Graduates of the typical veterinary science course in the UK earn £40,500 five years after graduating, the 3rd highest of the 21 subject areas we compare. The best-paying, Foundation to Veterinary Science (Year 0) at the University of Liverpool, earns £44,500.
Nearly all graduates go straight into practice as vets, in small-animal, farm or equine practice, with smaller numbers in government, research and the food industry.
Graduates of the typical veterinary science course earn £40,500 five years after graduating (£34,000 after 15 months), above the £31,500 median across all subjects and the 3rd highest of the 21 subject areas we compare. Behind that median, its 17 courses range from £25,500 to £44,500: the best-paying earns 1.1 times the typical course.
Only a handful of universities teach veterinary medicine, so there are few courses to compare.
Data last updated · HESA Discover Uni
| Course | After 5 years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundation to Veterinary Science (Year 0) | £44,500 |
| 2 | BVSc Gateway to Veterinary Science | £43,500 |
| 3 | Veterinary Biosciences | £41,500 |
| 4 | Veterinary Medicine and Surgery including a Gateway Year | £40,500 |
| 5 | Veterinary Medicine, VetMB | £40,000 |
| 6 | Veterinary Nursing (CAW - Huntingdon) | £26,000 |
| 7 | MVetPhys Veterinary Physiotherapy | £25,500 |
The best-paying course at each university, ranked by salary five years after graduating. Each figure is the median of each course's own median graduate salary (HESA Discover Uni). Salaries 15 months after graduating come from the Graduate Outcomes survey; three and five years on, from LEO tax data. Joint courses that HESA also files under another subject are left out of this list but appear in the chart below.
A median salary is one number standing in for hundreds of courses. This chart plots every course individually, so you can see the spread behind it: how tightly courses in a subject cluster together, or how far apart the best- and worst-paying ones sit.
Each dot is one course's own median graduate salary (not individual graduates' pay), from the HESA Discover Uni dataset. Courses with a cohort too small to report are excluded, and postgrad/top-up/alternate-entry courses are excluded site-wide. Figures compare courses, not people.
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Each dot is one course, positioned by its salary along the horizontal axis (never shifted by more than one dot-width). Vertical position means nothing. It only spreads dots apart so they don't overlap. Hover a dot for details, or click it to open that course's page.
| Course | Institution | Subject | Salary |
|---|
← See the highest paying degrees across every subject
Not counting joint courses, Foundation to Veterinary Science (Year 0) at the University of Liverpool, whose graduates earn a median £44,500 five years after graduating. Next are BVSc Gateway to Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol (£43,500) and Veterinary Biosciences at the University of Glasgow (£41,500).
Graduates of the typical veterinary science course earn £34,000 15 months after graduating and £40,500 five years after graduating, 19% more than at 15 months. Across all its courses, joint ones included, salaries range from £25,500 to £44,500.
3 of the top 7 courses above ask for between BBC and A*AA at A level. Many also require particular subjects, so check each course's entry requirements.
Yes, on average: it ranks 3rd of the 21 subject areas we compare, with the typical course paying £40,500 five years after graduating against £31,500 across all subjects. Where you study matters too: the best-paying course earns 1.1 times the typical course.