Veterinary Science , MSc

University of Liverpool, the United Kingdom

Study options for this course

The award	How you will study	Study duration	Course start	Domestic course fees	International course fees
MSc	Full-time	1 year	September	GBP 6162 per year	GBP 15251 per year
MSc	Part-time	3 years	September	find out	find out

About Veterinary Science , MSc - at University of Liverpool

The MSc in Veterinary Science is a research-led programme delivered by the leading research groups in the School. It is based at the University's Leahurst Campus about 12 miles (19km) south of Liverpool in a rural area of the Wirral Peninsula.

The MSc is a pathway-based programme that allows students to choose a pathway that best meets their interests. IT can be taken full time or part time and is open to graduates in veterinary medicine, appropriate life sciences and also to intercalating veterinary undergraduates who have completed three years of study. It can also be incorporated into some clinical training programmes (see Veterinary Clinical Training). The programme offers excellent research training and preparation for careers in veterinary science, industry, government and conservation.

The aims of the Veterinary Science MSc programme are:-

to provide advanced training in infectious disease, disease ecology and conservation and veterinary public health, so that graduates can play a major role in these disciplines, including policy development
to equip graduates to play a key role in research, industry or government in priority areas such as food security and in vivo biology
to foster and develop skills in veterinary and general research methodology
to help students develop ‘real skills for the real world’ including communication, knowledge exchange, critical evaluation and analysis
to foster understanding, development and application of policy, along with an appreciation of the global impact of the subject area

The MSc was developed through integrating several excellent and internationally well-regarded programmes in order to provide greater choice and flexibility to students, who choose from a menu of credit-bearing modules to create their own pathways. The main pathways are :-

Veterinary Parasitology
Epidemiology
Infection and Disease Control
Infection and Immunity
Conservation Science

However, other pathways are also available, tailored to the needs of individual students, especially those taking the MSc part-time or combining it with a clinical training programme. Each pathway comprises ‘core’ modules directly related to that pathway plus optional modules that allow the student to some diversity of subject matter. Students following are expected to undertake a research project and placement in an area related to their chosen pathway.

Veterinary Parasitology

This pathway was developed from the long-running Veterinary Parasitology MSc programme. The pathway develops skills and knowledge relating to the biology, diagnosis and control of major veterinary parasites both within the UK and worldwide.

Epidemiology

This pathway builds upon research strengths of the School of Veterinary Science in epidemiology and the mathematical modelling of infectious disease. Epidemiology is, in essence, the study of disease within populations, but incorporates knowledge of infection processes and dynamics at a wide variety of scales, from within-animal to the interactions of populations and the climate at a global scale.

Infection and Disease Control

This pathway developed from the internationally-respected MSc in Veterinary Infection and Disease Control pathway (VIDC). It couples modules in microbiology / infectious disease with epidemiology to provide a ‘big picture’ perspective of infectious diseases and their control.

Infection and Immunity

This pathway has been developed for students who wish to undertake detailed study of infection biology at the whole animal, cellular and molecular level rather than on control of infection in populations. The pathway focuses on how pathogens cause disease, the host response to infection and the methods by which these are studied.

Conservation Science

This path way has been developed from the highly successful Veterinary Conservation Medicine programme. The aim of the Veterinary Conservation Science pathway is to provide understanding and knowledge of the theory and application of ecological and veterinary (particularly disease) concepts of particular relevance to conservation and environmental management. The options within this pathway allow individuals to focus on aspects of population biology, by following modules in epidemiology, or in infection biology and control.

The programme is designed to allow a number of named pathways through the programme. These are:

Veterinary Parasitology
Epidemiology
Infection and Disease Control
Infection and Immunity
Conservation Science

All students will follow core modules totalling 100 credits, then follow optional and subject specific modules for the remaining 80 credits. Students, particularly part-time students in practice, government or industry may undertake 60 or 120 credits based on each pathway for the award of Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma respectively.

Entry requirements

The programme is primarily intended for veterinary graduates and intercalating veterinary and medical students and graduates of appropriate biological science degrees wishing to follow a career in animal sciences or with an interest in One Health issues. Postgraduate Entry Successful completion of a recognised veterinary degree Successful completion of an appropriate biological sciences honours degree at second class honours or higher from a recognised university. The appropriateness of the degree content will be judged by programme teaching time on the basis of the application. Entry to the MSc Veterinary Science is competitive owing to large numbers of applicants and a limited number of places (not least so as to ensure small group teaching). Therefore, in addition to the basic requirements set out elsewhere on this page, the admissions team base their decision of whether or not to offer a place on the applicant's personal statement. This can be written as part of the online application form or attached as a separate document. The statement (ideally around one side and no more than two sides of typescript) should include the following: A summary of the applicant's experiences, interests and motivation relevant to the programme and their chosen pathway A description of why the applicant will benefit from the programme and how they intend to use the knowledge and skills gained in their future career. Intercalated Entry Successful completion of the first three years of a recognised veterinary or medical degree from an EU university or from partner institutions of the University of Liverpool. Intercalating students from universities other than Liverpool should apply using the postgraduate application forms online, but also contact the Programme Administrator, Mrs Sylvia Yang (vetpg@liverpool.ac.uk) for further details. Intercalating students registered at the University of Liverpool should contact Mrs Sylvia Yang (vetpg@liverpool.ac.uk) directly and should NOT use the postgraduate application forms online. Applications from outside the UK and EU Completion of veterinary or other appropriate degree from outside the EU English Language: TOEFL score of 600/250 or IELTS score of 6.5 is also a pre-requisite. International qualifications Applications from international students are welcome. International qualifications will be evaluated in line with the National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) guidelines English language qualifications All applicants must have reached a minimum required standard of English language, and are required to provide evidence of this. Qualifications accepted by the University include GCSE English; GCE O level English; AS Level English; A Level English Language; IELTS; TOEFL; Cambridge Proficiency etc. If you need to increase your IELTS score by a grade of 0.5 (eg you need to improve from 6.0 to 6.5) you should attend the six week course. If you need to increase your IELTS score by a grade of 1.0 (eg you need to improve from 5.5 to 6.5) you should attend the ten week course. If you need to increase your IELTS score by a band of 1.5 (eg you need to improve from 4.5 to 6.0) you should attend the 19 week course. If you need to increase your IELTS score by a band of 2.0 (eg you need to improve from 4.5 to 6.5) you should attend the 29 week course. If you need to increase your IELTS score by a band of 2.0 or 2.5 (eg you need to improve from 4.0 to 6.0 or 4.0 to 6.5) you should attend the 40 week course. If you require additional English language training during your study, the University is able to provide tuition and arrange IELTS tests through its English Language Centre, details of which are available at www.liverpool.ac.uk/english-language-centre. IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 5.5 in each component) TOEFL iBT 88 or above with minimum scores in components as follows: Listening and Writing 21, Reading – 22, Speaking 23. International Baccalaureate Standard Level 5 Hong Kong use of English AS level C INDIA Standard XII 70% or above from Central and Metro State Boards WAEC C4-6

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Veterinary Science , MSc

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About Veterinary Science , MSc - at University of Liverpool

Entry requirements

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