process. We have provided guidance on how to write this in line with our set criteria. Please see the personal statement section of this webpage.
If you are not submitting via UCAS, you should also ensure that you include all supporting information for your application. This includes:
- Personal statement
- Reference
If you are applying as an international applicant you'll need to send these via email to the International Admissions Team.
All applications are first read by our Admissions Team to ensure that you meet the minimum academic requirements. If you meet these, your application will get an academic score and passed to our selection panel. If you do not meet these your application will be rejected at this initial stage. You may wish to consider applying for our Foundation Year programme.
The selection panel will look at your personal statement and the reference from your school/college. Please do not send in extra information or portfolios of work unless we contact you to request it. In the interests of fairness to all candidates, we will only assess what is included in your direct or UCAS application form.
If you produce a strong personal statement, using the guidance on this page, you are more likely to get an interview. If you have a very low evaluation for any aspect of your application, you are unlikely to get an interview.
Your reference will be scored by specific criteria outlined on this page. You should ensure that the person who will complete your reference is able to see this. Please see the reference section lower down on this page. Both you and your referee should address each aspect outlined in the guidance. Referees should be aware that we expect to see more than a record of academic achievement. Your references should show your strengths in the areas listed in the guidance. This is much more valuable than simple “school report” style references.
If you get invited for interview you'll need to take part in Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). You will not get an offer without an interview. These are normally held at our Preston Campus between December and April.
Once all interviews are completed you are ranked according to performance. Your individual station and overall scores will be assessed. You will then be ranked according to score. Offers are made to the top-ranking applicants until the required number of places has been filled.
A small number of applicants who perform exceptionally well at interview may be made an early offer.
If you're successful at interview you'll need to undergo occupational health screening. This is part of the enrolment process. The screening process ensures we understand your needs so we can support you throughout the course. This is inclusive of a wide range of disabilities.
Please be reassured that alongside our duties under the Equality Act 2010, we are committed to making veterinary education accessible. We will do our best to make reasonable adjustments and provide necessary support to address any fitness to practise issue.
Personal statement for BVMS
You should approach your personal statement in the same way as a job application. You should use it to provide evidence that you have the qualities required to be a trainee veterinary surgeon. Instead of telling us what you think you're good at, provide examples of things you've done that show what you're good at. Also, tell us what you’ve learned from your experiences and achievements.
We assess applications on the principle that observation does not constitute experience. You should highlight the qualities and attributes you can bring to veterinary medicine. Use specific examples from your vocational or veterinary experience. Avoid giving us a great deal of detail about how much time you spent shadowing veterinary surgeons, for example.
We want to know what you have done and what qualities you will bring to the programme. Your personal statement should explain what you have learned from your life or vocational experiences. It should show how you reflect upon your life or vocational experience. You shouldn't focus on the details of what you saw during any vocational experience, activities or voluntary work.
Your personal statement should contain specific details. This will enable us to determine whether it was a relevant or useful experience. A personal statement has a limited word count. It's advisable not to include anything in your personal statement that does not address these points. You should only include this if it's required by another university to which you are applying.
Your personal statement should cover the following:
Tell us why you want to study veterinary medicine, especially if this is a new direction for you.
You need to provide a well-described understanding of the role of a veterinary surgeon. This is an important part of your personal statement. You should explain what you understand the role of a veterinary surgeon to be. You need to show how you came to this understanding, and why you wish to train for a career in veterinary medicine.
Provide examples and experiences that influenced your understanding of the role. Examples could include but are not limited to:
- Personal experiences with animals and people
- Shadowing a veterinary surgeon
- Talking to veterinary surgeons or other animal care professionals.
You need to show you understand the essential qualities, skills, and values required for success as a trainee and future veterinary surgeon. You also need to highlight the specific skills you have that make you a valuable candidate. This is both for the course and the veterinary profession.
