Europe's top-ranked vet schools come with a catch for US students: only one of the five teaches its vet degree in English. This guide is for vet students and future vets, especially US readers, who want to know which European schools rank highest and what it would take to study at one.
We use ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2026 for Veterinary Sciences. Every school fact below comes from the school itself, the European accreditor (EAEVE) or a regulator. Weighing options closer to home? See our Top 5 Vet Schools in the US and our list of veterinary colleges in Australia. If you are still deciding between becoming a vet or a vet tech, start with vet tech vs veterinarian.
How this list was ranked
The GRAS 2026 Veterinary Sciences table ranks 300 universities worldwide. Four Chinese universities hold the world top four (Yangzhou, China Agricultural, Nanjing Agricultural and South China Agricultural), with UC Davis fifth. Europe's best school comes in sixth. These are the five highest-placed European universities:
School | GRAS 2026 world rank | City | Language of the vet degree | Degree length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Veterinary College | #6 | London, UK | English | 5 years |
Ghent University | #9 | Ghent, Belgium | Dutch | 6 years (3 + 3) |
University of Milan | #10 | Lodi, Italy | Italian | 5 years |
University of Bologna | #11 | Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy | Italian | 5 years |
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna | #13 | Vienna, Austria | German | 6 years (12 semesters) |
Know what this ranking measures before you lean on it. GRAS scores research: papers in top journals and in Q1 journals (the top quarter of journals in a field), citation impact, highly cited researchers, award winners, journal editors and international collaboration, based on publications from 2021 to 2025. It does not measure teaching, clinical training, class size or how graduates do after they qualify. The order also shifts from year to year. In the 2025 edition Ghent was 4th and Vienna 6th, so read the list as a snapshot of research strength, not a verdict on where you will learn best.
All five schools are accredited by the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), the body that evaluates vet schools across Europe. The accreditation periods below come from EAEVE's status table, updated after its September 2026 meeting.
1. Royal Veterinary College
The RVC, part of the University of London, is the highest-ranked European school at #6 and the only school in this top five that teaches the vet degree in English.
- Location: London, UK
- Degree: Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVetMed), five years full time. A Veterinary Gateway year and a six-year route with an intercalated degree also lead into it.
- Language: English
- EAEVE: Accredited, May 2025 to May 2032
- AVMA: Accredited. The RVC's 2026-27 international prospectus says the status is currently probationary, under the AVMA standard on NAVLE pass rates. The RVC says this is not an adverse decision and does not affect enrolled students.
For a US student, the RVC is the simplest option here: English teaching and an AVMA-recognized degree. The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) Council on Education accredits vet schools for US licensing, and you would still need to pass the NAVLE, the North American licensing exam. Given the probationary status, check the RVC's standing on the AVMA's list of accredited colleges again before you apply.
2. Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Ghent placed #9 in 2026, down from 4th in 2025.
- Location: Ghent, Belgium
- Degree: a three-year bachelor's in veterinary medicine followed by a three-year master's, a six-year curriculum in total
- Language: Dutch
- Admission: you must pass, and rank well in, the veterinary medicine entrance exam, which expects solid physics, math, chemistry and biology
- EAEVE: Accredited, March 2023 to March 2030
- AVMA: not stated on the school pages we checked; look it up on the AVMA's list
Ghent's research record is strong, but the degree is taught in Dutch. Plan for the language and for the entrance exam.
3. University of Milan, Veterinary Medicine
The University of Milan ranks #10. Its vet degree is taught at the Lodi campus, not in Milan itself.
- Location: Lodi, Italy
- Degree: single-cycle master's in Veterinary Medicine, five years, 300 ECTS credits
- Language: Italian
- EAEVE: Accredited, November 2025 to November 2032
- AVMA: not stated on the school pages we checked; look it up on the AVMA's list
4. University of Bologna, Veterinary Medicine
Bologna sits one place behind Milan at #11, which makes Italy the only country with two schools in Europe's top five.
- Location: Ozzano dell'Emilia campus, near Bologna, Italy
- Degree: single-cycle degree in Veterinary Medicine, five years
- Language: Italian
- Admission: restricted access at national level, with 120 places for 2026/27
- EAEVE: Accredited, March 2024 to March 2031
- AVMA: not stated on the school pages we checked; look it up on the AVMA's list
5. University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Vetmeduni Vienna, a university devoted entirely to veterinary science, ranks #13 after placing 6th in 2025.
- Location: Vienna, Austria
- Degree: Diploma program in Veterinary Medicine, 12 semesters and 360 ECTS credits, leading to the Mag.med.vet. degree
- Language: German. The curriculum offers selected courses in English and aims for about 10% of courses in English.
- EAEVE: Accredited, March 2026 to March 2033
- AVMA: not stated on the school pages we checked; look it up on the AVMA's list
Other strong programs
These schools sit further down the GRAS 2026 table, all still inside the world top 50.
