Animal welfare course syllabus

Woman giving presentation from a lectern

Teaching about animal welfare is key in providing a complete education in veterinary medicine. This model animal welfare syllabus serves as a guide to meet the core competencies that students need to learn. These competencies, outlined in JAVMA in 2017, provide students a solid framework to protect animal welfare in any field of veterinary medicine.

The syllabus is a template that can be modified and customized for a variety of uses. Faculty might use it to develop individual lectures, sections of existing courses, or standalone courses of varying credit hours. Other possible modifications include:

  • Add or delete examples as needed to suit the needs of your course.
  • Provide in-depth information about one species, multiple species, or an overview of welfare in all major species.

Designed as a practical tool for professors at the college and university level, the template also can be used in a variety of other settings, including development of continuing education (CE) courses for veterinary professionals.

The template includes sample course materials developed by the AVMA and others. If you have suggestions for additional materials to include, or other ways to modify the syllabus, please email animalwelfareatavma [dot] org (animalwelfare[at]avma[dot]org).

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