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RCVS extends conditional accreditation of Cambridge vet degree for a year to allow for further improvements
25 November 2025
The RCVS Education Committee has today [Tuesday 25 November 2025] decided to grant conditional accreditation for a further year to the veterinary degree offered by the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, to allow for further improvements to be made to meet accreditation standards.
In November 2024, the RCVS Education Committee agreed to grant the veterinary degree conditional accreditation following an accreditation visitation earlier that year that found wide-ranging deficiencies with the degree meant it only met 27 of the 77 RCVS accreditation standards. Some 55 recommendations for improvement were made by the visitation panel.
"We appreciate the considerable efforts and hard work that the Cambridge staff team have put into rectifying many of the issues identified in 2024, for taking on board the constructive advice, and working together to make many of the necessary improvements."
A subsequent accreditation visitation was planned and took place in September 2025. This visitation found that, while there remained a significant number of standards still to be met, many of the recommendations for improvement had either been achieved, or significant progress had been made towards them being met.
Therefore, the Education Committee decided to grant the programme conditional accreditation for one year, with an action plan and timetable being put into place to guide how and when the 20 outstanding recommendations would be met.
The next accreditation visit to Cambridge will take place in October 2026. It was agreed that this timeframe and accreditation status would ensure that progress towards meeting accreditation standards continued at pace, allowing the Department to demonstrate its commitment to student wellbeing and support for learning across the entirety of the veterinary programme.
An RCVS spokesperson said: “We appreciate the considerable efforts and hard work that the staff team within the veterinary department at Cambridge University have put into rectifying many of the issues identified in the 2024 accreditation event, for taking on board the constructive advice that was given and working together to make many of the necessary improvements.
“However, as the report shows, there are still several outstanding areas of concern, and so the Education Committee agreed that it was not yet in a position to grant Cambridge’s veterinary degree full accreditation.
“We have collaborated with Cambridge on putting together an action plan and timeline for meeting the 20 remaining recommendations and we hope that it will continue on its current trajectory towards meeting the RCVS accreditation standards.”
The list of recommendations, suggestions and commendations for the Department following the visit in September 2025 are available to read in the full report to the Education Committee.
Frequently asked questions
If the school goes into terminal accreditation will I be able to practise as a veterinary surgeon upon graduation?
If the school is unable to ensure the relevant standards are met, the RCVS may ask Privy Council to suspend or revoke the Recognition Order (RO) for the programme. If the RO is suspended or revoked, students graduating from the programme will not be automatically eligible to register as an MRCVS and would need to pass the RCVS Statutory Membership Examination after they have graduated.
What does this mean for me?
The RCVS is working closely with your Department heads to ensure that all students are informed and supported during this time. Your day-to-day classes and programme will continue as normal whilst the Department is working on making improvements to the programme. However, if you are worried you should contact your university support services. Emotional and mental health support for veterinary students is also available via the Vetlife charity’s free, confidential helpline on 0303 040 2551.
I am a Cambridge veterinary graduate, will this outcome devalue my qualification?
If your programme was accredited when you graduated, your degree will carry the same value as any other RCVS-accredited veterinary degree.
How does the RCVS accreditation process work?
In order for someone to work as a vet in the UK, they must be registered as a Member of the RCVS (MRCVS). To be eligible to register, the individual must either hold a veterinary degree that is recognised by us (via accreditation or other arrangement) or they must pass our Statutory Membership Examination.
Those studying in the UK, are automatically eligible to register if their UK veterinary degree is accredited by the RCVS. RCVS accreditation of a new veterinary degree enables a Recognition Order (RO) to be granted by the Privy Council that allows graduates from the programme to be automatically eligible to register, become an MRCVS and obtain a licence to practise.
In order for veterinary degrees to be accredited by the RCVS, they need to meet the required 2023 Standards and Methodology. This is checked through both accreditation events (where an accreditation panel visits the school/department to check they are meeting the standards) and through yearly reports, that all programmes must complete.
What happens next?
The Department at Cambridge University has been notified that it must address the issues identified with the programme in the latest accreditation visit and meet the accreditation standards by October 2026. They will be able to share evidence with us that progress has been made – using an online secure repository - from now until the panel re-visits the Department in October 2026, where further evidence will be collected in relation to how standards are being met.
If, following consideration of the accreditation report, it is decided by RCVS committees that the standards have been met, then the RCVS will accredit the programme and continue to monitor things as usual. However, if the committees review the evidence and decide the Department has not met the standards, they may decide to award the VetMB programme a classification of ‘Terminal accreditation’.
I am a student currently enrolled on the VetMB programme… what are the implications of conditional accreditation or terminal accreditation for me?
While the programme has conditional accreditation, students successfully graduating from the programme will remain eligible to automatically register with the RCVS, and this will continue if the degree programme remains accredited after the October 2026 visit.
If, following the accreditation event in October 2026, the programme is awarded ‘terminal accreditation’ the Department will no longer be able to enrol new students onto the programme, and they must ensure that the standards needed to allow all currently enrolled students to complete the programme and graduate are maintained.