Students interested in veterinary technology have the opportunity to take courses that will help them decide if they want to apply for the limited enrollment professional portion of the program. Veterinary technicians and veterinarians working together form an effective, highly sophisticated animal health care team. Each has their own roles, responsibilities, and educational requirements. Veterinary technicians are the veterinary equivalents of the nurses and technical support personnel in a human hospital. They perform many of the same kinds of activities as human nurses, radiography technicians, medical technologists, anesthetists, and surgical technicians.
Veterinarians are the veterinary equivalents of human medical doctors.
Their role is to diagnose diseases, perform surgery, and prescribe medications. They have overall responsibility for patient care. NDSU offers a pre-veterinary medicine program in the Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences. The Veterinary Technology Program is part of the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, which is housed in Hultz Hall on the NDSU Campus. The program facility, however, is in Robinson Hall located on the west edge of campus.