CityU Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine (JCC): Hong Kong's Only Veterinary Degree and International Accreditation

This article belongs to Module 11 ("Medicine / Hospital"), Part I, of The Unofficial History of City University of Hong Kong Archive. CityU does not have a medical school for humans (see biomedical-and-health-sciences.md), but it is home to the only veterinary school in the entire territory — the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences (JCC). In terms of clinical training and international accreditation, this module is the closest the archive gets to the structure of a conventional medical school — except the patients are animals.

This article focuses on the veterinary college itself: its origins, the Cornell partnership, the BVM curriculum, international accreditation, and the first graduating cohort. The teaching hospital (VMC) and diagnostic laboratory facilities are covered in the companion piece veterinary-college-2.md; the acquisition and expansion history of the VMC, from a Peace Avenue clinic to Southeast Asia's largest veterinary centre, is in veterinary-college-3.md; the biomedical sciences department (human-health research) is in biomedical-and-health-sciences.md.

Data current as of June 2026; all facts with years or figures are cited in place. Key facts such as accreditation status and teaching hospital location have been cross-verified against multiple sources; discrepancies are noted.

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# 1. Overview

JCC is a pioneering institution, both for CityU and for veterinary education in Hong Kong. What makes it remarkable is this: CityU does not have a human medical school, yet it has transplanted the entire medical-school paradigm — clinical curriculum, teaching hospital, diagnostic laboratory, residency training, international accreditation — wholesale into veterinary medicine, with Cornell University's world-leading College of Veterinary Medicine acting as its long-term guide.

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# 2. Origins: From Cornell Contact in 2009 to Establishment in 2014

# 2.1 A Trans-Pacific Partnership That Began in 2009

The story of CityU's veterinary school does not begin with its official establishment in 2014, but in 2009. According to the website of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (Cornell CVM)^※, CityU sought Cornell CVM's assistance from 2009 for the "planning, establishment, and operation" of a veterinary school in Hong Kong, with one of the core objectives being to secure international accreditation.

What Cornell provided was not a nominal endorsement but deep, hands-on involvement. Their support package spanned strategic planning, design and operation of teaching and clinical facilities, recruitment of senior administrators and faculty, seats on admissions and curriculum committees, curriculum development and delivery, and the establishment of a diagnostic laboratory (initiated in 2016). The CityU BVM curriculum was designed using Cornell's veterinary curriculum as its blueprint. For full details of this fifteen-year collaboration — the curriculum blueprint, joint PhD programmes, summer residency training, and the textbook fund — see the companion piece ../09-international/global-partnerships-and-exchange-3.md.

# 2.2 Founded in 2014, Named by the Jockey Club in 2018

• 2014: CityU formally established its veterinary school (initially the School of Veterinary Medicine). According to a press release for the Jockey Club naming ceremony^※, it was "established in 2014 in collaboration with Cornell University's esteemed College of Veterinary Medicine."
• August 2018: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated HK$500 million, and the school was renamed the "Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences"; the ceremony took place on 20 August 2018. This donation was described as "the largest single donation the University has ever received," and the funds were directed towards the construction of the Jockey Club One Health Tower to advance CityU's "One Health" vision.

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# 3. The BVM: A Six-Year Programme, Built on a Cornell Blueprint, with a One Health Paradigm

# 3.1 Structure and Positioning

JCC's flagship undergraduate programme is the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM), a six-year (72-month) course. According to a CityU press release^※, the first cohort of BVM students enrolled in 2017. The curriculum specialises in emerging infectious diseases, food safety, animal welfare, and aquaculture, and is woven through with a "One Health" framework — recognising the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment.

The curriculum was designed using the Cornell veterinary curriculum as its blueprint, covering the pre-requisite requirements and four-year core curriculum structure of Cornell's Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) programme. The College also introduced Problem-Based Learning (PBL) into the BVM. The six-year programme totals 242 to 243 credit units (depending on intake year). The fifth and sixth years are dedicated entirely to clinical training, including 26 weeks of extramural placements. Clinical exposure covers companion animals, equine, exotic animals, wildlife, aquatic species, and livestock.

# 3.2 Joint Training and Ongoing Support with Cornell

Beyond the undergraduate level, CityU and Cornell launched a joint Interdisciplinary PhD (Veterinary Medicine) programme in 2015. PhD students are co-supervised by one faculty member each from CityU and Cornell and can spend up to one year in their Cornell co-supervisor's laboratory. According to Cornell CVM's website, 29 Cornell faculty members serve as co-supervisors. Cornell's ongoing support also includes residency fellowship training, summer externships, and an Innovation Fund of up to US$200,000 per year. This depth of "Bachelor's + PhD + Residency" pipeline means JCC is not merely a teaching department, but an institution with a complete veterinary talent chain — which is precisely the foundation that allowed it to pass stringent international accreditation.

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# 4. Accreditation: The Only Recognised Veterinary Degree in Hong Kong

The 'gold content' of a veterinary degree hinges on accreditation by international regulatory bodies — without it, graduates cannot practise easily in recognised jurisdictions. The accreditation journey of CityU's BVM is its strongest calling card.

# 4.1 Timeline

• September 2017: After the first BVM students enrolled, the programme received "Provisional Accreditation" from the AVBC (Australasian Veterinary Boards Council).
• September 2023: As the first cohort was about to graduate, the programme was granted full accreditation by the AVBC. According to an official AVBC announcement^※, the accreditation decision was made on 21 September 2023; CityU became "the first veterinary school outside Australia and New Zealand to be guided by the AVBC from 'Reasonable Assurance' all the way through to full accreditation." The AVBC described it as "a significant milestone for animal welfare and for those that rely on veterinary services in Hong Kong, after six years of working with the school."
• Concurrently (2023): The programme also received accreditation from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) of the United Kingdom.

