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Posted: 24th October 2024

SRUC welcomes first veterinary degree students
Abbi Harcus is one of 45 students to start SRUC's new degree.
More than half the intake of students were from rural or remote Scottish locations.

Scotland’s Rural College’s (SRUC's) School of Veterinary Medicine has welcomed the first students to its new Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSci) programme.

SRUC, which is Scotland’s first new veterinary school in over 150 years, hopes it will provide new opportunities for students in rural or remote locations.

The degree fulfils part of the veterinary school’s promise to widen access to the sector. It will focus on training Scottish, Irish and UK-domiciled students from rural backgrounds, who understand how life is in remote and rural communities.

The veterinary school is also built on a tertiary model and provides opportunities for students to progress from HND students to a veterinary degree programme. It was opened after SRUC gained Taught Degree Awarding Powers.

One student who has benefitted from SRUC’s model is Abbi Harcus.

Ms Harcus is from rural East Ayrshire and, earlier this year, completed a HND in Rural Animal Health at SRUC. She is now one of 45 students to start the School of Veterinary Medicine’s new degree programme.

Ms Harcus said: “When I finish, I want to go into practice as soon as I can, and I’ll definitely stay in Scotland. There are so many rural areas that struggle to keep vets, staying in the industry is tough. I’m ready for it, and I think things are going to start changing soon.

“Everything I’ve learned with my HND will be really important when I finish and go into practice, it’s been the best start I could have had. Everything has just worked out so well.”

Caroline Argo, a professor who oversaw the development of the degree, said: “It is now recognised that the UK veterinary profession is failing to achieve self-sufficiency in generating and retaining homegrown talent. This has serious ramifications for key sectors of the profession that are central to Scotland’s ambitions, economy and the sustainability of our rural communities.

“By aligning the attitudes and abilities of our veterinary students more directly with the needs of the Scottish profession, we hope to train the general practitioners that are so essential for our food sector and mixed practices.”

Image © SRUC



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