The biggest breakthroughs in health—whether it’s tackling cancer, stopping a virus, or transforming food systems—don’t happen in isolation. The biggest impacts come from people who can connect science with care, and discovery with delivery. We prepare these scholars through the College of Veterinary Medicine dual-degree DVM-PhD program.

These students are preparing for careers that extend beyond clinical practice. They are future scientists, public health experts, innovators, and leaders. Through this rigorous program, they’re trained to diagnose disease in the clinic and pursue answers in the lab. They study cancer, zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging technologies—then bring that knowledge into the real world, where it’s needed most.

This program doesn’t just shape careers. It multiplies impact. Each graduate goes on to touch hundreds, even thousands, of lives through research, patient care, and the students and scientists they mentor. One student can change a field. One student can change a system.

This mission hits close to home for the College’s dean, Dr. Kim Dodd—herself a graduate of a dual-degree veterinary program. As a student, she completed her PhD at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she developed and patented a vaccine for a virus that threatens both livestock and human health. She traveled to Africa during the Ebola outbreak, conducting diagnostic testing in a tent. “I was still a student,” she says, “but I had the opportunity to help protect lives on a global scale. That experience changed the trajectory of my career—and my sense of what was possible.”

That’s why this program is such a priority for her today. As a College, we’re inspired to ensure that our DVM-PhD students discover their passions, pursue once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and believe they can change the world—because they can. We know from experience that these students are the leaders of tomorrow.

But the path is long, the training is intense, and the financial barriers are steep. These challenges all too often force genuinely brilliant and resilient students to choose shorter, less research-intensive paths. This is a missed opportunity.

Your support can change that.

With philanthropic investment, MSU can remove those financial barriers, attract exceptional candidates, and give them the resources they need to thrive. Because every DVM-PhD student we support today becomes a catalyst for a healthier, more innovative tomorrow—for animals, people, and entire communities.

Goal: $22 million

Interested in making a difference? Contact the Development Team.