Curriculum Highlights

The foundation of the pre-clinical curriculum is a systems-based model. Students move through the body’s major systems—such as the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal—studying structure, function, disease, and treatment together rather than in isolation. By weaving the basic sciences and clinical reasoning into each system, this approach reflects how veterinarians integrate knowledge in practice and supports a connected understanding of animal health and disease. 

OPCVM uses teacher facilitated Team-Based Learning as a central instructional method. Students prepare individually, then collaborate in small groups to solve application exercises drawn from real clinical scenarios. This active-learning approach reinforces understanding of course material and provides structured opportunities to practice the teamwork and communication skills that are central to veterinary medicine. 

From the first semester, students engage in hands-on training through clinical skills laboratories, simulation models, and community partnerships. Training includes animal handling, diagnostic procedures, and surgical techniques, as well as leadership, communication, and professional identity development. Collaborations with humane societies and the Chewy Health & LMU Applied Learning Center provide early and sustained exposure to real-world veterinary environments. 

The final year of the program is dedicated to immersive clinical rotations in a distributed model. Students rotate through private practices, specialty hospitals, and other veterinary services that represent the breadth of veterinary medicine. Required rotations span small and large animal general and specialty practices as well as diagnostic services such as pathology and radiology, with additional electives to support individual interests. Faculty oversight and structured assessment ensure consistency and quality across all experiences. 

Through its carefully designed curriculum, LMU-OPCVM provides students with the knowledge, experiences, and mentorship needed to develop into capable, compassionate, and practice-ready veterinarians. By graduation, they have been guided through rigorous scientific and clinical training, supported in building problem-solving and professional skills, and immersed in workplace-based clinical education. The program is intentionally structured to give graduates every opportunity to emerge as the ideal veterinarians of tomorrow—well-prepared to serve their patients, clients, and communities.