A long-awaited approval is paving the way forward for a School of Veterinary Medicine at Murray State University.
According to a news release, MSU has received program approval from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to pursue a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. This is just one step, albeit a big one, on the path to establish that school of study at the university—in 2025, the Kentucky legislature passed Senate Bill 77, providing a path forward.
Now, Murray State will work toward obtaining American Veterinary Medical Association program accreditation, and remains on track to enroll the first class of students as soon as the fall of 2028.
Currently, 80 out of Kentucky’s 120 counties are currently designated as having a veterinary shortage or identified as an underserved rural area for veterinarians. The state of Kentucky currently does not have a School of Veterinary Medicine, and in the United States, there are only 33 veterinary colleges accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Murray State’s Hutson School of Agriculture has the largest estimated pre-veterinary medicine/veterinary technology enrollment of any university in Kentucky, and is just one of three programs in Kentucky that is fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.