Business and Entrepreneurship
Skills for business and entrepreneurship have become increasingly important in veterinary medicine. They provide critical preparation for success in clinical practice management and for expanding leadership opportunities in industry, international development and global public health.
By following the guidelines established in our 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, including establishing the Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship, we have worked to support student and faculty entrepreneurship, to reduce student debt and to enable graduate financial independence.
After the launch of the Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship in early 2019, the college focused on four key subject areas to prepare students for practice ownership and other business realities: education, economic research, entrepreneurship and intrepreneurship.
Ways the center has met these goals over the last year:
- Filled three faculty positions to support the center
- Offered seven business courses: two distribution standalones, one competency within a summer course, three distribution collaborations, one Foundation Course VII collaboration
- Expanded relationships with seven corporate partners: Encore Vet Group, Banfield Pet Hospital, Boehringer Ingelheim, IDEXX, Nestle Purina, VitusVet and Zoetis
Animal Health Hackathon
CVM Graduates Debt to Starting Salary Ratio
The following table and bar chart display the mean self-reported educational debt ratio to private practice starting salary over a 10-year period. It includes those with no debt and excludes advanced education and training. The data is from an AVMA survey taken one month before graduation.
| Year | Ratio |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.84 |
| 2012 | 2.01 |
| 2013 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | 1.96 |
| 2015 | 1.77 |
| 2016 | 1.82 |
| 2017 | 1.59 |
| 2018 | 1.79 |
| 2019 | 1.36 |
| 2020 | 1.56 |
