Do you love caring for animals? Would you like to find a way to turn your interests into a career path that’s growing by leaps and bounds? Think about training to be a veterinary technician!
The Veterinary Technology program, unique to Cedar Valley College in the district, offers both a campus-based program and distance education program so that you can complete your degree or certificate the way that’s most convenient for you. Our accreditation assures that you’ll have eligibility for credentialing, no matter where you work as a veterinary technician.
Accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) since 1978, our program is also accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), which partners with Cedar Valley College to offer the distance education component of our Vet Tech program.
Campus Program
Cedar Valley College has offered an on-campus Veterinary Technology program, accredited by the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) since 1978, a year after the college opened in Lancaster, just south of downtown Dallas.
The associate degree program consists of a 72-credit-hour course of study. Program graduates are eligible to take the Texas Examination for Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVT) and the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE). Both exams are required for registration in the state of Texas and the VTNE is required for credentialing as a technician by several other states.
The two Veterinary Assistant certificates, with a specialization in either large or small animals, each comprise 20 credit hours of study, with 10 hours in general education courses and 10 hours within the major area of study.
Distance Education Veterinary Technology Program (DEVTP)
In 1995, DCCCD created the Global Learning Network, an integrated virtual learning environment including communications support for distance learning courses. The distance education Veterinary Technology program (DEVTP), jointly developed and offered by Cedar Valley College and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), enrolled its first students in September 1998.
The DEVTP program became accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 2001 and is one of only nine distance veterinary technology education programs in the country to receive this distinction. The program enrolls more than 700 students per semester from across the country and abroad through courses offered three times a year, in the fall, spring and summer semesters.
Learn more about the distance education Veterinary Technology program.
Degree and Certificate Options
All Veterinary Technology program applicants should have a solid academic background in English, mathematics and the biological sciences.
The campus-based program offers an associate degree and two certificate options:
Distance Education Degree and Certificate Options
The distance education program offers the associate degree and two different certificate options, granted jointly by Cedar Valley College and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)
Other Degree and Certificate Options
The Dallas County Community College District offers nearly 350 career and technical degrees and certificates, plus 36 academic degrees. For more information, see a chart of our degree plans by location.