How to apply

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), has highlighted the importance of opening up the veterinary profession to a more representative, diverse body of vets.

The Harper and Keele Veterinary School recognises that some potentially strong, academically able future vets have been being discouraged from aspiring to the profession by lack of access to work experience opportunities and/or the fierce competition for vet school places. Mindful of this, both institutions are developing alternative routes to enter the new School in the form of Year 0 and Foundation options.

Admissions process

All applications for the course should be submitted via UCAS. The Institution code for the Harper & Keele Veterinary School is H25 and the course code is D100.

The deadline for applications for September 2025 entry is the 15^th October 2024.

Applicants are also required to submit a Vocational Experience form. Applications will not be progressed until this form is submitted (Note: the deadline to submit the form is midnight on Sunday, 20^th October 2024 ).

Applicants should ensure that they are available for a selection event between November 2024 and January 2025. Due to the number of applicants who will attend the selection events, we may not be able to offer alternative slots. All applications will be assessed and scored taking into account the personal statement, reference, work experience and entrance qualifications. Due to the large numbers of applications expected, we will be unable to invite all applicants to a selection event. The selection events will take place on site and will consist of a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format, and will be designed to assess the various attributes of the applicants.

Applicants will also have the opportunity to indicate their preferred ‘host’ campus once they have received an offer, but this cannot be guaranteed.

The outline Admissions Policy for the programme can be found below. Additional information and aligning policies will be added as they are developed and in time for the UCAS application window.

Stages of the admissions process

We will send important information during the early stages of your application, and reminders to the email address that you’ve provided in your UCAS application. Your application to the Veterinary School may be affected if you do not respond.

We will contact you from time to time using the following email addresses:

• admissions@hkvets.ac.uk
• office@hkvets.ac.uk

Please add these addresses to your contact list so that emails sent from the University aren’t rejected or filtered into your junk or spam folder by your email provider.

All correspondence should be between the applicant and the University. We do not discuss applications with third parties, for example parents and careers advisors.

Once your application has been received the following reviews will take place:

• Academic screening.
• Vocational experience review, including reflective question scoring.
• Contextualised offer review.

Entry requirements

For a full list of entry requirements, please visit the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVetMS) course page.

Advice on Admissions for applicants with a disability or health condition

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) requires all students, who graduate with an accredited Veterinary degree, to meet all ‘Day One’ competencies at the point of graduation. 

We welcome confidential pre-application discussions with potential applicants regarding the practical implications of any disabilities or health conditions on ability to meet ‘Day One’ competencies.  During such discussions we can outline any potential reasonable adjustments the school can take to support you in your studies, in order to assist us with this you will be required to complete a health assessment questionnaire.  All discussions will be held in confidence and will not impact on an applicant’s subsequent application.

If you have queries on the above please email in the first instance to admissions@harperkeelevetschool.ac.uk

Financial support

At the Harper and Keele Vet School we recognise that pursuing your dream career in veterinary medicine can be costly (but totally worth it!), and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

There are transport and accommodation costs associated with completing extra-mural studies (EMS) and whilst you may get some paid opportunities along the way, such as working during lambing season, there will be other opportunities that will be unpaid and the reward is in the essential experience you gain. However, this can add up and is why we have a flexible package of support to help students with these placement costs, when they need it. Support is available throughout your studies and you can apply for the support once you are on the course. You would have to meet our eligibility criteria and demonstrate a need for the additional financial support, as well as a sensible approach to spending and EMS planning.

There is also further support available through hardship funds (either a grant or a loan, depending on personal circumstances against common published criteria), managed by your host institution. These funds are available for all students to apply for, and are there to support those who find themselves in further or unexpected financial difficulty, such as emergency dental treatment or a car repair, or for those students who simply find that there is more money going out on essentials, than there is coming in, once they’ve planned their budget. We also offer advice on budgeting and ways to make your money stretch a bit further and staff at both sites can assist students in seeking part-time work and scholarship opportunities.

Contextualised offers

A contextualised offer is an offer which is reduced, by one grade or more from the standard entry requirement and is made to those applicants who may have experienced personal circumstances which might have hampered their education, such as attending a low achieving, target school and also living in an area where it is unusual to go to university or which is disadvantaged or being a Care Leaver. The aim of the scheme is to make the University more accessible for those applicants who may not have previously thought that they were eligible to apply.

To be eligible for a contextualised offer you:

• must live in an area where it is either unusual to go to university, using a government database which determines Participation of Local Areas in higher education (POLAR 4) or it is socially or economically disadvantaged, using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), for each postcode
• must be a UK resident

OR

• Identify as a Care Leaver as indicated on your UCAS form.

Your application will routinely be checked to see if you qualify for a contextualised offer and you will be advised if this is the case in our offer communications.

If you are eligible for a contextual offer you will receive a two grade drop from level 3 standard entry requirements.