Top Veterinary School Rankings 2010 - Best Colleges

The top veterinary schools as ranked by the US News and World Report reflect the fact that many of today's public universities were strong on agriculture education when they were founded in the mid-nineteenth century. In states that still have a significant agriculture component to their economy one or more of the state schools have strong veterinary programs. The top 20 U.S. veterinary colleges:

1.Cornell
2.Colorado State University
3.University of California/Davis
4.University of Pennsylvania
5.North Carolina State University
6.Ohio State University
7.Texas A&M
8.University of Wisconsin
9.Michigan State University
10.University of Minnesota
11.University of Florida
12.University of Georgia
13.Tufts University
14.Auburn University
15.Purdue University
16.University of Tennessee
17.Kansas State University
18.University of Illinois
19.University of Missouri
20.Virginia Tech

Seventeen of the top 20 veterinary colleges are at public universities; there are also a couple of surprises from the Ivy League. There are an increasing number of specialties in the field: radiology, infectious diseases and oncology are among them, along with the traditional professional division of small animal veterinarians and large animal veterinarians. Some schools have internship programs for people with veterinary technician degrees.

Research is important as well. Texas A&M has invested millions in a veterinary imaging and cancer research center that uses state of the art MRI diagnostic equipment. California's UC Davis has a research program dedicated to the treatment of birds and other wildlife victims of oil spills; and another that focuses on aquatic toxicology.