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EPQ veterinary topics

Hey I’m taking EPQ as one of my a level options and I don’t know what topic to study!

The rest of my a level options are science focussed (chemistry, biology, psychology and EPQ) as I hope to become a vet. Does anyone have any topic suggestions that would be relevant and interesting to study??

Also if anyone has done there’s already, how have you found it and what grade did you achieve?:smile:
if you’re hoping to study to become a vet, maybe you could do your EPQ on how vet science has changed over time, or something about animals?
Reply 2
Ooo that would be interesting thank you
Hi Miajasmin,

I'm currently a vet student at the univeristy of nottingham and did the EPQ during my A levels (coincidentally, you're also doing the exact same subjects I did), so might be able to offer some advice.

Any animal related topic is good, it doesn't have to specifically be about veterinary. You'll want a topic that has a lot of information available but also one that you can 'argue' with yourself about. My topic was "Is animal testing in human medicine needed?", which was great because there is a lot of evidence and arguments either way. Since you asked, I got an A* for my EPQ.

The topic of how vet science changed overtime is actually a really good idea, but you would need something to debate about within that topic. Maybe "Has veterinary science (the veterinary profession?) changed for better or worse in the past __ years?" or something like that. The veterinary profession has been undergoing massive changes in the past decade (gradual switch from privately owned to corporately owned vet practices, increased awareness of mental health and work/life balance, the public perception of vets changing, newer graduates demanding better hours and the rise of specific out-of-outs practices etc. to name a few) that this would be very relevant to current veterinary affairs. There is also a lot for you to talk about, as there are many good arguments for both 'better and worse'. It would probably be a very interesting EPQ.

If you have any questions or would like any advice please don't hesitate reply or pm me. I actually loved doing my own EPQ so would be happy to help!
Reply 4
Original post by Miajasmin
Hey I’m taking EPQ as one of my a level options and I don’t know what topic to study!

The rest of my a level options are science focussed (chemistry, biology, psychology and EPQ) as I hope to become a vet. Does anyone have any topic suggestions that would be relevant and interesting to study??

Also if anyone has done there’s already, how have you found it and what grade did you achieve?:smile:


Hi Miajasmin,

I am a veterinary student on the BVetMed course at the Royal Veterinary College graduating in 2020. It was a while ago that I completed my EPQ but I remember it well. I recommend, as others have, that you pick a topic relevant to veterinary medicine. My EPQ was a literature review around the topic of Bovine Mastitis as I am particularly interested in farm animal medicine. My EPQ discussed whether mastitis prevention measures were adequate given the economic climate at the time in the dairy industry. Awarded A*.

There are loads of topics to pick from with a veterinary focus, for example if there is a particular species you are interested in focus on that and then focus again on a specific disease that interests you? Don't worry too much about detail (some scientific papers are complicated!) but just increasing your understanding and knowledge of a subject shows your focus.

Hope that helps and feel free to send a message if you have any questions, apologies if my replies are slow, currently on rotations!

VetStudent333
Reply 5
Original post by Usagisama68
Hi Miajasmin,

I'm currently a vet student at the univeristy of nottingham and did the EPQ during my A levels (coincidentally, you're also doing the exact same subjects I did), so might be able to offer some advice.

Any animal related topic is good, it doesn't have to specifically be about veterinary. You'll want a topic that has a lot of information available but also one that you can 'argue' with yourself about. My topic was "Is animal testing in human medicine needed?", which was great because there is a lot of evidence and arguments either way. Since you asked, I got an A* for my EPQ.

The topic of how vet science changed overtime is actually a really good idea, but you would need something to debate about within that topic. Maybe "Has veterinary science (the veterinary profession?) changed for better or worse in the past __ years?" or something like that. The veterinary profession has been undergoing massive changes in the past decade (gradual switch from privately owned to corporately owned vet practices, increased awareness of mental health and work/life balance, the public perception of vets changing, newer graduates demanding better hours and the rise of specific out-of-outs practices etc. to name a few) that this would be very relevant to current veterinary affairs. There is also a lot for you to talk about, as there are many good arguments for both 'better and worse'. It would probably be a very interesting EPQ.

If you have any questions or would like any advice please don't hesitate reply or pm me. I actually loved doing my own EPQ so would be happy to help!

Hello,
Just wondering if the EPQ lowered your entry requirements?
Original post by Jade_c.w
Hello,
Just wondering if the EPQ lowered your entry requirements?


