Pre-Dentistry

Some students already have a B.A., B.S., or above and decide to pursue becoming a dentist. It is recommended that such students visit the pre-professional office for additional advisement. It is common for these students to take their missing prerequisite science or non-science courses for dental school here at USM as post-baccalaureate students, work on the other non-course requirements while taking courses, prepare for and take the DAT, and then apply to dental school(s). 

Some students may choose to pursue a second major, while others enroll in prerequisite courses as a non-degree-seeking student. In either case, students must go through the University's Undergraduate Admissions office to be either admitted (new students) or re-admitted (former students) prior to enrollment.

Dental schools have relatively similar minimum requirements for admission, typically:

• Completion of a series of specified courses in the natural sciences and humanities
• Completion of a baccalaureate degree is generally required, though special exceptions will occasionally be made for students with greater than 90 hours of credit
• A competitive GPA, both overall and in the BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics) areas
• Multiple positive traits, such as honesty, integrity, ethics, leadership ability, and motivation
• Competitive scores from the nationally administered Dental Admission Test (DAT)
• Ability to handle full-time study
• Observations of dentists in practice, generally with a minimum requirement of 100 shadowing hours
• Active participation in community service 
• Manual dexterity, often shown by skills or hobbies that involve fine movements (i.e. playing an instrument, crocheting/knitting, painting/sculpting)

The following list of Required Courses* meets only the minimum requirements for admission to the School of Dentistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson. Students must consult the specific admission requirements and application deadlines for the school(s) to which they plan to apply, including UMMC.

• Two semesters of General Chemistry (CHE 106/L & 107/L)
• Two semesters of Organic Chemistry (CHE 255/L & 256/L)
• Two semesters of General Biology (BIO 110/L & 111/L)
• Two semesters of General Physics (PHY 111/L & 112/L OR 201/L & 202/L)
• Two semesters of English Composition (ENG 101 & 102)
• Microbiology (BSC 282/L)
• Biochemistry (CHE 420 or 421) 
• Two mathematics courses
• One statistics course (PSY 360 recommended)

*Courses not accepted include courses taken by correspondence or online, physical and military science courses, dogmatic religion courses, and courses in the BCPM areas for non-majors. Advanced (300+) science courses must be taken at a four-year institution.

Students are strongly encouraged to take an online practice DAT before taking the DAT they will use on their application. There are a number of websites, including the DAT site, that have practice questions or practice tests. The DAT contains the following sections:

• Survey of Natural Sciences (biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry content)
• Quantitative Reasoning (mathematics problems involving algebraic equations, statistical analysis, and data interpretation)  
• Perceptual Ability (six subtests – apertures, view recognition, angle discrimination, paper folding, cube counting, and 3D form development)
• Reading Comprehension (three passages of scientific information – testing ability to read, comprehend, and analyze basic scientific information)

The DAT has a partial fee waiver program to lessen the cost of the exam. Applications for the 2018 fee waiver program began on January 1, and funds are typically depleted within three months. The American Dental Association has published a guide to the DAT with information about the scope and scoring of the test, exam fees and fee waivers, retesting, and re

Applications for most dental schools are centralized through AADSAS. Under this system, students fill out one application with all pertinent information, upload their transcripts and letters of evaluation, and designate which schools they would like their application to be sent to. Not every dental school has an application process that goes through AADSAS. 

It is important to note that dental schools set their own deadlines, separate from the application system deadlines. Students should check with their desired schools for specific deadline information, as well as information about possible secondary applications.