Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department

The Veterinary Science Department provides advising services to students in the pre-veterinary medicine curriculum and offers courses in the biomedical sciences for undergraduate and graduate majors in related sciences. The department also offers several graduate research assistantship positions in microbiology, virology, and molecular biology for students majoring in other departments. Active research programs in diseases of food-producing animals support graduate training.

The State of South Dakota does not have a professional College of Veterinary Medicine. A pre-veterinary medicine curriculum is offered which allows students to obtain prerequisites for application of Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in other states. Students may meet requirements in two or three years of pre-veterinary study. Many students complete a major for the Bachelor of Science Degree before entering the professional curriculum of Veterinary Medicine. Many degree options are available to students in the pre-veterinary medicine curriculum, but popular choices include Animal Science, Biology, Microbiology, and Dairy Science. Students typically select a BS option late in their freshman year or during their sophomore year.

In 2011, the department changed its name to the Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences Department. The new name better reflects the activities of the department, especially relative to the research work with zoonotic pathogens and the training of its students under the One Health concept.

The department has always had a strong mission related to preparing undergraduate students for entry into veterinary colleges within the region, training graduate students for careers related to veterinary or human infectious disease research or careers in diagnostic medicine, and providing public service through South Dakota’s only animal health diagnostic laboratory, the SD Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL).

Since 1887, the Animal Disease Research & Diagnostic Laboratory has maintained a tradition of providing quality veterinary diagnostic services to the state and region. As one of only 42 North American laboratories that are fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, the laboratory serves animal owners by acting as a reference laboratory for animal health professionals and state/federal regulatory officials. This rigorous accreditation standard is compliant with international expectations as laid out by the OIE, thus ensuring trade markets are available to their clients.

As a reference laboratory, they provide the precise detailed animal disease information that is needed for those in charge of managing, treating and preventing diseases of animals. Many of the diseases the laboratory deal with are also potential human diseases, and thus the lab also plays a significant service role for public health surveillance. The laboratory serves all companion and food animal owners by working with their local veterinarian.

The laboratory continues as a member of the USDA National Animal Health Network (NAHLN), a member of the USDA/FDA Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), and a member of the DHHS/FDA Veterinary Laboratory Reference Network (Vet-LRN).