Practical experience, whether through work and/or volunteering, is extremely valuable. Vet-related experience can provide insight into what a career in veterinary medicine can look like. But, as the profession is so diverse, we do not expect students to be able to gain insight into the full range of veterinary careers. Non-veterinary related experience is also valuable. Students can gain a range of skills that are transferable to veterinary medicine.Examples of vocational experiences include, but are not limited to:
- Volunteering at an animal shelter;
- Interacting with the public in a retail setting or local shop; or
- Spending time on a farm
Remember that vets often communicate with animal carers. This can include farmers and animal guardians, as well as a range of other stakeholders. They also often engage in public education and outreach activities. Being a successful vet requires solid communication and people skills as well as compassion for animals.You must share real-life examples to show you have the characteristics, skills, and values expected of a vet. This should be real-life examples from your personal or vocational experiences. Claiming to have these attributes without providing evidence will not be enough.In your personal statement it is important that you tell us:
- How long and how often you have taken part in the activity described
- Why you chose to undertake it
- What exactly your responsibilities were/are
- What you have gained from it
An example from voluntary animal-related experience:
"During the last six months I spent every Saturday volunteering at my local stables to gain experience working with animals. I fed and cleaned out the horses and also observed others grooming and riding them. I learnt how to handle the horses, got to know their individual characters and gained confidence being around them. I felt like a valued member of the team and engaged with the owners to find out more about their animals and how to care for them. I developed my time management skills by completing my tasks on time. I had the opportunity to communicate with a variety of different people.”
You may not have had the opportunity or been able to pursue direct animal-related experience. If this is the case, please draw on life or vocational experiences. This could be showing the benefits of your actions in a scenario that could be applicable to veterinary medicine. For example:
- Dealing with a customer who is upset
- Coming across a particularly challenging situation
You should describe how you responded and attempted to resolve the problem. Your personal statement should provide evidence of your ability to interact with the wider world. It should show problem-solving and attempts to make your own choices and decisions. This may include examples of leadership, responsibility, enterprise or ingenuity.
You should be aware that we may request confirmation from the host organisation of any vocational experience detailed in your application.
A career in veterinary medicine can be enormously rewarding, and opens the door to a diversity of opportunities. Veterinary careers, like veterinary training, can also be challenging at times. Being able to develop healthy self-awareness and self-care is important. And, being able to show healthy self-care habits and/or healthy work-life balance is key for your success on the course. As well as longevity in the veterinary profession. You should provide examples of your approach to balancing your school or work life and your personal life in your personal statement. This provides insight into your current self care strategies.
We need to understand the range of activities you take part in and how you enjoy spending your time outside of work or study. Extracurricular activities within community organisations are all equally valuable. This could include churches, sports clubs, bands, and more. But there should be some demonstration of how you relax and find time to do things you enjoy, rather than a long list of worthy causes and achievements. We are aware that different kinds of opportunities are open to different individuals and will look at all kinds of activities.
The BVMS programme is long and includes many placement and academic activities. We’re interested in understanding how you have tackled obstacles or challenges that you have experienced. We would like to learn how you have dealt with adversity, and what strategies you use to safeguard your own wellbeing. Also, we want to know how you learn and grow from challenges you have experienced.
A career in veterinary medicine involves teamwork. You must show in your personal statement that you understand the role of a veterinary surgeon within a team. You also need to show how you would contribute to effective team-working. You'll find examples of team working in many different experiences, both in and out of the academic environment.In your personal statement you must show how you have contributed to a team, either as a leader or as a member. It's important that your personal statement provides a credible account of the outcome of your contribution to the team.
For example, applicants will not gain credit for stating that they passed a Duke of Edinburgh award. But they are likely to gain credit if they can give an example of how they worked as part of a team during a Duke of Edinburgh event. We recognise that schemes like Duke of Edinburgh are not available to all applicants. Please use your own experiences to show your teamwork abilities.
Effective communication is an essential skill for a career in veterinary medicine. You need to explain any experience you have in communicating with different people. You should provide an example of a task where you have been able to exhibit good communication skills to a range of different people.
Examples in this regard would preferably be from contact with people beyond your usual peer group. You'll get the most credit if you can provide an example of effective communication from received feedback. You could also talk about the conclusion of the communication scenario described in your personal statement.
