For students with little or no research experience we offer a 12-week mentored summer research program in which students get mentored experience in a laboratory (or other research setting) as well as weekly or biweekly meetings of all participating students for seminars, workshops, and field trips. Approximately 35 students participate in this program each summer. Competitive pay for this summer internship is based on the National Institutes of Health pay scale for predoctoral trainees. This program is designed for the summer(s) following a student's first or second year of veterinary school.

For students wishing to pursue graduate training while in veterinary school we offer a one-year research experience after semester 5 of veterinary school. During this year, students temporarily discontinue the veterinary curriculum and instead conduct research and take graduate (MS or PhD) level courses. After 12 months the students re-enter the veterinary curriculum and complete their veterinary studies. The research year comes at a natural point in the DVM curriculum as semesters 1 through 5 are didactic classes and laboratories, while the remaining 3 semesters of the DVM curriculum are conducted in 3-week clerkships. During the research year students can complete the degree requirements for an MS degree, or after completing veterinary school they may continue those studies at the PhD level. In that case a student should be able to complete a PhD degree 2 or 3 years following completion of veterinary school. The 12-month research program described here is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and participating students receive a stipend of about $20,000 during their research year. Furthermore, their graduate school tuition (but not veterinary school tuition) is paid by the grant. Students apply to this program in year 2 of the DVM program.

During the 12-month research experience described above, the student may study with a faculty member from MSU, or alternatively we can assist the student with an application for a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Fellowship, in which case the student can make arrangements to study with a faculty member from a different (non-MSU) institution. A research year after semester 5 can also be taken at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD in their Research Scholars Program. This is a cloister program where the students live on the NIH campus with other DVM, MD, DO, or DDS students participating in the one-year research experience. Students enrolled in dual-degree programs (DVM/MS, DVM/PhD) or already possessing a PhD are not eligible for this program. Both the HHMI Fellowship and the NIH cloister program offer a competitive stipend, and the NIH program covers housing costs. Arrangements regarding transfer of credits between institutions would have to be made for students participating in the HHMI program if a degree (MS or PhD) is desired.