WCS offers four- to eight-week externships in Zoological Medicine and Surgery and Veterinary Technology at its zoos and aquariums in New York City. Applicants must be senior veterinary or veterinary technician students at AVMA-accredited veterinary schools or accredited veterinary technology schools.

Zoological Medicine and Surgery Veterinary Student Externship

WCS’s Clinical department offers four- to eight-week externships in zoological medicine and surgery for senior veterinary students at AVMA-accredited veterinary schools. The externships take place at the Wildlife Health Center on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. Students will also participate in clinical rotations at the New York Aquarium, and the Central Park, Queens, and Prospect Park zoos. Externships expose students to a variety of clinical cases including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and terrestrial and marine mammals. The students will observe all facets of wildlife health care, including preventive medicine, daily medical and surgical care, clinical rounds, anesthesia, medical record keeping, quarantine procedures, clinical pathology interpretation, and broader captive and free-ranging population conservation issues. During the rotation, students are required to prepare and present a topic to the Wildlife Health Center staff.

Applications are accepted for clinical year externships from July 1st through November 15th of your JUNIOR year. These applications will then be reviewed and students will be notified of the results by December 15th of the current year. Due to the great interest in the program, applications cannot be accepted or processed at other times. 

About Our Clinical Veterinary Externship Program

Clinical Veterinary Externship: Frequently Asked Questions

See Our Covid-19 Statement Related to the 2021-2022 Application Cycle 

Veterinary Technology Student Externship

WCS’s Clinical department offers full-time, 16-week veterinary technology externships in Zoological Medicine and Surgery for senior veterinary technician students from accredited veterinary technology schools. The primary location of the externships is the Wildlife Health Center at the Bronx Zoo. The externship exposes students to a great variety of clinical cases and laboratory samples from fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and terrestrial and marine mammals. Students will observe and participate in all facets of wildlife healthcare and veterinary technology—including preventive medicine, daily medical and surgical care, clinical rounds, anesthesia, medical record keeping, quarantine procedures, and clinical laboratory analysis.

For more information or to submit an application, please write to:
Veterinary Externship Program – Veterinary Technology
Wildlife Health Center
Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460-1099

Veterinary and Vet Technician Student Externships thumbnail image photo credit: D McAloose, WCS