Combined Anatomic Pathology Residency

Residency + Master of Veterinary Anatomic Pathology

Residents will enter in a professionally oriented master’s degree and residency program. This training will prepare residents to take the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) board examination and pursue a successful career in the fields of diagnostic, industry, or academic pathology.

Residents train in the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL), a full service veterinary diagnostic laboratory under the guidance of approximately 10 ACVP board-certified pathologists, a ACVM board-certified microbiologist, and a American Board of Veterinary Toxicology (ABVT) board-certified toxicologist. WADDL is fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and is housed in a new state-of-the-art facility. Trainees are exposed to a highly diverse diagnostic caseload that includes submissions from the veterinary teaching hospital, private clinics, livestock and poultry producers, lab animal researchers, commercial fisheries, zoos, and regional wildlife services.

The professionally oriented master’s degree program will prepare students to engage in data analysis and scholarly activity/research. The program will culminate in a master’s special project that may include pathology case reports, case series, pathology-focused collaborative research projects or retrospective studies of diagnostic case material.

Pathology Residency + Master’s Degree

Years123
Path. activities100%100%100%
Courses* and activities-Anatomic pathology seminar
-Introduction to Histopathology
-Statistics
-Anatomic pathology seminar
-Teaching assistant
-Anatomic pathology seminar
-Master's project
MilestonesACVP phase 1 examACVP phase 2 exam
Necropsy50 days42 days34 days
Biopsies375480630

Additional courses are available and may be taken in accordance with resident interests


Residency + sequential PhD in Biomedical Sciences

Residents with an interest in biomedical research will have the opportunity and be encouraged to pursue PhD training following the completion of their residency.

Program emphases in infections disease research

  • Diagnosis and control of emerging diseases
  • Pathogenesis
  • Host defense mechanisms
  • Controlling disease at the human-animal interface

Residents can pursue a PhD with faculty in any WSU College of Veterinary Medicine department. Our faculty are internationally recognized and experienced in mentoring trainees in state-of-the-art laboratories well-funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). For qualified applicants, research opportunities are also available within the USDA Agricultural Research Service Animal Diseases Research Unit.