Best Vet Assistant Programs: Top 6 Vet Assisting Programs in 2025
Considering a career as a veterinary assistant? Choosing the right training program is overwhelming in this rapidly expanding field. However, the veterinary industry's continued growth means ample opportunities for animal lovers to transform their passion into a career. It can be difficult to pick the right program depending on the cost, curriculum, location, and student’s individual needs. This guide will help you navigate the best veterinary assistant programs so you can make the most educated decision for your goals in 2025.
What is a veterinary assistant program?
A vet assistant program is a specialized educational program designed to train individuals in professional veterinary assisting. Students should learn the essentials, such as basic animal healthcare, medical terminology, anatomy, pharmacology, office practices, and more. The curriculum typically combines theoretical knowledge with practical, real world experience. Although, most programs are now offered online, making the practical part more of a challenge. Depending on the program, this could be a paid, online course or an in-person, brick-and-mortar school. Successful completion of a veterinary assistant program can be a crucial part of improving vet assistants' career prospects.
What makes a veterinary assisting program the best?
When we look for quality vet assisting programs, we consistently search for the same criteria:
- Curriculum: What will students be learning during the program?
- Cost: How expensive are the courses? Are there financial aid options available?
- Experience: What is the class structure like? Does the school have a positive reputation?
- Bonus features: What makes the program unique?
Overall Best Veterinary Assistant Program
The Academy of Pet Careers
The APC offers everything a student would need to launch their veterinary assistant career: hands-on training, experienced instructors, high quality facilities, job placement assistance, and a supportive community that's passionate about animal healthcare.
Curriculum: The program hits all the marks, from physical exams, to pharmacology, diagnostic imaging, and administrative duties. Students learn laboratory procedures, animal behavior, and even surgical assistance. This program lasts five months and goes beyond typical lectures into practical experience, like Clinic Days where students get to care for real patients in class.
Cost: Program tuition ranges from $15,360 to $19,200. Financial aid, scholarships, loans, and state-funded programs are available to prospective students. We also offer various discounts and promos throughout the year, providing options for those with monetary concerns. We even have housing options for students who may have complications getting to and from class.
Experience: Our vet assisting program is one of the few with in-person classes, giving students a chance to gain valuable, hands-on experience. Students get real-time instruction from qualified instructors and class sizes are kept small. Therefore, each student gets the individual attention they need to be successful. If the student wants to continue on to one of our other programs, they can do so with our multi-program discount.
Bonus features: The comprehensive program contains a dedicated exotics and large animal section, so students don't have to find a specialized program to learn these skills. Additionally, externships and off-site training are built into the curriculum, meaning students can jump right into the job market with clinical experience under their belt. The APC also offers career resources to students and alumni, including resume building, interview practice, letters of recommendation, and job placement.
Best In-Person Veterinary Assisting Program
Central Institute for Veterinary Learning
The Central Institute for Veterinary Learning was created at Central Hospital in Connecticut, making it a great place to gain experience in a veterinary hospital environment. This is a good option for anyone in the CT area looking for in-person classes.
Curriculum: In this program, students will learn handling and restraint, administering medications, collection of lab samples, and even ultrasound imaging. The course also covers more mundane but necessary tasks like maintaining basic cleanliness, obtaining patient histories, and client communication.
Cost: Full tuition for the vet assisting program costs $2500. A $500 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration. There is a payment plan option for those interested, but prospective students must contact the institute for details.
Experience: The program runs the course of two semesters and also requires a 100-hour externship. Classes are held twice a week, and there are day and night class options available. This makes class schedules more flexible while still maintaining the hands-on training aspect.
Bonus features: The majority of vet assisting education options take place online, but hands-on training is a must in this industry. Students of Central Institute learn in-person in an actual vet clinic where they can gain valuable insights from working industry professionals.
Best Vet Assisting Program for Job Placement
Ross Education
Ross Education offers multiple programs, but their veterinary assistant program is an excellent choice for anyone looking to jumpstart their career. They have online programs and in-person/hybrid options for anyone near their campus locations.
Curriculum: The curriculum covers the basics of veterinary care, including animal anatomy, technology, diseases, laboratory procedures, and ethics. This program also covers the clerical duties of a vet assistant, like medical documentation and the use of administrative software.
Cost: The cost of attendance for most Ross programs is estimated to be roughly $20,000 to $30,000. Ross Education receives federal aid, so the cost of programs can change drastically depending on the payment option the student chooses. Those options include federal student loans, federal grants, Ross grants, and flexible payment options.
