RVC celebrates first graduates in Equine Locomotor Research

 Published: 23 Jul 2019 | Last Updated: 25 Jul 2023 11:52:43

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is proud to announce the successful graduation of all 12 students from its new Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research.

Launched in January 2017, the course is primarily intended for farriers, and equips them with the skills to help them produce original research into farriery.

On 15th July, 11 of the students came together for the official graduation ceremony at Royal Festival Hall, London. Here, they donned their gowns and graduated alongside over 250 fellow RVC students.

Graduates wearing their gowns
Diploma graduates at the RVC Graduation Ceremony with Amy Barstow, Deputy Course Director (fourth from the left)

Every student worked extremely hard to balance their studies with their jobs and family lives. The Equine Locomotor Research (ELR) team at the RVC are all incredibly proud of their achievements, and of the fantastic effort they put in.

Over the past two and a half years, the students have steadily built up their study and research skills, leading to the design, writing and implementation of their own research projects. As well as being significant personal accomplishments, the findings from their projects represent huge learning opportunities for the farriery and veterinary communities.

It seems that many of the ELR graduates have caught the ‘research bug,’ with a number of them hoping to continue their studies in order to achieve the Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.

Amy Barstow, Deputy Course Director, said: “It was a pleasure to work with these students to help them tackle research questions that they had ruminated over for many years, and I am excited to see how our new graduates take these skills into their daily work and beyond.”

Peter Day, one of the diploma graduates, added: “I’ve waited for a course like this for 20 years, and to graduate with such great peers was a real privilege.”

If you're interested in the Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research, applications for the course commencing in January 2020 in the USA are now open - see GradDip ELR USA. The next intake for the UK based course will be in 2021 - see GradDip ELR UK

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About the RVC

  • The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a constituent College of the University of London.
  • The RVC is ranked as the world’s number one veterinary school in the QS World University Rankings 2019.
  • The RVC offers undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
  • The RVC was the first veterinary school in the world to hold full accreditation from AVMA, EAEVE, RCVS and AVBC, and currently holds full accreditation from RCVS, AVBC and AVMA and conditional from EAEVE.
  • In 2017, the RVC received a Gold award from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) – the highest rating a university can receive.
  • A research-led institution, the RVC maintained its position as the top veterinary institution in the Research Excellence Framework (2014), with 79% of its submission being rated as world-class or internationally excellent.
  • The RVC also provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals: the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, in central London, and the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (Europe's largest small animal referral centre) and Equine Referral Hospital, both located at the Hertfordshire campus.

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