Program Description

The Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University (CSU) offers a 3-year clinical residency in Equine Theriogenology that will start July 15^th, 2026.  The goals of the program are to provide the candidate with an opportunity to develop significant clinical expertise in all areas of equine reproduction, promote comparative species training opportunities to enhance skills and prepare for the American College of Theriogenology (ACT) board examination, and equip residents for a future career in academic or specialty private practice.  Residents are expected to be active participants in ongoing programs in clinical equine reproduction, teaching, continuing education, and research.  The program will have 3 house officers with a new resident onboarding each July.  Consequently, at any given time there should be a third year, a second year and a first year Equine Theriogenology resident.  The residency program is primarily housed at the Equine Reproduction Center on the Foothills Campus of Colorado State University, but as stated, additional species training will occur in various locations both at CSU and off-site as needed.

Employment

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Financial Support, Tuition, Fees, Salary and Health Insurance

Salary Support:

Salaries for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year residents are currently $ 54,540 $ 56,358 and $ 58,429 per year, respectively, prior to mandatory deductions for taxes and retirement. This may be adjusted in the future by the university.

Tuition:

Tuition for the master’s degree will be provided by Colorado State University.

Benefits

Postdoctoral Fellows (Veterinary Residents) with appointments of half-time or greater are eligible for a suite of benefits including  Medical, Dental, Vision, and Disability Insurance, Life and Voluntary Accidental Death Insurance, participation in Flexible Spending Reimbursement Accounts, Sick Leave accrual and Employee Study Privilege. Enrollment in a retirement plan is required and is effective upon the date of employment and includes an employer match starting in year 2 of at least half-time employment.

More information can be obtained from the CSU Benefits Office and Human Resources Office

Licensure

A veterinary resident will either have to obtain an Academic Veterinarian License or a standard State of Colorado Veterinary License to practice at Colorado State University.  Guidelines for obtaining an Academic Veterinarian License are outlined in the box below. 

Professional Meetings and Miscellaneous Support

• The Department of Clinical Sciences and the Equine Reproduction Laboratory will provide combined funding for one domestic professional meeting in the second or third year of the residency. Funding will include travel (i.e., economy air), registration, housing and meals.  Residents are encouraged to attend the annual conference of either the American Association of Equine Practitioners or the Society for Theriogenology. Limited funding may also be available to attend other meetings as well.
• The ERC will also provide limited funding for clothing to be worn during clinical service duties (i.e., work shirts, vests and/or jackets).

Memberships in Professional Organizations

Residents are encouraged to become members of the Society for Theriogenology (SFT), the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), or International Embryo Technology Society (IETS) amongst others.  Residents are responsible for providing their own funding for membership in these organizations.

Board Certification Program

Residents are strongly encouraged to register for and actively study for the certifying examination for the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT) concurrent to their residency training program.  Residents qualify to take the examination after successful completion of the second year of the residency program or may elect to take the exam after the residency program is completed.  The current exam breakdown includes exam questions on: Equine (35%), canine (25%), and bovine (20%); with the remaining breakdown covering caprine, ovine, feline, general reproduction, swine and camelids.  Protected time for house officers to prepare for the exam is built into the program, along with opportunity to participate with board preparation rounds and journal club.

Scheduling and Expectations

Each house officer will rotate continuously through 4-week blocks in an effort to maintain both a productive and sustainable experience.  Throughout this system, time will be built in to include research (2-10 weeks), board preparation (2-10 weeks), continued education (1-2 weeks) and vacation 2 weeks annually.  Time devoted to each endeavor will depend upon the seniority of the house officer each year.  It should be noted that the seasonality of our work requires the veterinary team to work 7 days a week.  House officers are on call for 2-3 days in a row at a time, with shared time off-call to offset the busy schedule.  We support our house officers to utilize their time both here and away in the most efficient and productive manner.

Graduate Program

Degree:

Residents in equine reproduction will concurrently be enrolled in a master’s degree (Plan B or non-thesis master’s program).  This is a requirement for a foreign veterinary candidate to continuously support their visa status at Colorado State University. The master’s program involves coursework, active participation in research projects, and preparation of one (or more) manuscripts for publication based on original research, case reports, retrospective studies, or review articles.  Although no thesis needs to be written or defended, the resident is expected to present results of their research project(s) at a departmental (Clinical Sciences) seminar. 

Course Credits:

Information on number of credits and type of credits for course work, research and other academic endeavors is available through the Department of Clinical Sciences. Currently, graduate student requirements consist of:

• At least 16 credits must be in 500 or higher level courses; of the 16 credits, at least 12 credits must be in 500 or higher level regular courses
• 30 credit hours total

Publication(s):

Per the 2022 American College of Theriogenology section C.5.b: Each trainee must publish one (1) peer reviewed or otherwise referred manuscript related to the discipline of Theriogenology.  The trainee must be the first author of the manuscript.  Publications may be original research, a clinical case report, or an in depth review article.  Abstracts are not acceptable to fulfill this requirement.           

Application Materials

Applications for the residency program should include the following:

1. a) Letter of intent
2. b) Resume or curriculum vitae
3. c) Transcripts from veterinary school
4. d) Three (3) letters of recommendation

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