Applications are assessed for the quality of the writing. Careless errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation will affect your overall score. Please consider carefully how you have presented your personal statement. Avoid including unnecessary abbreviations or technical details. For example, listing the names of the operations you observed in a veterinary surgeon practice shadowing period.
Please make sure you tell us if you have made any exceptional achievements or had to overcome exceptional difficulties. It is helpful if these statements are backed up by your referee.
We have a contextual admissions policy at UCLan. This takes into account of extra information about your background that might have affected your education. It could potentially adjust the entry criteria for you. Read more and check your eligibility.
Reference for BVMS
In your reference we want to know what the writer of the reference thinks about you as a whole person. We want to know more than your academic achievements and potential.
Your reference is likely to be written by your head teacher, college principal, head of year or form tutor.
If you're not currently in school or college, you should approach an academic supervisor whenever possible. A ‘character reference’ is not enough. Please ensure that whoever is writing the reference sees a copy of these guidelines.
The areas in which we need information from your referee are below:
Your referee needs to give us an understanding of your interest and enthusiasm for a career in veterinary medicine. Don't be discouraged if your interest in a career in veterinary medicine has begun later in life. A referee can support you if your commitment to veterinary medicine has flourished late in your school career. You might be a graduate or have some work experience.
Your referee can show us this in many ways. The length of time you've spent wanting to work in veterinary medicine is one aspect. It's also important for your referee to talk about any jobs you've done that show you're dedicated to this field. For example, if you've worked with people or animals in a job, that would be good for them to mention.
It would help if your referee can show that you know what it's really like to work as a vet. This means knowing the good and not-so-good parts. If you've worked or volunteered in different jobs and realised they're not the right fit for you, that's something the referee can mention here.
Being a successful vet is not just about getting top grades or high marks in classes. It's about having certain personal and professional skills. These skills include being creative, motivated, and caring about your community and helping others. Your referee should give examples of how you've taken the lead or helped with things that go beyond just doing well in your classes.
Some examples of contributions in this category could be:
- Establishing a club or society
- Organising a fund-raiser or community activity
- Receiving awards or prizes
- Demonstrating achievement in a previous career
We're also interested in knowing how you've shown that you can take the lead or come up with new ideas in your community, at work, or even within your family. This means doing things that go beyond what people might have expected from you.
We recognise applicants who can show that they're dedicated to something they're interested in. Even if it's not related to academic studies. It could be anything you care about and put effort into.
Effective communication is essential to the practice of veterinary medicine. Good communication begins with listening. We're interested in how you take part in class discussions and activities outside of class. But what we'd really like to know from your reference is how you connect with and understand people, especially those who are different from you. We're also curious about how you handle feedback and use it to improve.
We want your referee to tell us how well you handle difficult situations and if you're a good fit for a job that can be tough and unpredictable. To be a vet you need to understand and care about people with diverse viewpoints and backgrounds. It's also important for your referee to share how you see yourself in your school and the community. If you've been out of study for a while, we also need to know how you fit into work or higher education settings.
We'd like your referee to provide examples of your readiness to take on responsibility. We also want to know about your ability to deal with uncertainty, failure, and conflict.
Intellectual potential is not just proven by your actual or predicted grades. We want your referee to tell us if you're a late academic developer. For example, if you achieved a less than perfect score in the past but you're likely to do well in upcoming exams.
If you've experience hardship that might have affected your academic performance, we want to know. Your referee can look at the mitigating circumstances section for more information on this.
We also want to hear about other examples of intellectual potential beyond the ability to pass exams. This could including problem-solving, critical thinking, reflectivity and personal growth.
Team-working skills and effective leadership are important and you can show these in many different ways. This might be taking part in sport or playing music, but there are other ways you can develop these skills.
For example, you could take part in social or charity volunteering, or be involved in the community. You could have work-related team experiences or even large family activities. We are particularly interested in example of your leadership skills. However, a large part of being a good team player is recognising not everyone can be the leader.