# 4.2 "Asia's First Dual-Accredited Programme"

According to a CityU press release (2023-09-25)^※, CityU's BVM is the first dual-accredited veterinary programme in Asia — recognised simultaneously by both RCVS (UK) and AVBC (Australasia). "No other BVM programme in Asia has been recognized by both of these two world-class veterinary education regulatory bodies." CityU also notes itself as the first university in Hong Kong to introduce a veterinary programme.

# 4.3 The First Graduates: A Milestone in October 2023

On 28 October 2023^※, JCC held the graduation ceremony for its first BVM cohort. According to a CityU announcement from October 2023^※, all 11 graduates of the inaugural BVM class completed their registration with the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong to become licensed veterinary surgeons^※. Thanks to the RCVS and AVBC accreditations, they are also eligible for registration in the UK and in Australia/New Zealand. All graduates chose to remain and work in Hong Kong, serving the local animal healthcare sector.

What this means: Hong Kong's first cohort of practising veterinarians fully trained and qualified locally had officially arrived. For a city that had long relied on overseas veterinary talent, this was a landmark moment in the history of the profession in Hong Kong. The number — just 11 — was small, but it represented going from zero to one. Before CityU's veterinary school, there was no local veterinary degree programme in Hong Kong, and students wishing to become vets had to study abroad. These 11 graduates are the first product of CityU's veterinary education pipeline operating end-to-end (curriculum design, clinical rotations, international accreditation, professional registration), and the starting point of a locally self-sustaining veterinary workforce.

Dr. Lorin Warnick, Dean of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Caroline Yancey, Associate Dean for International Programs, travelled specially from Ithaca, New York, to attend the ceremony in Hong Kong. Dr. Yancey remarked: "This new veterinary college will contribute significantly to advancing veterinary education and research, as well as promoting animal health in the region.^※" First intake in 2017, first graduation in 2023 — a complete six-year cycle closed. It marked the moment the blueprint for "building a school from scratch," planned in partnership with Cornell since 2009, officially entered the phase of producing talent.

Verification note: The figure of "11" graduates for the first cohort appears in the official CityU announcement of 28 October 2023, and is also corroborated by secondary summaries and the Cornell news item reporting the attendance of the Cornell delegation. This archive records both the "11 graduates completing VSB registration" and the official first-hand anchors of the "October 2023 graduation" and "September 2023 dual accreditation."

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# 5. Teaching Hospital and Diagnostic Laboratory (Overview)

What makes a veterinary school feel like a "medical school" is its need for a teaching hospital (for student clinical placements) and a diagnostic laboratory (for pathology and clinical pathology teaching). CityU has both: the CityU Veterinary Medical Centre (CityU VMC), located in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, opened in April 2019 and is one of the largest animal medical centres in Southeast Asia; and the CityU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CityU VDL), opened in July 2018, was Hong Kong's first commercial veterinary diagnostic lab equipped with a necropsy suite. Beyond this, CityU has been developing a veterinary teaching farm since 2020 and is constructing the Jockey Club One Health Tower as the permanent home for JCC.

For the scale, equipment, specialist configurations, and service details of both facilities, as well as the full story of the VMC's journey from the Peace Avenue Veterinary Clinic through acquisition and expansion, see veterinary-college-2.md and veterinary-college-3.md.

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# 6. CityU's Place in the History of Veterinary Education in Hong Kong

Piecing together the facts above, CityU JCC's position in the history of Hong Kong veterinary education can be summarised as follows:

1. From nothing to something: Before CityU, no university in Hong Kong offered a veterinary degree; local vets were largely trained overseas. CityU was the first university in Hong Kong to run a veterinary programme, filling an institutional void.
2. The only one in the territory: At the time of compilation, the CityU BVM remains the only veterinary degree programme in Hong Kong, and the only one in Asia to hold dual accreditation from both the AVBC and RCVS.
3. An international graft: Leveraging the partnership with Cornell CVM, CityU brought a newly established veterinary school to the standard of international accreditation in under a decade — the AVBC itself described it as the "first veterinary school outside Australia and New Zealand to be guided... to accreditation."
4. Subject standing: As cited by CityU, its Veterinary Science has consistently placed in the global top 100 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, and is ranked No. 1 in Hong Kong (QS by Subject 2026).

In a sentence: CityU has no human medical school, but with Hong Kong's only veterinary college, it has carved out its own territory along the "medical-school-style" path of clinical training, teaching hospital, diagnostic laboratory, and international accreditation.

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# Sources

• JCC Official Website — Official
• Cornell CVM: Global Institutional Collaborations (CityU partnership details) — Official (an independent second-party source)
• CityU BVM First in Asia to Receive Dual Accreditation Press Release (2023-09-25) — Official
• AVBC Announcement: CityU Becomes First New International Vet School to Gain AVBC Accreditation — Official (first-hand from the accrediting body, independent corroboration)
• Jockey Club Naming Ceremony Press Release (2018-08-17) — Official
• CityU's First Batch of BVM Graduates Registered as Veterinary Surgeons (2023-10-28) — Official
• Dean Warnick and Associate Dean Yancey Attend CityU Graduation Ceremony (Cornell News, 2023-11-21) — Official
• First Batch of Veterinary Medicine Graduates Ready to Spread Wings — The Standard — News