A DVM is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, which is a degree awarded to veterinarians by most veterinary schools in the United States. The VMD degree is also a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, but it is only awarded by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. The difference between the two degrees is that the letters "VMD" stand for the Latin terminology, Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris, while "DVM" stands for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. The University of Pennsylvania was the first accredited veterinary school approved in the United States of America when it opened in 1884 and began issuing VMD diplomas. While the other schools eventually transitioned to the more modern DVM name, UPenn prides itself in its historical school and chose to keep the Latin VMD name to symbolize that. Regardless of the title, all veterinarians with either degree have the same training and have passed the same tests.