Dental School Academic Preparation

Dental School Academic Preparation

These courses meet the requirements for most dental schools and preparation for the DAT. Dental schools generally do not accept AP credit or on-line courses for these required courses. Be sure to check each dental school’s requirements.

No dental school requires a science major, nor are science majors given extra consideration in the admission process. Becoming a competitive dental school applicant also requires more than a solid GPA and DAT score. Be sure you are meeting regularly with your HPAO advisor.

One year General Chemistry with Labs

CHEM 200 General Chemistry (5)
Prerequisites: Knowledge of introductory chemistry as demonstrated by completion of CHEM 100 with a grade of C or better, or satisfaction of the Entry-Level Mathematics requirement and qualification on the Chemistry Department Placement Examination.

CHEM 201 General Chemistry (5)
Prerequisite: CHEM 200 or 202 with grade of C or better

One year of Organic Chemistry with Labs

CHEM 232/232L Organic Chemistry (4)
Prerequisite: CHEM 201 with grade of C or better and credit or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 232L

CHEM 432/432L Organic Chemistry (4)
Prerequisite: CHEM 232 with a grade of C or better and credit or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 432L

One year of Biology with Labs

BIOL 203/203L Principles of Cell & Molecular Biology (4)
Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in Chem 200/202 and satisfaction of the SDSU Written Communication Assessment requirement.

BIOL 204/204L Principles of Organismal Biology (4)
Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the Written Communication Assessment requirement. Recommended completion of BIOL 203/203L

One year of Physics with Labs

PHYS 180A/182A Fundamentals of Physics I/Lab (4)
Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the Entry-level Mathematics requirement. Recommended concurrent registration in PHYS 182A
PHYS 180B/182B Fundamentals of Physics II/Lab (4)
Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the Entry-level Mathematics requirement, PHYS 180A. Recommended concurrent registration in PHYS 182B
OR
PHYS 195/195L Principles of Physics/Lab (4)
Prerequisites: High school physics or PHYS 180A. MATH 150 with a minimum grade of C
PHYS 196/196L Principles of Physics/Lab (4)
Prerequisites: PHYS 195. MATH 151

One year of English
RWS 100 College Composition* (3) 

Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the SDSU written communication assessment requirement. 

RWS 200 Rhetoric of Written Arguments in Context* (3) 

Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the SDSU Written Communication Assessment requirement and Rhetoric and Writing Studies 100 [or English 100] or 105B, or Africana Studies 120 or American Indian Studies 120 or Chicana and Chicano Studies 111B or English 100 or Linguistics 100B. Proof of completion of prerequisites required: Test scores or verification of exemption; copy of transcript. 

*Other composition courses may also meet this requirement for some medical schools. Check with HPAO.

OR
If you have AP credit for RWS 100…
RWS 200 Rhetoric of Written Arguments in Context* (3)
RWS 305W Writing in Various Settings (3)
Prerequisite: Junior, Senior, or Grad Level

OR
If you have AP credit for RWS 100 and RWS 200 …
RWS 305W Writing in Various Settings (3)
RWS 503W Professional Writing (3)
Prerequisite: Junior, Senior, or Grad Level

Courses required by some schools
(Be sure to check pre-requisites)
PSY 101 Introductory Psychology (3)
BIOL 212 Human Anatomy (4)
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in Biology 100, 203, or 211.
BIOL 336 Principles of Human Physiology (3)
Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.A.2. Life Sciences. If a biological sciences course is not taken to satisfy General Education II.A.2. Life Sciences, a college course in biological sciences is required.

BIOL 350 General Microbiology (4)
Prerequisites: Biology 203, 203L, 204, 204L; Chemistry 232, 232L

OR

BIOL 211 and 211L Fundamentals of Microbiology (4)
Prerequisites: Biology 100 or 203 and 203L; or a grade of B or better in high school biology. Credit or concurrent registration in Chemistry 100 or 102 or 130.

CHEM 365 Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology (3)
Prerequisites: BIOL 203, 203L and CHEM 232, 232L

Courses of Interest to Pre-Dental Students (check prerequisites) 

BIOL 250A Pre Professional Topics: Topics in Medicine (1) 

BIOL 215 Biostatistics (3) 

BIOL 340A Preventive Dentistry (1, F) 

BIOL 351 Genetics (3) 

BIOL 485 Principles of Immunology (3, S) 

BIOL 554 Molecular Virology (3) 

BIOL 576 Developmental Biology (3, F) 

BIOL 590 Physiology of Systems (4, F) 

BIOL 436 Physiology Lab (2) 

PH 362 International Health (3)

Additional Resources

www.adea.org/GoDental

www.ada.org/en/education-careers/dental-admission-test

www.asdanet.org