Veterinary Science

As recent disease scares have illustrated, the field of veterinary medicine is not only vital to animals, but also to human health. Veterinary scientists help ensure the safety of our food supplies, protect humans from animal epidemics, and provide holistic care for some of our most beloved assistants and companions, be they dogs, horses, birds, or other, more exotic species. Our course introduces girls to this fascinating, expanding field and its variety of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Learning about these techniques exposes students to medical study and treatment methods in general – an exposure that serves as a great leg up on any future medical or life science courses they may take.

Our teachers provide hands-on projects that immerse our students in the details of a specific veterinary issue, helping them learn far more than they would through abstract textbook learning. In demanding but fun laboratory examinations, our students tackle real veterinary problems, and in the process they gain a deep understanding of many different topics in biology and chemistry. Our knowledgeable instructors are always prepared to support the girls’ experiments with both basic and advanced scientific concepts.

Though girls spend plenty of time in the classroom, our program is hardly confined to the lab. The class makes use of Madeira’s equestrian facilities, as well as the fields, woods, and rivers on campus. On field trips, our students may talk with veterinary scientists, see working labs, and meet the animals. Girls leave our course with both respect for and comprehension of the complexity and wonder of the animal world, as well as analytic problem-solving skills that are helpful in high school, college, and everyday life.