Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1879 and is the oldest veterinary college in the United States. Iowa State has graduated 6,400 veterinarians and is one of the largest veterinary research facilities in the nation. Officially formed in 1879, Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine can trace its history back to the school's founding in 1858, when state legislator's specified that veterinary studies would be included in the subjects of instruction. Seniors of ISU's first graduating class in 1872, received instruction in veterinary science, but it wasn't until 1879 that degrees were offered in that subject. The ISU veterinary school was the first state veterinary college in the United States. Other private veterinary colleges all closed by the 1920s, leaving ISU as the oldest veterinary college still in operation in the United States. Originally, the degree programs offered were only two year programs, but with expanded coursework, the program was extended to three years in 1887 and to four years by 1903 (making Iowa State the nation’s first four-year veterinary school).