Why WIMU Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine?

 

Montana State University (MSU), the University of Idaho (UI) and Utah State University (USU) are partners with Washington State University (WSU) in its Regional Program in Veterinary Medical Education to serve the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Utah. This innovative and highly successful program, known as the Washington-Idaho-Montana-Utah (WIMU) Regional Program, serves students in the Northwest and northern Rockies.

The WIMU regional program serves students with interests in all facets of the veterinary profession, whether they are interested in companion animals, horses or livestock, in private practice, industry or academia, or whether they are unsure. The opportunities available for DVM education in the WIMU regional program prepares graduates for entry into any of the exciting dimensions of veterinary medicine.

Up to ten Montana students will spend their first year in Bozeman at Montana State University. MSU faculty members teach the 1st year curriculum which includes Anatomy, Histology, Physiology, Neuroscience, Immunology, General Pathology, Professionalism and Ethics, Introduction to Clinics, and Introduction to Surgery. MSU WIMU instructors have extensive backgrounds in veterinary medicine, including several instructors with both DVM and PhD degrees.

Classroom and clinical study will continue in years 2 and 3 on WSU’s Pullman campus. In the 4th year, students then have the opportunity to learn in a wide network of clinical placements throughout the four-state region.

Please see our prospective student website for more information on the WIMU Regional Program through the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Why apply to the WIMU Program?

Small Class Size, Big Network

The small class sizes at the Montana State University campus will provide very personalized attention to student success while offering the same opportunities for professional growth and the development of clinical, leadership, and interpersonal skills as afforded all students across the Regional Program.

  • Montana’s small class size (up to 10 students) provides a friendly atmosphere and allows you to really get to know your professors and get one-on-one instruction.
  • Students at the MSU location will learn with faculty and classmates in Bozeman, and also with faculty and classmates in Logan and the Pullman campus through faculty and student exchanges and real-time video conferencing and lectures.
  • Montana students will have access to all other major educational sites in the cooperative network, including shelter programs in Seattle, WA and Boise, ID, the satellite small animal specialty clinic in Spokane, WA, the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Pullman, WA, the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Logan, UT and the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. They will also have access to a wide array of basic and clinical research opportunities throughout this network of four university partners.

Hands-on Experience

Students in the Regional Program gain hands-on experience early in the program. Courses in client communication, diagnostic challenges, and business skills, give our students the tools they need to succeed.

  • Local practitioners will provide personal hands-on experience for students on the Montana State University campus.
  • Montana specialists in internal medicine, pathology, radiology, surgery, lab animal medicine, and clinical practice will participate in and enrich the first year curriculum.
  • Courses in client communication, diagnostic challenges, and business skills, give our students the tools they need to succeed. All students participate in the Cougar Orientation Leadership Experience (COLE), an off-site retreat designed to promote leadership skills and team building. COLE brings students from different places and sets the foundation for cooperation and teamwork over the next four years.
  • The MSU hands-on approach will continue because the Pullman faculty encourages and welcomes students to get all they can out of time spent in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and with faculty on educational trips outside of the program.
  • As part of the WIMU Regional Program, Montana students will have more choices to study in a wider network of clinical practice sites throughout the region as we add more Montana practices and facilities to our fourth year curriculum.