The Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences (VCS) is the largest department in WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. It is organized into four divisions-small animal; equine; food animal including population medicine, epidemiology, and theriogenology; and clinical support services including radiology, anesthesiology, clinical pathology, and others. Within each division are two or more sections which are organized by specific discipline, e.g., medicine and surgery. The department teaches clinical subjects including medicine, surgery, radiology, anesthesiology, animal reproduction, and clinical pathology.

The academic staff is forty faculty and fifteen interns and residents. They are responsible for teaching about sixty percent of the D.V.M. curriculum including a majority of the third- and fourth-year classes. The "laboratory" in which much of this instruction takes place is the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. In the hospital environment, students are introduced to the practical aspects of the clinical disciplines. The teaching hospital also is the part of the college the general public most frequently equates with the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine. The hospital provides around-the-clock, fee-based veterinary services for the general public and acts as a veterinary referral center for practitioners in the Pacific Northwest and western Canadian provinces.

The department is committed to excellence in diagnosis, treatment, and management of clinical problems. To accomplish this, VCS utilizes the most sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic technology. As well as teaching, VCS faculty conduct research to enhance current knowledge regarding disease causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Some researchers perform these activities in classic laboratory settings, whereas others utilize case material, literature reviews, and experiences gained in the course of managing large numbers of a particular patient type. The department's research activities tend to be of an applied clinical nature. Specific strengths in recent years have been developed in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors and neurological problems in dogs, investigation of field disease problems affecting herds and flocks, the passive transfer of immunity, and equine exercise physiology.