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Growing up in a farming community in North Wales, Professor Paul Lunn always felt the pull of home despite a career rising to the highest ranks of academia in the US for over 30 years. In 2020/21, he served as President-Elect of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) 2020-2021 and the next year became President and Chair of the Board of Director. It was the pinnacle of a career that included stints as Head of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University and Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Lunn and his wife (also a vet) returned to the UK. “The opportunity to take the Dean position at the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool came at just the right time, and the opportunity to work at my old school was too good to turn down,” he says.
With decades spent in US universities, Lunn has the experience and insight into what American and other international students need to get a great Veterinary Medicine education and UK experience. To him, there are many reasons why they should choose the University of Liverpool but one stands out the most: “the possibility of joining a world-class veterinary programme which operates its own independent hospitals and clinics in every species area is critical at a time when space in US schools of similar quality remains limited.”
Other benefits include the international and cultural experience, as well as the shorter time to qualify and the resulting potential cost savings.
The school’s American Veterinary Medical Association – Council on Education (AVMA-COE) accredited five-year Veterinary Medicine programme is ranked #11 in the QS World University Rankings for Veterinary Science 2024. “We also have perhaps the strongest hospital and clinic training environment in the UK,” Lunn adds. “These factors plus the remarkable culture and environment at Liverpool explain why we have one of the very strongest performances in the UK’s National Student Survey every year, and this is the key driver of our high ranking.”
The American Veterinary Medical Association – Council on Education (AVMA-COE) accredited five-year Veterinary Medicine programme is among the best in the UK. Source: University of Liverpool
The school’s clinical and care services are dedicated to treating and tending to a range of species including small animals, exotics, horses, farm animals, and camelids. In these facilities, veterinary teams in its teaching practices and referral hospitals offer high-quality first opinion and specialist level veterinary care informed by the latest research.
Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) students spend a lot of time in these state-of-the-art facilities. Practical skills are taught from day one, covering the essential techniques such as bandaging, injection technique, lab analysis, suturing, and knot tying. Practical hands-on experience takes place in the university’s teaching facilities, hospitals and two farms (covering beef and dairy cattle, pigs, and sheep). “We can guarantee both the availability and the quality of the clinical teaching experiences our students need and do it all from our home base – which contributes significantly to the student environment and sense of community as our year cohorts learn together through all 5 years of the course” Lunn says.
Years one and two of the BVSc will cover animal husbandry and welfare, infectious diseases, normal structure and function, professional, clinical, and study/research skills, and public health and epidemiology. Year three will add pathology and parasitology, as well as management of disease, to the curriculum. The final two years are clinical rotations, in which students can choose a three-week elective subject at the end to specialise in or revisit an area in greater depth.
These placement rotations are on-site at the school, with equal time spent on equine, small animals and farm food production animals. “Like all the world’s leading schools, having your own hospitals and clinics means you can offer the best, richest and most diverse learning environments,” says Lunn.
Students from the US apply via the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). Source: University of Liverpool
In the US, it takes eight years to qualify as a vet, whereas in the UK, it’s only five years directly from high school for students with Advanced Placement (AP) or college credit. Students who have completed one to two years of an American degree can apply via Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) before completing junior or senior years, thereby reducing the time and cost involved in qualifying as a vet.
“This is an exciting time; we are growing our programmes in terms of what they offer students, creating new spaces for contemporary learning, and increasing diversity in our classes through internationalisation,” says Lunn.
What’s just as exciting is what lies beyond campus: the city of Liverpool. It’s ranked #1 in Best Student Cities (StudentCrowd 2023), #4 friendliest city in the world (Rough Guides), and #7 best city in the world (TimeOut 2024). With over 800 years of history and a seemingly endless list of sports, music and other cultural experiences, it’s not long before visitors see why it’s described as a thrilling world city. Students fall in love with Liverpool just as quickly — with over 50,000 students and six in 10 students remaining after graduating as well, this is an energetic community to be part of and an incredible place to study, live, and prepare for a career.
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