Vetsuisse Faculty Bern and Zurich is the joint veterinary faculty of two Swiss universities. GRAS ranks them separately: the University of Bern at #20 and the University of Zurich at #44. EAEVE accredits Vetsuisse as a single establishment.
The University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies ranks #24. It teaches in English and offers a five-year BVM&S degree plus a four-year graduate entry program. The school says it is accredited by the UK's Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and the AVMA and approved by EAEVE.
Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine ranks #25 and is the only Dutch school on EAEVE's list. It teaches in Dutch, with a three-year bachelor's and a three-year master's. Utrecht says its AVMA accreditation runs until 2031.
Just outside the top five, the Autonomous University of Barcelona ranks #22 and University College Dublin #23.
Can you study veterinary medicine in Europe in English?
Yes, but not at most of the top-ranked schools. Of the five above, only the RVC teaches the vet degree in English. Ghent and Utrecht teach in Dutch, Milan and Bologna in Italian, and Vienna in German, so a non-native speaker would need university-level command of that language first.
In the UK, the RVC and Edinburgh both teach in English. Some schools elsewhere in Europe run programs aimed at international students. The University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, in the GRAS 51-75 band, is one: its admissions pages describe a 5.5-year DVM program, and EAEVE accredits it until September 2030. Whatever school you look at, check three things on its official pages before you apply: the language of instruction, its EAEVE status and, if you want to work in the US, whether it holds AVMA accreditation.
Veterinary Medicine in Europe: The Bigger Picture
Accreditation and Licensing
EAEVE's status table lists 97 European vet schools as full or candidate members, plus 16 associate schools outside Europe. Each school's accreditation has a start and an end date, so check that it covers the years you would graduate.
Where your degree counts depends on where you want to practice:
- European Union: veterinary degrees listed under the EU's professional qualifications directive (2005/36/EC) are recognized automatically in every EU country, because member states share minimum training standards.
- United Kingdom: the RCVS currently accepts degrees from schools that were EAEVE approved or accredited when you graduated. From January 2029, it will accept only programs it accredits directly, and other graduates will need to pass the RCVS statutory exam.
- United States: an AVMA-accredited school is the direct route, and graduates still sit the NAVLE before state licensing boards will license them.
The Profession
The latest FVE survey of the veterinary profession in Europe (VetSurvey 2023, run from October 2022 to April 2023 with 12,397 responses across 37 countries) estimates about 328,494 veterinarians in FVE member countries, or 0.42 per 1,000 people. That is 6% more than in 2018.
The profession is mostly female: 65% of veterinarians are women, rising to 81% among vets with five years' experience or less. The FVE also reports that unemployment has fallen further and that many countries and sectors now face vet shortages.
Where Vets Work
Clinical practice employs 63% of European vets, mostly with small animals. Public service follows at 14%, then education and research at 6% and industry at 4%. Two-thirds (67%) work in the private sector, and 51% work in independent practices.
Pay
European vets earn an average of €48,000 a year (full-time equivalent), but the spread is wide. Vets in Switzerland and Ireland earn the most, over €85,000 a year, while those in Serbia and Romania earn under €14,500. Education and research is the best-paid sector, with a median of €59,000.
How to choose a vet school in Europe
A ranking covers research. Whether a school fits you comes down to four checks:
- Language. Can you study, sit exams and talk to clients in the language of instruction? At most top-ranked schools that means Dutch, Italian or German.
- Where you will work. For the EU, look for a degree listed under the professional qualifications directive; EAEVE accreditation is a separate quality check worth having. For the UK from 2029, check whether the RCVS accredits the program directly. For the US, look for AVMA accreditation and plan for the NAVLE.
- Accreditation dates. Look the school up in EAEVE's status table and check that its accreditation covers your graduation year.
- Length and entry route. Programs run five to six years, and entry can mean an entrance exam or a national restricted-access quota. Read the school's own admissions pages.
If you are still weighing the career itself, read 10 things to consider before becoming a veterinarian.
Sources
- ShanghaiRanking: Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2026, Veterinary Sciences
- ShanghaiRanking: GRAS 2026 methodology
- ShanghaiRanking: Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025, Veterinary Sciences
- EAEVE: ESEVT status of EAEVE establishments (updated after the September 2026 ECOVE meeting)
- Royal Veterinary College: BVetMed programme specification 2026-27
- Royal Veterinary College: International prospectus 2026-27, accreditation
- Ghent University: Bachelor of Science in veterinary medicine (diergeneeskunde)
- Ghent University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Veterinary education
- University of Milan: Veterinary Medicine programme
- University of Bologna: Single cycle degree in Veterinary Medicine 2026/27
- Vetmeduni Vienna: Curriculum, Diploma programme in Veterinary Medicine
- Utrecht University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Education and accreditation
- University of Edinburgh, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies: Admissions presentation 2026
- University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest: Programme details
- European Commission: Automatic recognition of professional qualifications
- RCVS: Registration for vets who qualified in Europe
- Federation of Veterinarians of Europe: VetSurvey 2023
Accreditation and admission rules change, so confirm them with the school and the relevant regulator before you apply.
