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Exploring the juncture of animal health and the human world.

Prepare for a career in public health with the strength of SGU’s world-renowned Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program combined with our Master of Public Health (MPH) program.

In the DVM/MPH dual-degree program, veterinary medicine students can earn the DVM degree and the MPH degree in tandem. Gain a unique understanding of the interchange between animal health and the human population.

In addition to your veterinary medicine coursework, the public health degree gives you the fundamentals of veterinary epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and management, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental health.

Our dual DVM/MPH degree offers many career opportunities for today’s growing demands for Veterinary Public Health experts. Earning a veterinary public health degree along with a DVM at SGU will increase a veterinary practitioner’s employment opportunities for positions in the public sector and private practice.

Based on these DVM/MPH courses, students will gain the following competencies:

Identify and evaluate microbial and non-microbial hazards of animal origin to human health.

Microbial hazards such as: zoonotic diseases; animal-associated food borne diseases; potential bio-agro terrorism agents, foreign animal disease.
Non-microbial hazards such as: animal-related injuries (dog bites); animal-related environmental and occupational problems such as animal waste pollution.

Identify and effectively work with community and governmental resources appropriate for addressing animal-associated human health risks.
Apply appropriate epidemiologic methods for the investigation and surveillance of animal-associated public health problems.
Identify and facilitate the implementation of appropriate prevention and control strategies for animal-associated human health risks.
Identify cultural attitudes and behaviors towards animals and disease to be considered in risk prevention and control.

Program Outline
DVM/MPH class schedules are synchronized with the School of Veterinary Medicine to permit dual degree students to complete the degrees within a reasonable timeframe.

DVM students who enter during the August term complete Term 1 of the MPH program and begin the veterinary medical program in January. They then continue the MPH program in the summer and resume their DVM Term 2 coursework in the fall together with three MPH credits. Following this, they will complete the remainder of their veterinary medical coursework with the practicum occurring at a later date.

DVM students who enter during the January term complete Terms 1 and 2 of the MPH program during the spring and summer terms respectively, and begin their veterinary medical program in the fall of that year. In the spring of the following year, they will complete DVM Term 2 coursework, followed by three MPH credits together with the DVM Term 3 courses in the fall term. Students will continue with their veterinary medical program, with the practicum occurring at a later date.