Dean’s Message

The Graduate School of Veterinary Science and the School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University, which was founded through the integration of Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University, can trace their history to 1883, when the Osaka Veterinary Training Institute was established. After becoming part of Osaka Prefecture University, the institute’s successor experienced various curricular and organizational changes before the establishment of the current School of Veterinary Science. Those changes included the adoption of a six-year curriculum (combining a four-year undergraduate program and a two-year Master’s program) as a result of a revision to the Veterinarians Act in 1978; the launch of an integrated six-year undergraduate program in 1984; the launch of a four-year doctoral program in 1990; renaming as the Department of Veterinary Science at Graduate School of Agriculture and the reorganization of the graduate school and the undergraduate faculty in the wake of Osaka Prefecture University’s shift to an incorporated Public University Cooperation in 2005; and the department’s shift to become part of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences in 2012. During that period, the Department of Veterinary Science of Osaka Prefecture University was relocated to Rinku Town in 2009. The new School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University remains at Rinku Campus and conducts education and research activities there.
There are a wide variety of fields where veterinarians and veterinary scientists can pursue their careers, including not only clinical treatment of small animals but also human-health and other fields, such as animal biotechnology, paramedical fields, wild-animal-related fields, livestock industries, fisheries, and public health. This means that veterinarians and specialists in veterinary science contribute to building a better society where people can live healthily with companion animals, developing safe pharmaceuticals (for humans and animals) and chemicals, conserving ecosystems, protecting wild animals, preventing environmental destruction, producing foods (especially as protein sources) and ensuring food safety, preventing the outbreak of infectious diseases, inspecting incoming animals from abroad, and eliminating zoonoses, or infectious diseases transmissible between animals and humans.
The School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University aims to receive accreditation from the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE). Standard veterinary education in Europe is of high quality, especially in clinical education, where hands-on learning approaches are actively adopted to enable students to increase their practical skills. We will offer high-quality education modeled after European veterinary education to develop human resources with a high level of practical skills. It is expected that, after completing our curriculum, students will bring their expertise to bear on professional activities in international settings, for example, in international organizations. In addition, the School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University collaborates with other higher education institutions and laboratories of local governments and research institutions in Osaka Prefecture and the rest of the Kansai region. Therefore, we can offer hands-on education in cooperation with regional society to enable students to acquire practical skills. Furthermore, the School of Veterinary Science is located in the metropolis of Osaka, where people, animals, and food have created complex networks of various mutual relationships. We will take advantage of this regional characteristic to establish practical veterinary education and develop veterinarians who can demonstrate their capabilities especially in resolving problems in urban areas.
The Graduate School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University originated from the two-year Master’s Program (established in 1955) and the three-year Doctoral Program (established in 1964) in the Department of Veterinary Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Prefecture University. Those graduate programs experienced many organizational changes before the establishment of the current Graduate School of Veterinary Science, including the Doctoral Program’s shift to a four-year program under a new system in 1990 and the department’s shift to become part of the Graduate School of Life and environmental Sciences in 2005. -
Veterinary science is comprehensive animal science with veterinary medicine as its core. It is an academic discipline for creating a society where animals, humans, and the environment can coexist and prosper in mutual harmony. To achieve this, specialists in veterinary science apply their expertise mainly in veterinary medicine, underpinned by their knowledge of animal life sciences.
The Graduate School of Veterinary Science awards degrees to globally competent human resources who have acquired veterinary knowledge and skills. We will develop human resources who can leverage their expertise in a wide range of fields, such as biotechnology, including its application to pharmaceuticals, safety assessment of animal food products, diagnosis and prevention of zoonoses, solutions to environmental pollution, countermeasures against emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, advanced veterinary medicine, healthcare for companion animals and human mental health based on relationships therewith, and bioethics.
The Graduate School of Veterinary Science and the School of Veterinary Science of Osaka Metropolitan University welcome young talents who are interested in veterinary science and want to become veterinarians or veterinary scientists who can protect the health of people and animals and contribute to building a safer and more secure society.