Vet Tech Programs in Massachusetts
AVMA lists 5 CVTEA-accredited veterinary technology programs in Massachusetts: 4 community colleges awarding associate degrees, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst awarding the state's only bachelor's.
Every entry carries AVMA's plain full-accreditation line, and none appears on AVMA's distance-education list.
Massachusetts issues no state credential of its own — the CVT is an MVTA membership designation that asks for graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited program, so the accreditation behind each entry above is the eligibility line to check first.
Accredited programs
5
Offer an associate degree
4
Offer a bachelor's
1
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 Massachusetts
AVMA lists 5 accredited veterinary technology programs in Massachusetts, 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 Technician Program · Holyoke, MA
- Associate in Science
Initial accreditation: April, 1989 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2024
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Canton, MA
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: February 10, 2017 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2027
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Gardner, MA
- Associate of Science
Initial accreditation: September 13, 2019 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2029
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Danvers, MA
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: March 28, 2007 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2029
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Amherst, MA
- Bachelor of Science
Initial accreditation: November, 1985 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2026
FULL ACCREDITATION
From AVMA’s CVTEA program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Five programs, and four of them are associate degrees
Four of the 5 are community colleges, each awarding an associate degree: Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massasoit Community College in Canton, Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner and North Shore Community College in Danvers.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst in Amherst is the one program awarding a bachelor's.
AVMA prints a full-accreditation line for every entry, with no campus-and-distance splits and no former names to reconcile.
The list gives each program's city, degree, dates and status line; anything else about attending is a question for the school.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the one bachelor's program
University of Massachusetts-Amherst is the only Massachusetts program on AVMA's list awarding a Bachelor of Science.
Its initial accreditation dates to November 1985, the earliest date on the state's list, and AVMA gives its next evaluation as 2026.
The associate programs all started later by their initial-accreditation dates: Holyoke Community College in April 1989, North Shore Community College in March 2007, Massasoit Community College in February 2017 and Mount Wachusett Community College in September 2019.
All 5 entries carry the same plain full-accreditation status line.
No Massachusetts program on AVMA's distance-education list
None of the 5 programs above appears on AVMA's separate distance-education list, which names 13 programs in all, each listed under the state where it is based; they appear lower on this page.
Because the MVTA's education requirement is graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited program, a distance-list program on AVMA's roster meets the same accreditation requirement as the Massachusetts schools above.
For any of the 13, a Massachusetts resident needs two answers from the school: whether it admits students living in Massachusetts, and how it arranges the supervised clinical hours every accredited program requires at a practice near the student.
What Massachusetts's CVT asks of a program
Massachusetts has no state veterinary technician credential.
The CVT on job ads is a membership designation of the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association, and the sources read record it as conferring no legal permission and not required to work.
Earning it asks for graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited veterinary technology or veterinary nursing program, documented with a diploma or transcripts, plus a VTNE passing score from within the past 3 years for a new application.
Every program on the list above is AVMA-accredited, but the association also accepts CVMA-accredited programs, so AVMA's Massachusetts list is not the only route into the designation.
No experience-based route appears in the sources read.
Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association (MVTA)
No state credential exists. The CVT on Massachusetts job ads is the Certified Veterinary Technician designation of the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association (MVTA) — a membership category open to graduates of AVMA- or CVMA-accredited programs, with no legal scope.
Graduation from an AVMA or CVMA accredited Veterinary Technology or Veterinary Nursing program, documented with a diploma or college transcripts; the reciprocity route requires the same graduation proof. No on-the-job route appears in the sources read.
The VTNE — a passing score within the past 3 years for a new application, documented through AAVSB with the actual numerical score; via reciprocity there is no time limit on the score. No state jurisprudence exam exists, because the state issues no credential.
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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts?
AVMA's CVTEA list, retrieved September 23, 2026, names 5 accredited veterinary technology programs in Massachusetts.
Four award an associate degree and University of Massachusetts-Amherst awards a bachelor's.
All 5 carry AVMA's plain full-accreditation line, and none appears on AVMA's separate distance-education list.
Accreditation status changes, so check AVMA's own list for the current entry before you apply.
Is there a bachelor's degree vet tech program in Massachusetts?
Yes, one.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst is the only Massachusetts program on AVMA's list awarding a Bachelor of Science.
AVMA lists its initial accreditation as November 1985 and its next evaluation as 2026, and its status line is plain full accreditation.
The other 4 programs, all community colleges by name, award associate degrees.
Do you need a license to work as a veterinary technician in Massachusetts?
The sources read record Massachusetts as issuing no state veterinary technician credential, and the MVTA's CVT designation as conferring no legal permission and not required to work.
The CVT is a membership designation that documents graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited program and a passing VTNE score.
Which tasks a practice may delegate to a technician is a separate scope-of-practice question.
Can Massachusetts residents study vet tech online through AVMA's distance-education programs?
AVMA's distance-education list names 13 programs, none of them based in Massachusetts; all 5 Massachusetts programs above are on the by-state list only.
A distance-list program on AVMA's roster meets the MVTA's accreditation requirement, which asks for graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited program.
Before enrolling, ask the school whether it admits students living in Massachusetts and how it arranges clinical placement near the student.
Can I become a CVT in Massachusetts without graduating from an accredited program?
Not through any route in the sources read.
The new-application route requires graduation from an AVMA- or CVMA-accredited veterinary technology or veterinary nursing program, documented with a diploma or transcripts, and the reciprocity route demands the same graduation proof.
No on-the-job or experience-based alternative appears in the sources read.
Ask the association directly about any program that is not on AVMA's list before you enroll.
More Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- AVMA CVTEA — Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (Massachusetts 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)
- Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association CVT membership and renewal pages, as summarised on the Massachusetts requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Program list: AVMA CVTEA, retrieved 2026-09-23. Page last updated 2026-09-23.