Experience: The program consists of six modules that last 36 weeks, and students must also complete a six-week-long externship. The veterinary assisting program is available at seven of their locations, where students can learn in-person with fellow students.
Bonus features: Ross Education offers extensive career services to current and past students. These resources for students and alumni include a meeting with Ross's career services team, mock interviews, externship placement, resume preparation, and job placement assistance.
Best Veterinary Assistant Program for Exotics
VETgirl
VETgirl is an online library of veterinary content including courses, webinars, ebooks, podcasts, and certificate programs. They offer an Exotic and Small Mammal Certificate for those wanting to go beyond typical dog and cat healthcare practices.
Curriculum: Learning materials cover basic clinical techniques, handling and restraint, animal-specific diseases, and topical events in the veterinary world. Students will learn about animal care when it comes to birds, reptiles, rodents, fish and more.
Cost: In order to access this program, you must be subscribed to the VETgirl platform. They do offer a basic membership for free, but if you would like to earn the Exotic and Small Mammal Certificate, you must have at least an "Elite Single" membership. This costs $269/year.
Experience: The program is broken into 41 courses, which comes out to 31 hours of content to learn from. This course is entirely self paced, so the student can earn their certificate at their leisure. It's also 100% online, so it can be done with no location restrictions.
Bonus features: VETgirl is a great resource for those in the veterinary community. If you're a member, you not only gain access to this certificate but also other veterinary certification programs and resources offered by the platform. It's a great place to add-on to your existing veterinary assisting education.
Best Online Vet Assistant Program
VetBloom
VetBloom, created by experts in the industry, is a veterinary learning platform for online users. Their veterinary assisting certificate program is a great choice for those who need more flexibility in their schedules.
Curriculum: The online program consists of five modules that cover breed identification, animal husbandry, clipper use, radiography, physiology and more. It also covers administrative tasks like phone skills, medical calculations, and taking inventory.
Cost: The program costs $899. VetBloom does not offer financial aid, as their platform is an online learning platform. Individual courses and certificate programs can be purchased for a set cost. Users can purchase a subscription to gain access to their entire course library for $40/month.
Experience: Since this program is online, it is self paced and can be completed from anywhere, making it a good choice for those with time constraints. Students learn through videos, written material, quizzes, tests, and must complete a 120-hour clinical externship for practical experience.
Bonus features: If you're interested in obtaining the Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) credential, the testing fee is included in the cost of the program. It's a National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) approved training program, so anyone who completes it can sit for the official AVA exam. They even offer practice tests to students who want to go on to get this credential.
Best Low Cost Veterinary Assistant Program
VetMedTeam
VetMedTeam is a great resource for online veterinary learning. Their veterinary assistant program is a great option for those who don't have the finances for formal education but still want to learn from a credible source.
Curriculum: In this program, students learn office procedures, medical terminology, animal behavior, animal nutrition, anesthesia, and more. At the end of the program, students must also complete the 100-hour clinical section of the curriculum to gain practical skills.
Cost: VetMedTeam offers three different payment plans. If the student pays the full fee upfront, the program costs $875 (excluding textbook fees). If you choose to pay in three installments, it comes out to $930. And if you choose the extended payments plan, the total is $994.
Experience: The program was created with flexibility in mind, so students can participate in this program online from a comfortable location and on a lenient schedule. There are 12 online courses with the goal of completing each in 30 days, but students who can't meet this deadline are accommodated.
Bonus features: Most vet assistant programs require that the student be at least 18 years old with a high school diploma or GED. This program only requires that you be 16 years old, so high school students who know vet assisting is their passion can get started immediately with no educational requirements.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of vet assistant programs out there, and it can be difficult to sift through the programs that don’t suit your needs. While there are advantages and disadvantages to any veterinary assistant school, The Academy of Pet Careers has it all. We offer a comprehensive curriculum, hands-on experience, financing options, talented instructors, and job assistance resources.
The APC’s vet assisting program is a great match for anyone looking to gain the appropriate skills, knowledge, and experience to become a professional vet assistant. If you want to start a career in the pet industry but aren’t sure if veterinary assistance is the right path for you, the Academy of Pet Careers also offers dog training programs and a dog grooming program.
Hope Allen
Hope Allen combines her lifelong passion for animals with her digital marketing expertise. Growing up in a veterinary family, she gained hands-on experience working as an office assistant and sterilization tech at their mobile practice. This foundation, coupled with her degree in design and digital content strategy from Lindenwood University, allows her to bring unique insight to pet-focused content.