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 
• 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:
  
  • Spring:  November 1 (The spring 2022 application is now closed.)
  • Summer: April 1 (The summer 2022 application is now closed.)
  • Fall:  June 1 (after June 1, please contact vetnurse@purdue.edu)

Click to apply for admission

All admission applications for 2022 are closed.  The admission applications for Spring 2023, Summer 2023, and Fall 2023 will open on September 1.    

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

IMPORTANT - Beginning for the summer 2021 semester, the VNDL program will no longer be utilizing traditional proctors.  All students will be required to use Respondus Lockdown Browser (RLB) and Respondus Monitor for exam proctoring.  

• RLB and Respondus Monitor are free for students to use. 
• RLB works with almost any laptop or desktop computer (including iPads), with the exception of Chromebooks.  If using a Chromebook, it is the student’s responsibility to find another device that can be used for completing exams.
• You must have a working webcam to utilize Respondus Monitor
• You can learn more about Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor by clicking here
• You can view a short video 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.