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  6. FDA Veterinary Clerkship Program
  1. Veterinary Medicine Student Programs

FDA Veterinary Clerkship Program

The Center for Veterinary Medicine is taking applications for a virtual program only.

Please contact us if you are interested in the 2024-2026 programs.

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Veterinary Clerkship Program is designed to give third and fourth year veterinary students a real-world opportunity to see how policies guiding the regulation of new animal drugs are developed and implemented by FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Students may choose to learn about drug approval, post-approval pharmacovigilance and drug monitoring, and/or CVM's minor use and minor species program. Students may also choose to learn more about CVM’s role in applied regulatory research and how this research is used to support the safety of animal derived food and animal health products.

The Program

The FDA Veterinary Clerkship Program has been in existence for over 25 years in collaboration with the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine.

The Clerkship Program was created to provide veterinary students a comprehensive perspective on the vital role federal veterinarians play in safeguarding animal and human health. The experience is also intended to afford students an opportunity to apply their advanced backgrounds in basic and clinical sciences to support CVM’s regulatory and research activities.

Each student is paired with at least one mentor who will guide them throughout their Clerkship. The Clerkship must be a minimum of 4 weeks long and may range from 4-6 weeks in length.

Eligibility

Application to the FDA Veterinary Clerkship Program is open worldwide to veterinary students currently enrolled in either AVMA accredited veterinary schools or non-AVMA accredited veterinary schools. All students must be U.S. Citizens or permanent residents and in good academic standing.

All students, including those attending veterinary schools outside of the United States, must be physically in the United States when participating in the clerkship virtually.

Compensation

Participants in the Clerkship Program are considered “student volunteers” and therefore do not receive a stipend for their work at CVM.

Housing

CVM does not provide living accommodations.

How to Apply

Students are encouraged to contact FDA as early as possible and a minimum of four months prior to their requested Clerkship start date. All students must submit the following documents to be considered for the Clerkship Program:

  • Letter of intent indicating proposed Clerkship dates and specific areas of interest
  • Current resume

Please forward these documents electronically to:

Rita Viskup at FDACVMClerkship@fda.hhs.gov

For questions or further information about the FDA Veterinary Clerkship Program please contact Rita Viskup at the email address listed above.

For information on the range of public practice options available in the greater Washington DC area, please contact:

Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
205 Duck Pond Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
cpcvm@vt.edu

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