Vet Tech Programs in Illinois
AVMA lists 5 CVTEA-accredited veterinary technology programs in Illinois, every one awarding an Associate of Applied Science.
There is no bachelor's program on the Illinois list, and no Illinois program appears on AVMA's separate distance-education list.
All 5 carry full accreditation with no status line to check, so the reading to do is city, school and dates.
Illinois's CVT license requires graduation from an AVMA-accredited program — every program on this list meets that requirement, and so do AVMA's distance-education programs, listed below.
Accredited programs
5
Offer an associate degree
5
Offer a bachelor's
0
Status to check
0
Source: AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA), “Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA” and “Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA”, retrieved 2026-09-23. “Status to check” counts programs whose AVMA status line reads anything other than plain full accreditation.
Check the list and the board before you enroll
AVMA-accredited programs in Illinois
AVMA lists 5 accredited veterinary technology programs in Illinois, alphabetically below, with each degree, date and status line exactly as AVMA prints it. A struck-through degree is one AVMA marks as discontinued.
Veterinary Technology Program · Galva, IL
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: November 19, 2019 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2029
FULL ACCREDITATION
Joliet, IL
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: March 2001 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2030
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Champaign, IL
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: November, 1976 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2031
FULL ACCREDITATION
Rockford, IL
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: February 1, 2008 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2030
FULL ACCREDITATION
Tinley Park, IL
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: October 22, 2007 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2029
FULL ACCREDITATION
From AVMA’s CVTEA program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Five programs, each in a different city, all awarding an associate degree
All 5 Illinois programs award an Associate of Applied Science, and AVMA lists each under a different city: Black Hawk College in Galva, Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Parkland College in Champaign, Rockford Career College in Rockford, and the Vet Tech Institute at Fox College in Tinley Park.
Parkland College carries the earliest initial-accreditation date on the list, November 1976; Black Hawk College carries the most recent, November 19, 2019.
No entry carries a former name or a status line other than full accreditation, so what separates the entries on AVMA's page is city, school and dates.
The list is silent on everything else — what a program charges, how it schedules its courses, its outcomes — and those are questions for each school.
No Illinois program on AVMA's distance-education list
None of the 5 Illinois programs appears on AVMA's separate distance-education list.
That list names 13 programs in all, each under the state where it is based, and this page prints them below.
An Illinois resident considering one of the 13 needs two answers before enrolling: whether the program admits students living in Illinois, and how it arranges the supervised clinical hours every accredited program requires at a practice near the student.
For study based in Illinois itself, the 5 programs above are the options AVMA's by-state list carries.
What Illinois's CVT license asks of a program
Illinois credentials veterinary technicians as Certified Veterinary Technicians (CVTs) through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and the license requires graduation from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technician program plus a passed VTNE.
The sources read describe no on-the-job or experience-based route to the CVT, so years in an Illinois practice do not substitute for the program.
The credential gates the state's protected titles — veterinary technician, vet tech, technician and VT joined certified veterinary technician and CVT on January 1, 2026 — rather than the work itself, which unlicensed support staff may perform under the Practice Act's supervision rules.
Every program on the list above is AVMA-accredited, so all 5 meet the education requirement as listed.
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)
A Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) — a state license issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), not an association certificate, and license display is required by law.
Graduation from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technician program; the sources read describe no on-the-job route to the CVT — on-the-job training is how the ISVMA material describes support staff, not a path to the license.
The VTNE (Veterinary Technician National Exam); no separate Illinois jurisprudence exam appears in the sources read.
AVMA’s distance-education list
AVMA names 13 programs on a separate distance-education list. Each is listed under the state where it is based. Whether a program admits students living in Illinois, and how it arranges clinical placements there, is a question for the program.
From AVMA’s distance-education program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited vet tech programs are in Illinois?
AVMA's CVTEA list, retrieved September 23, 2026, names 5 accredited veterinary technology programs in Illinois: Black Hawk College in Galva, Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Parkland College in Champaign, Rockford Career College in Rockford and the Vet Tech Institute at Fox College in Tinley Park.
Every one awards an Associate of Applied Science.
Accreditation status changes, so check AVMA's own list for the current entry before you apply to any of them.
Is there a bachelor's degree vet tech program in Illinois?
No. All 5 Illinois programs award an Associate of Applied Science, and none lists a bachelor's degree.
Degrees change, so it is worth checking AVMA's list again when you apply.
AVMA's separate distance-education list names 13 programs, each under the state where it is based — ask any of them directly whether it admits students living in Illinois.
Whichever route you take, the CVT license requires graduation from an AVMA-accredited program and a passed VTNE.
Can I become a vet tech in Illinois without an accredited program?
Not through any route in the sources read.
The CVT requires graduation from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technician program and a passed VTNE, and the sources read describe no on-the-job or experience-based substitute.
Unlicensed support staff can work in the role under the Practice Act's supervision rules, but since January 1, 2026 the titles veterinary technician, vet tech, technician and VT are protected — the work without the license does not come with the titles.
Confirm your situation with IDFPR.
Are there online or distance-education vet tech programs for Illinois residents?
Online programs appear on AVMA's separate distance-education list, and no Illinois-based program is on it.
AVMA names 13 distance programs in all, each listed under the state where it is based, and this page prints them below.
Before enrolling in any of them, ask two questions: whether the program admits students living in Illinois, and how it arranges the supervised clinical hours every accredited program requires at a practice near you.
More Illinois Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- AVMA CVTEA — Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (Illinois section and status definitions) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVMA CVTEA — Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), as summarised on the Illinois requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Program list: AVMA CVTEA, retrieved 2026-09-23. Page last updated 2026-09-23.