The American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education (COE) accredits such programs offering a doctor of veterinary medicine degree. The organization was formed in the last decades of the 19th century, when the formal field of veterinary medicine was just developing strong legs in the academic community. In 1909 a special committee was commissioned to grade all the schools of veterinary medicine in the United States and Canada, which they found was not the most efficient use of their time.

In 1921 the association began a new system of creating the essential requirements for a school of veterinary medicine. That system stuck and now all veterinary programs are required to meet a set of educational standards in order to be considered for accreditation. Today, the Council on Education under the American Veterinary Medical Association is the only recognized accrediting agency for the field.

It is the focus of the accrediting council to make a standardized level of excellence among graduates of its programs. If graduates with a doctor of veterinary medicine degree are held to the same standards, the hope of the council is that they will act on those same philosophies throughout their professional career as well.