Residency and Internship Programs
Zoological and Aquatic Animal Residency Program
This residency with three world-class institutions—the University of Illinois, Brookfield Zoo, and Shedd Aquarium—seeks veterinarians who have the highest standards of scholarship and ethics and who are committed to conservation and animal welfare.
The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with Chicago Zoological Society’s Brookfield Zoo and John G. Shedd Aquarium, offers a three-year residency in Zoological and Aquatic Animal Medicine.
The residency is approved by the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) and is supervised by at least three diplomates of this college. The residency is supported by a minimum eight full-time zoo, aquatic, exotic and wildlife veterinarians between all the facilities. The residency is designed to integrate experiences from all institutions to provide clinical training that will enable the resident to become competent in exotic, zoo, aquatic, and wildlife medicine and to meet the eligibility requirements for certification in the American College of Zoological Medicine. This residency runs simultaneously with the Illinois Zoological Companion Animal Residency.
Residents rotate among the University of Illinois, Brookfield Zoo, and the Shedd Aquarium.
- Residents spend their first year with the Zoological Medicine Service at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana-Champaign.
- The second and third year will be spent rotating between Brookfield Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium, with rotations lasting between 4 to 12 months. Residents will spend approximately 10 to 14 months at each of these facilities.
- Residents also rotate through The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif.
![[Dr. Matthew Allender]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aczm-allender-residency-300x170.jpg)
Dr. Matthew Allender is an assistant professor who founded and co-directs the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory.
The program includes training in research and scholarly writing and requires the completion of a non-thesis or thesis master’s degree, which includes graduate-level coursework (Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Zoological Medicine Seminar, and Special Topics in Zoological Medicine) through the University of Illinois. Residents rotate and regularly interact with the University of Illinois Zoological Pathology Program, which provides primary service to the institutions based in Chicago.
![[Dr. Matt O'Connor]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/alum-oconnor-300x180.jpg)
Dr. Matt O’Connor is senior staff veterinarian at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.
![[Dr. Jen Langan]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aczm-langan-residency-300x200.jpg)
Dr. Jennifer Langan is a clinical professor at the University of Illinois based full-time at Brookfield Zoo.
The position starts in mid July of each year with annual re-appointment for a maximum of three years based on annual performance. Residents will be employed by the College of Veterinary Medicine and compensated on a scale of standard residency programs, which includes benefits with vacation and sick leave accruing monthly. For current annual salaries, please see the listing in the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program.
Applicants must hold a DVM from an AVMA-accredited program and have minimally completed a one-year internship or equivalent practice experience. Licensure to practice or eligibility for licensure in Illinois is needed to apply, with full licensure required before beginning the second year of the residency.
![[Dr. Krista Keller]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aczm-keller-residency-300x181.jpg)
Dr. Krista Keller is an assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.
Read about past residency graduates
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Langan, DVM, Dipl. ACZM
Email: Jennifer.Langan@CZS.org
Matt O’Connor, DVM, MPVM
Email: moconnor@sheddaquarium.org
Krista Keller, DVM, Dipl. ACZM
Email: kak@illinois.edu
Matthew Allender, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACZM
Email: mcallend@illinois.edu
Applications should be submitted through the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program and should include a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, original transcripts, and three letters of reference.