Pre-Dentistry

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Advisor
Daminon Garza
Bouillon Hall, room 205
509-963-3423

Blaise Dondji, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
Science Building 338H
509-963-2715

Most students enter dental school with a bachelor’s degree. A pre-dentistry major is not offered. Any major is acceptable provided the dental school admission requirements are met. Most students major in biology or chemistry. Schools vary in which science classes are required. A background in the social sciences and humanities is also expected; however, there are no firm expectations for coursework in these subjects beyond English. The American Dental Association (ADA) website, www.ada.org/en provides links to individual dental schools. Pre-dental students are encouraged to learn the specific requirements for their potential schools. Students applying to dental school must have taken the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT). Information on the DAT is also available on the ADA website. General biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry courses should be completed prior to attempting the DAT. Completing additional coursework in biology should also improve DAT performance.

For detailed information on this program, please go to: www.cwu.edu/health-career/pre-dentistry-home.

Pre-Professional Programs Information

These programs are planned for two groups of students-those who want one or two years of college work prior to entering an occupation, and those who want to do pre-professional work for one, two, three, or four years before entering a professional school, university, or college.

The programs described are not to be considered unalterable. They represent patterns that generally agree with the requirements of many professional schools. Since there are many variations in the requirements of the professional schools, students should, after consulting the CWU catalog, select courses required by the institution from which they expect to earn a degree.

The following pre-professional programs are offered: pre-chiropractic, pre-dentistry, pre-dietetics, pre-engineering, pre-law, pre-medical technology, pre-medicine, pre-nursing in public health, pre-occupational therapy, pre-optometry, pre-pharmacy, pre-physical therapy, and pre-veterinary.