Majority of veterinary colleges see rise in graduate numbers in 2012

Of the 26 veterinary colleges responding to DVM Newsmagazine's survey this year, 13 schools saw an increase in the size of their graduating class, similar to trends observed in 2011.

Once again, Iowa State University churned out the most new veterinarians, with a graduating class size of 145 students. Last year, Iowa State saw a marked spike in its graduating class, largely due to the inclusion of students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the school continued that trend in 2012. The Ohio State University was a close second this year with 139 graduates. Rounding out the top five colleges in terms of class size were Texas A&M and Colorado State University, both with 129 graduates, and the University of California, Davis with 128 graduates.

Table 1

10 schools saw a drop in the number of graduating students, with Western University seeing the largest decline of 10 students. Additionally, three schools retained the same number of students as last year.

Another recurring and notable trend this year was the percentage of female students making up the overwhelming majority of the graduating classes. More than 75 percent of the graduates this year were women, with Tufts University leading the pack with almost 88 percent of its graduating class represented by female students. The veterinary school with the closest ratio of male to female students was Auburn University, with men making up almost 40 percent of the graduating class.