Mitigating circumstances are situations or events that give a good reason for how well someone performed. These things are usually not their fault and can impact how well they can do things or the choices they make.
As well as everything in the above sections, your referee should talk about any mitigating circumstances you may have. This could relate to your academic performance or any other aspect of your application. If you experience extenuating circumstances at the time of your exams, this should be reported immediately. Then the relevant examination boards can make appropriate allowances.
We will consider if any issues brought up in the reference should be taken into account during the assessment of your application. If so, we will write to your referee to request further details.
Interviews for BVMS
We will assess your application, including your personal statement and academic reference. If you're successful, you'll be invited for an interview. This will be a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) and is usually between December and April.
A Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is an interview technique used by many medical and health related schools. You'll go through short independent assessments in different stations. There are usually between six to ten.
Our MMI consists of eight stations. The selection process aims to make sure veterinary education is accessible for everyone. You must take part in the MMI to be considered for a place on the course.
After all the interviews have finished, you'll be ranked according to your scores. Offers will be made to the candidates with the best score. This will be until all available spots get filled. A few outstanding candidates might receive early offers. You'll also need to pass an occupational health screening to meet veterinary practice standards.
Further information for BVMS
We reserve the right to reject applications that are incomplete. Any application submitted without a completed reference will be automatically rejected.
Remember, when you apply, tell us about all the courses you've finished, even if you didn't pass them. If you have A Levels that you haven't gotten certificates for, mention them in your personal statement or reference. If you hide your qualifications on purpose, we'll cancel your application and let UCAS know.
We may need more details if there are gaps in your education or work history. We'll give you a deadline to give us that information. If you don't respond by then, your application will be rejected. We'll only use the information you give in your application to decide if you should be interviewed. If you're chosen for an interview, getting a place on our BVMS will depend on how well you perform at the interview.
BVMS with Foundation Year
Advice for BVMS with Foundation Year applications
If you don't meet the BVMS requirements, you could think about our BVMS with Foundation Year. It's for people with different qualifications or skills who want to enter veterinary work. That's why we give special attention to applications from those with a non-traditional education. We offer a reduced entry tariff for those whose life experiences may have resulted in academic challenges.
If you're thinking of changing careers and want to study veterinary medicine, make sure you understand why and make a list of your reasons. Try to include these reasons in your application.
If you can't get veterinary work experience, it's crucial to know both the good and challenging parts of the profession you want to join. This helps you make a smart choice before applying for the course.
Our BVMS with Foundation Year course doesn't have an interview, so admission is based only on your application. Use this chance to showcase your strengths and explain why we should pick you.
Remember to submit your application before the January UCAS deadline.
Step 1: Initial application assessment
Your application will be assessed against both academic and non-academic criteria. We’ll focus on your academic background and transferable skills. We'll also look at your vocational or practical experience.
Step 2: Application selection process
We’ll score and evaluate your personal statement and academic reference on several factors to determine if we can offer you a place.
Step 3: Offers and feedback to applicants
If you’re successful in getting an offer on the course, we’ll get in touch to let you know your next steps. If we couldn’t make an offer to you, we can provide some feedback on why you were unsuccessful.
Alternative courses
Veterinary Medicine & Surgery (with Foundation Year), BVMS
Would you like to become a vet but don't have a science background? Open up the possibility of an exciting veterinary career with our gateway to Veterinary Medicine.
Bioveterinary Sciences, BSc (Hons)
Delivered over just two years, our BSc (Hons) Bioveterinary Sciences accelerated programme provides a unique opportunity for you to gain a scientific degree, enhanced with clinical and research applications.
Bioveterinary Sciences (with Foundation Year), BSc (Hons)
Our Foundation programme in Veterinary Sciences is a ‘gateway’ course, giving you the opportunity to progress to our BSc (Hons) programmes and opening up the possibility of an exciting veterinary-related career.
Contact our Admissions Team
If you have any questions or worries, feel free to get in touch with us.
Related links
SubjectVeterinary Medicine
