For Veterinarians Seeking to Gain Additional Skills in the USA

The American Association of Veterinary State Boards’ site has a guide for veterinarians who have qualified at AVMA-listed schools, and who wish to gain accreditation in the USA. Their site details the steps involved, with links to the resources you’ll need, requirements, checklists and application deadline dates:

A major element of the PAVE pathway is the Evaluated Clinical Experience (ECE) – this comprises a full academic year alongside final year veterinary students at an accredited veterinary school. ECE candidates follow the same rotations and are evaluated in the same way as these students. Penn Vet is pleased to be able to offer ECE places each year.

Penn Vet Evaluated Clinical Year: Program Overview

Founded in 1884, the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania – Penn Vet – is one of the world’s premier veterinary schools. You can find out more about Penn Vet’s mission, and its history here.

For PAVE students, the clinical year runs from May to May, and it consists of 17 x 3-week timeframes. The PAVE program always starts in timeframe 2 of the summer trimester and ends in timeframe 1 of the following summer. For the 2025-26 PAVE cohort, the last day of the final rotation is May 25, 2026 (it’s a Monday this year, because it coincides with Memorial Day).

The candidate selection process is now complete for 2026-27. To apply for the following academic year, 2027-28, please first read the guidance, including a link to estimated fees, here. (If we already hold your application from previous years, this is being stored securely for consideration for the next intake, unless you have notified us otherwise.)

The clinical year will be spent at the main campus, the Ryan Hospital, in the heart of the city of Philadelphia, home to the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution; some clinical rotations will take place at the 700-acre large animal facility, New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, PA.

Penn Vet students interact with clinicians, patients and owners, and are required to participate in out-of-hours cover.

You’ll find more information about the ECE at Penn Vet in our FAQs. Note that the AAVSB has posted a warning about the very high volume of PAVE inquiries, and this is certainly true for Penn Vet.