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“I started at UQ in Semester 1 – March – 2025. I’m studying at UQ’s Gatton campus, rather than at the main St Lucia campus in Brisbane. Students here at Gatton are all studying vet science, vet tech, agriculture or wildlife.

“I always considered studying in Australia because of the biodiversity of animal life. Australia is really known for its exotics, they are everywhere. Vets here see it as an everyday event to treat kangaroos, koalas, snakes and so on.

“I did one year of vet degree in the UK, at a Russell Group university, but I decided it was not for me. Apart from the weather – it is very grey and rainy! – in terms of structure it wasn’t for me. In the UK my course was geared toward one huge end of year exam. I found that stressful, particularly as there is just so much information to learn in vet. It also made it difficult to relax, because I was really aware of this huge exam just looming up in the distance the whole time.

“My sister, who was a first year vet student at UQ while I was a first year vet student in the UK, told me that here they get tested every six weeks on course content. So the content we were studying as first year students was very similar, but at UQ they broke it down so students could consolidate their learning through the year, rather than cramming for this huge exam then having everything go straight out of your head. I find vet science very foundational; you need to build on stuff you’ve learnt. You can’t afford to forget things, otherwise you’ll never move forward to the next stage successfully.

“So my sister and I were studying the same degree, in theory learning in parallel, but my stress levels in the UK were sky-high, whereas she was much more relaxed. From my parents’ perspective, they were looking at us and wondering why one daughter was so stressed, while the other one just wasn’t. So I left the UK and came to UQ, and I am much calmer here I find, my work/life balance is a lot better. UQ’s six week cycle of learning and testing works much better for me, both in terms of my retaining the information but also for my mental health. Vet is a five year course; I didn’t want to burn out because of exam stress.

“From a practical perspective UQ also have a lot more animals to work with. At my UK university they had 10 cows. UQ has 350 dairy cows, plus around 100 beef cattle. I just did a dairy walk this week, from calves right through to the animals being considered for slaughter, so I got to see the entire life cycle of that animal, here on campus. I couldn’t do that at my UK university; they didn’t have those resources – they just don’t have the space to provide that.

“Gatton is a small campus compared to St Lucia but the student cohort here is a really close community, it’s nice. I know students from vet tech, from wildlife, from agriculture – the university is really good at integrating and including everyone during O-Week, mixing people up. It means everyone knows everyone. It is nice to be in the countryside too, I like that. It’s a really country western vibe here, so friendly.
“I’d guess that there are about 250 students doing vet in my year, but it never feels like that big a group. In practicals – depending on the animal you’re working with – there are usually only 5-8 of you in a group. Those groups change all the time, and you get to know people really well through those shared practical experiences.

“When you enter the Gatton campus you drive past the horse paddocks. Most belong to the university; some belong to clients – there is a big animal and a small animal clinic on the campus. Then past the farm – dairy and beef – and the small animal clinic, then the emergency clinic where the fifth year students are based. It’s spread out, but you can walk everywhere. The exotics are right next to the lecture theatre.

“The teaching exotics are in one building, so you have pythons and parakeets and so forth. But there are snakes on campus too, and sugar gliders at night, plus we have a halls possums and turkeys who wanders around.

“I have practicals three times a week, typically. Depending on the module one of them will usually be a lab, learning about cell biology and the parasites that animals can/will get. The rest is filled with lectures. Once a week I have a lab practical, doing a dissection or something, then for the second one we went to the dairy farm and had a practical – how to do a clinical exam of a cow. They teach the theory and then you consolidate with a practical soon afterward.

“We follow that pattern with exotics, small animals and large animals. As you go through the degree they allow you to do different types of procedures and work with different species of animals.

“Without the practicals I think I’d find it really hard to have the learning stick in my mind. But here, I’ve done it, so I know it. It’s just really invaluable experience, and we are so lucky because the university has so many animals for us to work with.

“UQ are really centred around ethics. If, for example, you only have five cows and 120 students you can’t have all of the students sticking their hands in the cows’ mouths. But here they have 300 cows, and so you know that you’re the only person who’s done that particular exam or procedure on that animal – you’re the only one who annoyed that cow that day!

“When I was studying in the UK ethics didn’t even get mentioned; when I was doing practicals there I didn’t even consider it. At UQ we had a lecture very early on about the importance of treating the animals with respect. They won’t let lots of us do the same practical on the same animal, for example, they will say that’s enough, let that animal go and bring in a new one. They also change the method of handling the cats, for example, so that it’s fear free – we’ll try not to restrain them unless necessary. I think it’s a real strength here.

“At the end of second year is when you start your industrial placements. You do longer and longer stints working with different species as you progress through the degree, until in fifth year, which is completely placement-based. During the placements you have to work with each species so it’s bad luck if you don’t like horses, for example – you can’t avoid them. You have to work with each.

“During final year you are really working as a vet, to all intents and purposes, just with the added reassurance of university supervision.

“UQ very much pushes the importance of working across different areas of vet – big animals, small animals and exotics. I really enjoy that. Their stance is that you might have a preference when you start, but they are going to push you out of your comfort zone – in the safest way possible – so that you can make a really informed decision as to the type of work you want to do by the end of the course.

“I was very afraid of the pythons when I started. I’d only seen a grass snake – once – in my entire time in the UK; I wasn’t used to snakes and I definitely was not comfortable picking one up! At that point I didn’t see why I should either – I didn’t have any interest in being an exotics vet when I began the course. But the team at UQ were really clear that I had to handle the python – his name is Billy, and he’s 10 foot long, so there were three of us holding him. He’s been a teaching snake for 15 years so he’s used to students. Afterward, I thought, I’m not really afraid of snakes after all. You’re in an environment where it’s just not an option to not handle something you don’t like. I really like it. I can handle a snake now. Now I might want to work in exotics when I graduate – I don’t know.

“The UQ vet qualification is really widely accredited, which was appealing – it’s recognised in the UK, as well as Canada and the US. I’m not sure at this point where I want to work in the future so it’s great to know that all those choices remain open.

What should students consider if they are weighing up Australia vs UK for vet?

“When I was studying in the UK and thinking of moving to Australia I spoke to a vet in the UK, who told me that he finds Australian graduates to be very practical and confident in their handling of animals. I thought, I want to be that practical vet. I want time to adjust to all those different types of animals, and UQ offered me that. So, consider the range of species you’ll be able to work with. If you want to make the decision of what to practice later in your career, I’d recommend Australia. Here you get more exposure to different types of animals.

Academically and socially – think about work/life balance. If you’re happy to work at your own pace throughout the year and then have a big exam at the end, the UK might suit. If you want to be tested more often, rather than having that one big test at the end of the year, then the Australian structure might be better. Here, if you do badly in one exam you won’t necessarily fail the module, because it’s only one of several exams. I find that less pressured.”