RCVS Exam Preparation
For many of us, working in the UK means you need to sit and pass the RCVS Examination.
Our study resources and support exist to help you achieve that goal in a way that makes sense for you.
The challenges of the RCVS Examination
The RCVS Examination is known to be one of the most challenging ones, alongside the NAVLE,
due to the high level of language, knowledge and practical skills that it requires.
As if you were already a UK vet
The RCVS Examination assesses your knowledge and skills in a similar way to what happens with other veterinary students who have studied in the UK.
Except you haven't been through that process yourself, which poses some challenges.
There is no study plan
The exam covers ALL areas of Veterinary Medicine, including non-clinical areas. It's basically an
exam about your entire veterinary degree.
There aren't many affordable study resources
There aren't many resources available to study for the RCVS Exam, and those that exist can become very expensive for you to join, even though they are of very good quality.
Study resources are of poor quality or not tailored to UK practice
Much of the study material, such as VetPrep, is used to study for the NAVLE, so the knowledge will be adapted to the USA and diseases they see there.
The good quality resources are expensive, the others are not necessarily adapted to UK practice.
Passing the examination
Our resources focus on UK practice and exist to help you support your study in all clinical areas for the first part of the exam, as well as the professionalism section, in the best way that fits your study.
Foundations of clinical practice
These sections are free access to everyone and contain an overview of all the topics covered by the RCVS Examination in small animal practice, equine practice and farm practice. It is our commitment to you that these modules will ALWAYS be free!
Code of Conduct
Our course has a module dedicated to understanding and interpreting the Code of Professional Conduct.
OSCEs
We also have a module with information for the OSCEs, the final part of the exam, and further optional support and courses just for OSCE preparation.
Clinical Club
Weekly live sessions to cover common clinical presentations and cases, as well as give you practical experience with handling the cases. We cover small animal practice, equine practice and farm practice. Each session has a short theoretical review, followed by interactive case discussions, and is recorded in case you can’t attend.
Topic-based clinical revisions
This series of notes was created by a colleague who took the exam in 2024 and did the notes for her study. She used these notes to pass the exam and has kindly edited them to be shared.
High quality study software
We work together with Ivalalearn and Vetlexicon to give you access to high quality study materials - 3D anatomy, online simulators, flashcards, quizzes, and up-to-date peer-reviewed material for all species particularly designed for the UK reality.
Community
You will be able to join our RCVS exam preparation community to ask questions and share resources. If you join the Tutored Course or the Clinical Club, you will have access to another private community where you can engage with your tutors (vets from the UK) and go through more cases for discussion.
Kick Off Your Study
Choose the best study option for you:
Free Access
Forever free
Written clinical revisions in small animal, equine and farm practice
Tips for preparing for the OSCEs
Can purchase discounted access to:
Ivalalearn
Vetlexicon
Comprehensive written notes from previous exam students
Video series on medical English with clinical revisions
Free
Best for vets starting their study plan or doing final revisions.
Tutored Course
Tailored week-by-week study plan (6 months and 12 months)
Access to Ivalalearn is already included
Vetlexicon can be purchased separately for all species with special conditions
All study material included: theory courses, PDF notes, videos and webinars
Private community
Unlimited access to the Clinical Club
120$
/month
Best for vets who want the best chance at passing the exam first try.
Clinical Club
One to two live sessions per week
Small animal clinical club every week
Equine and farm sessions rotate
All sessions are recorded
Immediate access to all previous sessions (15+ and counting)
Case discussion (1-3 cases per week) in private community
Full access to Ivalalearn (to use quizzes and flaschards as study aid)
90$
/month
Best for vets who want to train their clinical brain and case approach for the first part of the exam.
Don’t know what to choose?
Here’s a quick overview of the different plans:
If you are just starting with your study and don’t know exactly what’s the best plan for you or, on the contrary, if you are only wanting to revise the topics to make sure you did not miss anything, you can check out the free version
If you are happy with the study material you already have and want to apply it and exercise your clinical reasoning skills, opt for the clinical club
If you want the best study resources, accountability and the best chances of passing the exam with the first try, opt for the tutored course
I’m in need of something special…
Do you want to make your own notes and would like access to Vetlexicon? Do you want to review a specific topic? Maybe you’ve already studied and think you are ready, but don’t know for sure? If our study plans don’t fit your study method, have a look at some other resources we have available for you.
Questions about the exam and the UniVets Global course
There are some courses available online, although not specifically for the RCVS. There is
another course that advertises it’s specifically for the RCVS exam, but we have received VERY
mixed reviews about the quality of that course and no longer recommend it.
Our course is the only one designed specifically for the RCVS exam but is not endorsed by the
RCVS and is not a guarantee that you can pass the exam, because this depends on how much
you study and take in from the course. However, it does provide you with UK-specific content
and resources for the study topics required by the examination.
Yes and no. Several clinical revision modules are free to access and will always remain free. The other versions are paid on a monthly basis, so you can cancel them at any time.
It can be hard and overwhelming, so feel free to email us to explain your situation at info@univets.global. However, here's a quick overview:
If you are considering taking the exam but have not signed up yet, you can check the free version to have a feel for the type of content that you will need to study.
Use the free version to do a final revision or create your study plan.
Join the Clinical Club if you already have good quality study material, so that you can apply what you have learned in a clinical setting (which is what is requested on the exam)
If you sent your intention to sit the exam and want the best shot at only doing it one, take the tutored version. It's designed to cover all of the theoretical content with a 6-month study plan that we keep cycling, so if you stick to it for 6 months you will cover all topics, regardless of when you joined for the first time.
You need to take and pass the RCVS examination if you want to practise as a clinician in the UK and did NOT graduate from:
An EAEVE-accredited university
An AVMA-approved university
Other universities from Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, South Africa)
Let’s not sugarcoat it, yes it is. Since the new format in 2019 we are unaware of published pass rates. Before this change, the pass rate was anywhere between 10 to 45% depending on the year.
In 2025, the RCVS implemented a change that allows vets to re-sit the exam only in the parts that they failed and we expect this will improve the pass rates. Unofficially, the pass rates for the first part of the exam in 2025 were 20% (before the re-sits).
The exam has three parts: one theory part covering clinical practice and public health in the form of a multiple choice questionnaire; one part covering the Code of Conduct also in the form of multiple choice questionnaire; and the final part with practical tasks in all areas called the OSCEs.
For 2025, if you fail a section in the first part of the exam (the multiple choice questions), you can re-sit only that section. The same happens with the section on the Code of Conduct and the OSCEs (if you fail the section on equine OSCEs but pass the others, you can repeat only the equine OSCEs). It’s expected these rules would be the same for 2026.
The fee for sitting the exam in 2025 was £2500. However, if you need to take re-sits, they will have their own cost (about £500 per re-sit).
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