As part of the Veterinary Science Semester in Thailand, all students will take the following classes that have been built into the program and itinerary.

Students will take one course at a time and as a cohort.

Please note: Although the order may differ, all of the following courses are included in your semester abroad.

Thai Life and Culture - 3 Credits

This course will prepare you for the rest of the courses and adventures to come! Gain an understanding of the culture and language that will be surrounding you as you work with animals in Thailand.

During this course, you'll receive daily Thai language lessons. You will continue using and building on your Thai language skills as you live and work in Thailand throughout the rest of the semester. Even though your courses will all be taught in English, you'll find basic Thai very useful. Through the readings and cultural experiences you will understand Thailand's unique culture and history, with a special attention to how these issues relate to caring for animals. You'll have unique experiences and opportunities to immerse yourself into Thai Culture and get to know Chiang Mai, your host city, including a Thai cooking class, overnight jungle hot springs excursions, and a conversation with a Buddhist monk.

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Companion Animal Management - 3 Credits

This two-week course is taught by a veterinarian (DVM) at the Dog Rescue Clinic. This class focuses on canine and feline anatomy, health, and management. This is a unique opportunity for hands-on learning in a small group setting with your veterinarian instructor.

You'll compare US and Thai medical practices, environments, and techniques for prevention and treatment of common diseases and parasites. Your classroom is a working dog shelter, different from those in the US so you will observe many conditions specific to Southeast Asia and subtropical developing countries. You will also learn proper techniques for treating animals in a shelter setting, including diagnostics such as physical exams, cytologies, and basic treatment methods.

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Veterinary Surgical Nursing - 2 Credits

This one-week course is an introduction to supporting veterinarians during surgical procedures, including the instruments, procedures, protocols, skills and concepts needed to be successful.

Throughout the course, you will demonstrate proficiency in identifying and preparing instruments and supplies, implementing and maintaining sterility and appropriate clinic conditions, upholding OSHA safety standards, suturing, drug dosage calculation, monitoring anesthesia, and post-operative care. To ensure that you are prepared for a US veterinary profession, you will learn and be tested on both US and Thai surgical instruments and methods. By the end of the course, you'll be able to assist and observe as your instructor performs surgeries.

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Veterinary Clinical Practice and Skills - 2 Credits

During this two-week course you will apply all that you've learned in the preceding courses by assisting at an operational small animal clinic. You will be assigned a daily shift where you'll support a veterinarian in examination, diagnosis, and treatment of clinic patients.

Working in a small animal clinic in the developing world provides you with great learning opportunities as you navigate unique challenges in every facet of clinical practice. From resource allocation to diagnostic test choices, from maintaining sterility to cultural sensitivity- there is truly no shortage of experience to gain while helping the local animals and community of Chiang Mai.

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Elephant Management and Medicine - 3 credits

It is time to meet the elephants! During this course, you will work with elephants in different capacities and settings, depending on the needs of our partners. These include:

• Elephant Nature Park: a world-renowned elephant sanctuary in the mountains of Chiang Mai
• Elephants World: a fast-growing rescue sanctuary in Kanchanaburi province
• Ran-tong Save and Rescue Elephant Center: a small elephant rescue center in the Mae Taeng river valley

Throughout this course, you will have the unique opportunity to observe management decisions and conditions first-hand. Taught by a veterinarian (DVM), this course focuses on shelter design, sanitation, legal issues, animal quality of life, enrichment, and euthanasia.

You will truly be surrounded by elephants, with elephants around every corner at both organizations. You'll study elephant anatomy, behavior, care, and their position in Thai and global society. You will shadow and assist elephant veterinarians, trainers, and caretakers, and interact with the elephants in both protected and free contact. You may contribute to ongoing research led by the local vet teams.

In addition to your course-work, you and your cohort will work as volunteers, gaining first-hand experience and an understanding of how the facilities are run and how best to work with the animals housed there. This will give you exposure to other animals and valuable experience hours.

Please note: elephant riding is not included in this course or any of our programs. You will learn about why we don't ride elephants.

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Marine Animal Anatomy, Biology, and Conservation with Lab - 3 credits

Partnering with the reef conservation experts of New Heaven Reef Conservation Program, our marine veterinarian instructor will teach both the anatomy and ecology of marine life, from invertebrates to fish, sea turtles, and marine mammals in Koh Tao, Thailand.

During this course you will learn about dissections of marine specimens to understand their anatomy as well as show the challenges of marine medicine. We will also be contributing to conservation projects, including collecting population and health data on the reefs and diverse marine species that call them home and contributing to artificial reef structures that are accelerating the recovery of damaged reefs. This course provides a unique comparison to the many terrestrial animals that you will have studied earlier in the semester. Not to mention, studying marine life on Koh Tao is certainly a valuable experience for those interested in working with marine life.

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Exploring Shallow and Deep Water Marine Life - 1.5 credits

For this course, we head to Turtle Island ("Koh Tao"), an island in the Gulf of Thailand known for its beaches and coral reefs. It's also the regional capital for SCUBA diving!

There's no better way to explore coral reef ecosystems up close than learning to SCUBA dive. You'll have an opportunity to earn both your Open Water and Advanced certifications, including over 9 dives. With your experienced dive instructors, and in groups no larger than 5, you'll start on land learning how to use the equipment and how to stay safe. Then, on each dive, you'll practice a new skill until you're ready to explore the colorful and amazing marine life that inhabits the reefs around Koh Tao.

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Wildlife Conservation and Care - 3 credits

In this two-week course, you will spend at least a week at a wildlife center learning about the challenges of managing a wide variety of exotic species with different needs. This course focuses on basic care, including restraint, physical exams, enrichment, and welfare as well as the big picture of conservation.

This course will help prepare you to think about, understand, and work in wildlife projects and with exotics in the US and abroad. It will also help you build you develop informed perspectives on ecotourism and animal "rescues" worldwide.

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