UK Vet Schools 2026: Rankings & Entry Requirements

There are 12 veterinary schools in the UK that offer a degree leading to registration with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Nine are long-established and fully accredited: Cambridge, Liverpool, Nottingham, the Royal Veterinary College, Glasgow, Surrey, Edinburgh, Bristol and Harper & Keele. Three more are newer and still completing RCVS accreditation: SRUC in Aberdeen, Aberystwyth in Wales and UCLan in Preston.

By standard A-level grades, SRUC (ABB, with a BBB contextual offer) and UCLan have the lowest entry requirements, followed by Nottingham, the RVC and Edinburgh at AAB. Cambridge has the highest at A*AA. Remember that vet medicine is competitive everywhere, with roughly ten applicants per place, so work experience, your personal statement and interview performance matter as much as grades. Gateway and foundation years also offer a lower-grades route in for eligible students.

No. Unlike medicine and dentistry, no UK vet school requires the UCAT. Vet schools select on academic grades, animal and veterinary work experience, your personal statement and an interview (most use multiple mini interviews, or MMIs). A small number of universities have used their own situational judgement or aptitude tasks, but there is no national admissions test for veterinary medicine.

Home (UK) students pay up to £9,535 per year in tuition for 2025/26, so a 5-year degree costs roughly £47,000 to £48,000 in tuition. Scottish students studying in Scotland can have tuition funded by SAAS. International students pay far more: between about £33,000 and £70,000 per year depending on the university, which works out at roughly £165,000 to £350,000 across the course, before living costs.

Most UK vet schools ask for AAA at A-level, almost always including Chemistry and Biology, with a few asking for A*AA (Cambridge) or AAB (Nottingham, RVC, Edinburgh, UCLan). SRUC has the lowest standard offer at ABB. You will also need strong GCSEs, typically including the sciences, English and Maths. Contextual and widening-access offers can be one or two grades lower for eligible applicants.

Yes, but places for international students are limited and highly competitive, because most vet schools cap the number of non-UK students they can admit. International applicants need to meet the same academic and work-experience standards, prove English language ability (usually IELTS 7.0 or equivalent), and budget for international tuition fees of roughly £33,000 to £70,000 per year. A UK veterinary degree from an RCVS-accredited school is recognised in many countries, and several UK schools also hold US (AVMA), European (EAEVE) and Australasian accreditation.

No. In December 2025 the University of Cambridge's School of Biological Sciences recommended closing its veterinary course, but after a strong public response the University's General Board confirmed on 23 February 2026 that the vet school would stay open, with the decision to be reviewed again in a year. The school continues to recruit and teach while it restructures its clinical services.

In the Complete University Guide 2027 league table, Cambridge ranks first, followed by Liverpool, Nottingham, the Royal Veterinary College and Glasgow. League tables measure entry standards, student satisfaction, research and graduate outcomes, but the best vet school for you also depends on course style (early clinical exposure vs traditional), location, facilities and the type of practice you want to go into. All RCVS-accredited schools let you register and work as a vet in the UK.

The standard veterinary degree takes 5 years (six at Cambridge, and up to six elsewhere if you take an integrated gateway or foundation year). After graduating you register with the RCVS and can begin working as a vet straight away, although many new graduates complete a structured graduate development programme in their first year.

It is difficult but not always impossible. Almost every vet school requires Chemistry, usually at A-level. A few will accept Chemistry at AS-level alongside Biology at A-level, or offer a gateway or foundation year for students without the standard science profile. Check each school's exact requirements, as they vary, and consider a gateway route if your subject combination does not fit the standard offer.

At undergraduate level they are the same thing. Universities simply name the degree differently: Bristol and Liverpool award a BVSc in Veterinary Science, the RVC and Cambridge award a degree in Veterinary Medicine, and others use BVMS or BVMedSci. All of them are RCVS-accredited and let you register and work as a vet. Be careful not to confuse these with animal science or bioveterinary science degrees, which are related but do not qualify you as a veterinary surgeon.

Newly qualified vets typically start on around £35,000 a year. With experience this usually rises to £40,000 to £60,000 or more, with a profession-wide median of roughly £50,000 (British Veterinary Association). Clinical directors, practice owners and recognised specialists earn considerably more. Pay has risen quickly in recent years because demand for vets outstrips supply.

A vet (veterinary surgeon) completes a five-year veterinary degree, registers with the RCVS, and can diagnose, prescribe, operate and lead clinical decisions. A veterinary nurse follows a separate route, usually a two to three year degree or diploma, and provides nursing care and supports the vet. This page is about becoming a vet; if you want to be a veterinary nurse you would apply to a different set of RCVS-accredited nursing courses.

Yes. Most UK vet schools welcome graduate and mature applicants, and value the life experience they bring. You still normally need the right science background (especially Chemistry and Biology), so some applicants take an Access course, additional A-levels, or a gateway or foundation year first. A small number of schools run accelerated graduate-entry or gateway routes, so check each school's mature and graduate entry pages.