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First online shelter medicine master’s degree student graduates

This year’s fall-term graduate program degree recipients included the first individual to complete a master’s degree completely online with a shelter medicine concentration.

Dr. Ken Sieranski walked in the University of Florida commencement ceremony on Dec. 19, receiving his degree along with other traditional master’s and Ph.D. degree recipients from the UF College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Dr. Sieranski began his educational journey with us at UF while he was a senior veterinary student at Texas A&M,” said Dr. Terry Spencer, director of distance learning and a clinical assistant professor with the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at UF.

“He completed our online Maddie’s Graduate Certificate while still working on his DVM degree, and after graduation from veterinary school, he completed a one-year internship with the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program while continuing his online studies in the master’s degree program,” she said.

After completing the internship, Sieranski became one of several staff veterinarians at Miami Dade Animal Services in South Florida, which is one of the largest municipal shelters in the USA with an annual intake of approximately 30,000 dogs and cats, Spencer said.

Currently about 35 veterinarians and graduate students are pursuing the shelter medicine-focused online master’s degree, Spencer said.

More information about the program is available here.