Category: Program Updates

Megan Garcia has spent most of her life in veterinary medicine. Her mom owns a small animal practice in Illinois, and Megan started working there full time at 16. She’s logged more than 10,000 hours of hands-on experience.

So what could a Master of Veterinary Science add?

In this episode of Beyond the Classroom, Dr. Maria Juarez Byrd talks with Megan about her year in the online accelerated MVS. Through problem-based learning, Megan learned to slow down and ask what is actually happening in the body, instead of jumping to the diagnosis she’d seen a hundred times. That shift paid off quickly. After working through a class case on syncope, she recognized the same pattern in a patient at her mom’s clinic and asked the question that changed the diagnosis.

Megan also shares how weekly meetings with Dr. Byrd through the MVS Writing Club reshaped her approach to the personal statement. She started by writing about 20 pages of stories, then cut them down to the moments that showed who she is, not just what she saw. She stays to the end of the episode to read her own personal statement intro.

If you’re preparing for vet school and wondering whether experience alone is enough, Megan’s story shows what happens when experience meets a new way of thinking.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• Why Megan chose the online accelerated MVS
• How problem-based learning moved her beyond pattern recognition
• The classroom case that helped her catch a diagnosis at her mom’s clinic
• How learning issues work, and her favorite one
• Her method for turning 20 pages into a 3,000-character personal statement
• Why the best volunteer work is the kind you actually care about
• Her advice for anyone considering the MVS

ABOUT BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Beyond the Classroom is a video series from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine featuring the real stories of Master of Veterinary Science students, alumni, and faculty.

👉 Talk with our team: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/contact-us/
👉 Apply: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/apply-now/

If you’re considering the 100% online Applied Veterinary Science major within the Master of Veterinary Science degree, you may be wondering: What does the capstone look like? 

The online capstone isn’t a traditional research project. Instead, it gives you an opportunity to take what you’ve learned throughout the program and put it to work on real-world veterinary science problems. 

Here’s what you need to know.

You won’t be looking for one “right” answer 

Veterinary problems rarely have simple solutions. 

Animal health can intersect with environmental conditions, economics, human behavior, public health, access to resources, and competing priorities. A solution that makes sense scientifically may not always be practical in the real world. 

That’s the challenge at the center of the capstone. 

You’ll work through veterinary science scenarios that require you to look beyond a single diagnosis or body system and consider the larger picture. 

You’ll ask questions like: What’s really contributing to this problem? Who is affected? What information are we missing? What does the evidence tell us? And what solutions are both innovative and feasible? 

You’ll build the evidence yourself 

You won’t be handed everything you need to solve the problem. 

You’ll identify what you know—and what you still need to know. Then you’ll investigate, evaluate sources, challenge assumptions, and use evidence to build a deeper understanding of the situation. 

As new information emerges, your understanding of the problem may change. 

That’s intentional. 

The goal is to practice moving from knowing veterinary science to using veterinary science to solve problems. 

You’ll learn to see the whole system 

A major part of the capstone is systems thinking. 

Instead of looking at an animal health issue in isolation, you’ll consider the animals, people, communities, environments, resources, and other factors connected to it. 

You may discover that changing one part of a system creates consequences somewhere else—or that the most scientifically interesting solution isn’t necessarily the most realistic one. 

Learning to recognize those connections is an important part of thinking like an animal health professional. 

You’ll work as part of a team 

The online capstone is a collaborative experience. 

You’ll work with other students who bring different experiences, perspectives, and ways of thinking to the problem. One person may identify evidence others missed. Another may question an assumption. Someone else may recognize a human, economic, or environmental factor the group hasn’t considered. 

Together, you’ll investigate, discuss, reconsider, and ultimately develop and defend potential solutions. 

The experience puts your knowledge, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills into practice at the same time. 

You’ll leave with skills you can use wherever you go next 

For many Applied Veterinary Science students, veterinary school is part of the dream. For others, the program helps uncover different possibilities across the animal health industry. 

Wherever you’re headed, the capstone gives you an opportunity to practice evaluating evidence, communicating ideas, collaborating with others, navigating uncertainty, and developing solutions that can work in the real world. 

The capstone isn’t about proving how much veterinary science you’ve memorized. 

It’s about discovering what you can do with what you’ve learned. 

Study here. Exceed everywhere.  

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About Beyond The Classroom

Beyond the Classroom is a video series from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine featuring the real stories of Master of Veterinary Science students, alumni, and faculty.

👉 Talk with our team
👉 Applied Veterinary Science Online
👉 Master of Veterinary Science 
👉 College of Veterinary Medicine

Danielle Henry’s path to veterinary school wasn’t a straight line. It was more than 20 applications, years of persistence, and a decision to invest in herself differently.

Today she’s a third-year student at the University of Michigan College of Veterinary Medicine, earning thousands of dollars in DVM scholarships, and thriving academically. But before Michigan, there was the Master of Veterinary Science program at Illinois, and in this episode of Beyond the Classroom, Danielle talks openly about what that experience actually did for her.

She walks through how the Master of Veterinary Science prepared her for vet school’s curriculum, how she strengthened her applications after years of rejection, and what her mindset looked like going into what became her final application cycle. She also shares what the Michigan interview process was like and the moment she found out she got in.

If you’ve ever wondered whether another degree is worth it, or whether persistence alone is enough, Danielle’s answer is nuanced and will provide insight that will help others.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• How Danielle found the Master of Veterinary Science program and why she chose it
• What Problem-Based Learning is — and how it mirrors vet school
• How the MVS curriculum prepares you for the pace and structure of a DVM program
• What she did differently to strengthen her applications
• Her experience interviewing at Michigan — including the pre-interview email
• The moment she got her acceptance
• Her closing words for anyone still in the thick of it

ABOUT BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Beyond the Classroom is a video series from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine featuring the real stories of Master of Veterinary Science students, alumni, and faculty.

👉 Talk with our team: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/contact-us/
👉 Apply: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/apply-now/

Five years ago, the Master of Veterinary Science program welcomed its first cohort: eight students, one pathway. This year, Online Programs and Extension supports 199 students across six degree and certificate pathways.

A New Way to Complete the MVS Online

Our biggest update: a one-year online pathway built around the veterinary school admissions timeline. Students start in May and finish within a calendar year: 12 credit hours over the summer, then 10 in each of fall and spring, culminating in a capstone project.

It’s accelerated and intentionally rigorous. Students should expect to work hard and think independently, with a team of faculty and staff helping them stay on track.

Growing Without Losing What Matters

As enrollment has grown, we’ve protected what makes the program work: personal connection. Foundational courses maintain roughly a 1:8 instructor-to-student ratio. Maintaining that model has meant growing our team too: more faculty, facilitators and staff, along with continued investment in academic advising, student support and individualized learning.

Students earned an average 3.79 GPA in Spring 2026, while juggling coursework, jobs, research and vet school applications.

What’s Ahead

We’ll welcome new students online and on campus, support returning students toward graduation, and keep building learning experiences that extend beyond a traditional classroom.

Interested in what comes next? Explore our MVS and Certificate in Veterinary Science pathways and meet our faculty and staff.