None of the vet schools will lower entry requirements for an EPQ, but it will give an advantage in interview. The only exception might be Harper Adams/Keele but I don’t think they’ve released anything on this yet.
Whilst EPQ isn't included in your offer it featured heavily in my Nottingham interview - no other university mentioned it but for them it was far over 75% my interview
Original post by VMD100
Whilst EPQ isn't included in your offer it featured heavily in my Nottingham interview - no other university mentioned it but for them it was far over 75% my interview


I had a similar thing- they asked about it and it was about 50% of my interview. From what I can tell if you don’t do an EPQ they ask about something else from your personal statement. Personally I’d much rather be asked about my EPQ as it’s a topic you should be very comfortable with :smile:
hi what details did you go into when doing this question for your epq
Hi Usagisama68,I'm about to start my A-levels (the exact ones you did) and my dream is to be a vet student at Nottingham. I was just wondering, if you don't mind, what grades did you get at a-level, and what else did you do to get into Nottingham? Thank you so much.
Hi Usagisama68,I'm about to start my a-levels (the same as yours) and my dream is to be a vet student at Nottingham. If you don't mind, what grades did you get at a-level and what did you do to get into Nottingham?Thank you so much
would writing about how selective breeding of dogs, has caused various dog deformities and the impacts that they deformities have on the animals welfare and an uneducated owner might struggle to care for them, a good idea? I've had my heart set on this topic since we studied genetics in biology in year eleven, and I feel like I could be really passionate about it, due to pure curiosity and interest.
Original post by theblondemo
would writing about how selective breeding of dogs, has caused various dog deformities and the impacts that they deformities have on the animals welfare and an uneducated owner might struggle to care for them, a good idea? I've had my heart set on this topic since we studied genetics in biology in year eleven, and I feel like I could be really passionate about it, due to pure curiosity and interest.

Brachycephalic dogs would be a prime example of that and absolutely!
Look at french bulldogs almost all requiring caesarean sections, many pugs requiring BOAS surgery just to breathe.
Labradors being bred without hip scores being another, similarly GSD's and their horrendous looking spines - just look at the best of breed winner for 2016 to cringe
Hey!! I really would love to study veterinary at Nottingham. What work experience did you do before applying?
Original post by Usagisama68
Hi Miajasmin,

I'm currently a vet student at the univeristy of nottingham and did the EPQ during my A levels (coincidentally, you're also doing the exact same subjects I did), so might be able to offer some advice.

Any animal related topic is good, it doesn't have to specifically be about veterinary. You'll want a topic that has a lot of information available but also one that you can 'argue' with yourself about. My topic was "Is animal testing in human medicine needed?", which was great because there is a lot of evidence and arguments either way. Since you asked, I got an A* for my EPQ.

The topic of how vet science changed overtime is actually a really good idea, but you would need something to debate about within that topic. Maybe "Has veterinary science (the veterinary profession?) changed for better or worse in the past __ years?" or something like that. The veterinary profession has been undergoing massive changes in the past decade (gradual switch from privately owned to corporately owned vet practices, increased awareness of mental health and work/life balance, the public perception of vets changing, newer graduates demanding better hours and the rise of specific out-of-outs practices etc. to name a few) that this would be very relevant to current veterinary affairs. There is also a lot for you to talk about, as there are many good arguments for both 'better and worse'. It would probably be a very interesting EPQ.

If you have any questions or would like any advice please don't hesitate reply or pm me. I actually loved doing my own EPQ so would be happy to help!

Hi, I am currently doing my EPQ about animal testing as well and was wondering if you could offer me any kind of support. How did you structure your literature review and do you have any key articles you used that you could share with me. And also any key arguments you included. Thanks very much and I would actually love to read how you set out your EPQ! Well done on your A* and of course getting into veterinary school!
Original post by TheWannabeFarmer
Brachycephalic dogs would be a prime example of that and absolutely!
Look at french bulldogs almost all requiring caesarean sections, many pugs requiring BOAS surgery just to breathe.
Labradors being bred without hip scores being another, similarly GSD's and their horrendous looking spines - just look at the best of breed winner for 2016 to cringe


that was my plan, and im pursuing it now!!
Original post by Usagisama68
Hi Miajasmin,

I'm currently a vet student at the univeristy of nottingham and did the EPQ during my A levels (coincidentally, you're also doing the exact same subjects I did), so might be able to offer some advice.

Any animal related topic is good, it doesn't have to specifically be about veterinary. You'll want a topic that has a lot of information available but also one that you can 'argue' with yourself about. My topic was "Is animal testing in human medicine needed?", which was great because there is a lot of evidence and arguments either way. Since you asked, I got an A* for my EPQ.

The topic of how vet science changed overtime is actually a really good idea, but you would need something to debate about within that topic. Maybe "Has veterinary science (the veterinary profession?) changed for better or worse in the past __ years?" or something like that. The veterinary profession has been undergoing massive changes in the past decade (gradual switch from privately owned to corporately owned vet practices, increased awareness of mental health and work/life balance, the public perception of vets changing, newer graduates demanding better hours and the rise of specific out-of-outs practices etc. to name a few) that this would be very relevant to current veterinary affairs. There is also a lot for you to talk about, as there are many good arguments for both 'better and worse'. It would probably be a very interesting EPQ.

If you have any questions or would like any advice please don't hesitate reply or pm me. I actually loved doing my own EPQ so would be happy to help!

Do you think you would be able to send me a copy of your final EPQ essay?
Hello! In about to start my A-levels with the dream to become a vet, for my EPQ I was considering looking into angular limb deformities in foals as I have seen it (and it treated) first had and thought it would be an interesting idea, however I haven’t researched it enough as of yet to form a question that is more argumentative and so I’m not sure if I could find a more argumentative side to it, do you think this matters?
Hi, I am in year 12 and I'm also taking the same subjects and hoping to go into veterinary medicine but i'm not sure if an epq would help me get into university. Did you find it helpful?

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