The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) was formed in 1966 by the deans of the 18 U.S. and three Canadian veterinary colleges. During the 1970s, AAVMC's membership expanded to include the departments of veterinary science in colleges of agriculture. Angell Animal Medical Center was granted membership in the mid-1980s, and the category of membership expanded to"other veterinary medical education organizations"in 2001. Departments of comparative medicine were added in the mid-1990s. International AVMA-accredited schools were first admitted in the 1990s as non-voting affiliate members; they became voting members in 2007. Non-AVMA-accredited schools were granted non-voting affiliate status in 2007 as well.
Today, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges coordinates the affairs of all 28 U.S. veterinary medical colleges, all five Canadian colleges of veterinary medicine, nine U.S. departments of veterinary science, eight U.S. departments of comparative medicine, eight international veterinary schools, three veterinary medical education organizations, and four affiliate international veterinary schools. The association represents more than 4,000 faculty, 5,000 staff, 10,000 veterinary students, and 3,000 graduate students at these institutions.
In July 1995, the Association launched its Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). VMCAS is the central distribution, collection, and processing service for applications to the veterinary medical colleges. VMCAS has enjoyed steady growth during its short time in existence, and it is proud to be known as one of the most reliable centralized application services available.
