Admission Requirements and Procedures

• High school graduation or equivalent (high school transcript required). If you have a high school equivalency, we need both the equivalency score report and the previous high school transcript.
• Minimum high school subject matter prerequisites (deficiencies may be made up with college-level courses, one 100-level or higher college course counts as two high school semesters):
  • Science - 6 semester (2 must be biology and 2 chemistry)
  • English - 8 semester
  • Academic math - 6 semesters (View a list of college-prep math courses)
• Applicants must be 18 years of age prior to entering clinical courses.
• SAT or ACT scores required. The requirement for test scores is waived if the applicant has 24 graded hours in college or is 23 or older.
• Admission deadlines:
  • Fall:  July 1
  • Spring:  November 1
  • Summer: April 1

Click to apply for admission (The admission applications for Spring 2021, Summer 2021, and Fall 2021 are open.)

Program Curriculum and Fees

Curriculum

The VNDL program is set up for students to take as a part-time program. It can be challenging to take the necessary credit hours to qualify as a full-time credit load. Students have different lives, challenges, and goals.  The flexibility of the VNDL is that you can build a pathway to graduation that works for you. Your academic advisor is available to help you build YOUR pathway to success

Pathways to Success 

Financial Aid

Financial aid eligibility is limited.

• Click here for VNDL specific financial aid information.
• Visit the Purdue Division of Financial aid for how to apply for Financial Aid and important dates.
• The VNDL program is not an eligible program for 21st Century Scholars.
• Visit Student Success at Purdue for Military and Veteran Student Program Information

Current Fees

For current fees, click here.

Proctor Information

Most courses require a proctor.  A proctor is the person who insures exam security. The VNDL communicates with the proctor the necessary information for the student to complete course exams. Every student must have a proctor OR utilize online proctoring for all VNDL course exams.

• Proctor must be a licensed veterinarian, a credentialed veterinary technician/nurse (RVT, LVT, CVT), a testing center (e.g., Sylvan or a college/university testing center), or a military education officer/education center
• Proctor may not be a spouse, relative, or close friend
• Proctor must have high speed internet connection available
• There are a variety of online proctoring options that instructors may utilize in their course(s).  This information will be communicated to you via the course syllabus.  If you choose to utilize online proctoring:
  • The majority of courses in the VNDL program use Respondus Lockdown Browser (RLB) for exam proctoring, which is free for students.  RLB works with almost any laptop or desktop computer, with the exception of Chromebooks.  This is because Chromebook uses a Chrome Extension that can only be run in kiosk mode. Google requires that all kiosk apps be managed via their Google Admin Suite (a license is required for this product), and so the LockDown Browser for Chromebook app cannot be made available to students for use on their personally owned devices.
  • If using a Chromebook, it is the student’s responsibility to find another device (laptop or desktop computer) that can be used for completing exams.
  • If you are in a course where the instructor has opted to use Examity, there may be a fee that is paid by the student. 
  • You must use a laptop or desktop computer; no tablets or phones for exams
  • You must have a webcam
  • You can learn more about Examity by clicking here
  • You can learn more about Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor by clicking here

Transferring Credits

The VNDL program requires 70 credit hours for graduation. Of these 70 credit hours, 65 are specific veterinary nursing classes. The 5 credits that can be transferred toward the degree include:

• 3-credit hour English Composition
• 2-credit hour elective

Completing the Program

Many people think of an associate degree as a two year degree. However, this is not true of Purdue's VNDL associate degree. Most VNDL students maintain their employment status and have family responsibilities.  Because of this, the average time to complete the VNDL degree is 5.8 years.  While the curriclum for the VNDL and the on-campus program are the same, the on-campus students are in class, labs, and clincal rotations from 7:30 AM until 4:30 PM five days a week. VNDL students are typically unable to make that kind of time commitment because of their life/job situation.  It is important for VNDL students to remember that they are going to need to take this curriculum at a slower pace to prevent significant disruption of their other obligations and responsibilities, and to prevent their inability to meet the academic standards.

Students NOT Residing in the United States

It is essential that students learn techniques that are considered state of the art of veterinary medicine. All veterinary facilities must meet the requirements for Clinical Mentorship facilities.