Fact Sheet

ISU CVM Gentle Doctor Plaza

The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine was founded in 1879 as the country’s first public veterinary school, and has graduated more than 7,500 veterinarians. It is one of only 33 veterinary colleges in the United States.

By the Numbers

  • D.V.M. Students: 635
  • Graduate Students: 165
  • Living Alumni (DVM): 6,739
  • Faculty: 152 (79 board-certified specialists)
  • Degrees Awarded: D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.
  • Our alumni are providing leadership in animal, human and environmental health, food safety, and animal welfare in all 50 U.S. states and 12 countries

The college is a cornerstone of one of the world's largest concentrations of animal health professionals that includes the USDA's National Animal Disease Center, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, and the Center for Veterinary Biologics in Ames, Iowa.

Alumni and friends of the college help support an exciting teaching, research, and service mission:

  • Dr. Dan Grooms holds the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean's Chair in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. Rachel Allbaugh holds the Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed Professor in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. Matt Brewer holds the Dr. Frank K. Ramsey Endowed Chair
  • Dr. Amanda Fales-Williams holds the Tyrone D. Artz, M.D. Chair for Teaching Excellence
  • Dr. Heather Greenlee holds the Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed Professor in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. Locke Karriker holds the Dr. Douglas and Ann Gustafson Professorship for Teaching Excellence in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. Karl Kraus holds the Hoefle Professorship in Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery
  • Dr. Daniel Linhares holds the Dr. Roy A. Schultz Professorship in Swine Medicine
  • Dr. Mark Lyte holds the W. Eugene Lloyd Chair in Toxicology
  • Dr. Richard Martin holds the Dr. E.A. Benbrook Endowed Chair in Pathology and Parasitology
  • Dr. Jodi McGill holds the John G. Salsbury Endowed Chair
  • Dr. Suzanne Millman holds the Scott and Nancy Armbrust Professorship in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. James Roth holds the Presidential Chair in Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine
  • Dr. Thimmasettappa Thippeswamy holds the W. Eugene and Linda R. Lloyd Endowed Professorship in Veterinary Medicine
  • Dr. Jessica Ward holds the Phyllis M. Clark Professorship
  • Dr. Qijing Zhang holds the Dr. Roger and Marilyn Mahr Chair in One Health

Education

  • The college is accredited by the AVMA Council on Education. (Full accreditation April 2018)
  • The college consistently produces high pass rates on the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE). The AVMA COE requires an 80% pass rate. ISU CVM pass rates for the past 5 years are: 2020- 96%; 2021 - 98%; 2022 - 96%; 2023 - 92%; 2024 - 93%.
  • Compared to the other U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine, Iowa State ranks 26th in resident and 17th in non-resident total cost of education.
  • The college delivers pre-eminent, comprehensive programs in swine, dairy, beef and small ruminant production animal medicine, and animal welfare.
  • The college offers a unique one-year, non-thesis professional master’s degree program in biomedical sciences that is designed for pre-professional and industry-bound students.
  • Students become ‘practice-ready’ through hands-on experiences including the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, Clinical Skills Laboratory, Swine Medicine Education Center, surgery/critical care and emergency/specialty clinic mentorship programs, international programs and numerous student organizations.
  • In the most recent U.S. News and World Report (2023) rankings of veterinary colleges, Iowa State ranks 11th overall and 9th among public universities. Iowa State was also ranked 7th in the United States and 13th worldwide by QS in 2023.
  • Dr. Gayle Brown, veterinary specialist, was named the 2018 AAVMC National Distinguished Teacher of the Year.

Service and Outreach

  • The Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center is a state-of-the-art teaching hospital that is fully accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association and treats over 26,000 cases annually. It underwent a $105 million renovation and expansion program in 2009/2010.
  • The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is Iowa’s only fully accredited, full-service veterinary laboratory. It processes over 120,000 cases and performs more than 1.6 million tests annually, and was first to identify, diagnose and sequence and fully characterize Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PEDv) in the U.S. The VDL is number one among peers in caseload and fee income.
  • The Swine Medicine Education Center is the only place in the country focused on Swine Medicine with a commitment to teach, live and/or digitally, every clinical technique in swine medicine practice or research and providing students a place to practice those techniques safely. Founded in 2010, the center has a growing library of 139 training resources that have been used to teach students from 97 countries and 32 veterinary colleges. They provide approximately 57,933 student contact hours of teaching annually and have a robust applied research team that collaborates with the veterinary care for approximately half of the pigs in the United States.
  • The Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH) is an international resource of information on diseases and emergency response. It delivers training modules for the USDA’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program and the Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals course that is used by all U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine and by veterinarians seeking accreditation.
  • The Institute for International Cooperation in Animal Biologics is a World Organization for Animal Health (WOIE) Collaborating Center that has trained more than 3,450 people from 98 countries in veterinary biologics since 1996.
  • The ISU Pet Cancer Clinic is a regional center of excellence, enhancing care for pets and facilitating growth in clinical research through medical, surgical and radiation oncology.

Research

  • Dr. Qijing Zhang, Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, is a member of the National Academy of Science.
  • College researchers have played key roles in developing vaccines and controlling and eradicating animal diseases.
  • Currently, college researchers are playing key roles in efforts to control infectious diseases such as PEDv, BSE, campylobacteriosis, and HIV, and parasitic, neurologic and prion diseases, using genome-wide approaches to better understand the epidemiology of infectious disease.
  • Researchers are developing new diagnostic tools, delivery methods for medications, and new interventions that improve food safety and security.
  • The college is the leader among U.S. veterinary colleges in USDA research funds expenditures. Overall total research expenditures for the college in FY23 was $23.2 million.
  • The National Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education addresses one of the most pressing public health concerns facing the world.