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Students interested in the pre-health major in dental hygiene must complete the two-year program requirements (a total minimum of 60 credits) for application to the Bachelor of Science degree program in dental hygiene offered by the VCU School of Dentistry. Applications to the program are normally submitted in spring of the sophomore year. Students planning to start the program in the fall would begin the admissions process during the fall semester of the preceding year. Students apply to the baccalaureate program through the American Dental Education Association Dental Hygiene Centralized Application Service in the spring of the year preceding entrance. All prerequisite course work should be completed by the spring of the year of desired admission.
Completion of the pre-health major in dental hygiene does not guarantee admission to the junior- and senior-year program for the B.S. in Dental Hygiene nor does it result in a college degree. Students must be admitted to and complete all program requirements to earn a baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene. Admission into the program is based on both academic and nonacademic qualities (work ethic, knowledge of the profession, motivation, compassion, integrity, communication skills, leadership and desire to contribute to society, resiliency, willingness to accept responsibility, and maturity). Students are strongly encouraged to consult with a UAA pre-health major academic adviser to learn about admission requirements that are specific to the program and to speak about alternate/parallel majors. For more information about the admission requirements and application deadlines for the B.S. in Dental Hygiene, visit the program’s website.
Requirements for the pre-health major in dental hygiene
Students in the pre-health major in dental hygiene must complete the specific prerequisite courses outlined below, totaling a minimum 60 credit hours. The Dental Hygiene Program does not accept grades of D and all courses taken (repeated) are factored into the GPA. Science courses must be completed within six years of matriculation. The Dental Hygiene Program requires any applicant whose native language is not English and who has been educated primarily outside of the United States to submit official Test of English as a Foreign Language or International English Language Testing System scores.
Students interested in the pre-health major in dental hygiene must complete biological concepts and laboratory, human anatomy (laboratory included), human physiology and laboratory, medical microbiology and laboratory, and general chemistry I and laboratory. The non-science prerequisites for the pre-health major are: English composition (UNIV 111, UNIV 112 and UNIV 200), statistics, introduction to psychology, introduction to sociology, effective speech, a visual or performing arts course, humanities elective, and elective courses to complete the 60 credit-hour requirement needed to enroll in the dental hygiene degree program. DENS 101, although not required, is highly recommended.
The remainder of the 60 required credits should be chosen to fulfill VCU’s general education curriculum.
Following a review of admissions credentials, eligible and competitive applicants will require an interview with the admissions committee. The department will contact the student/applicant to schedule the interview. Applicants are notified of committee decisions at the earliest possible date.
Changing to the pre-health major in dental hygiene from another major
Current VCU students who wish to change their major to the pre-health major in dental hygiene must meet the following criteria to be considered for the major:
- Minimum GPA of 2.8
- No more than 75 credits completed
Students who do not meet these requirements may see a pre-health adviser, but they will not be assigned to a pre-health adviser in Navigate.
Progression policy
Students interested in pursuing the B.S. in Dental Hygiene are admitted initially into the pre-health major in dental hygiene, which is not a degree-granting major. In order to remain in the pre-dental hygiene program, students must meet the following criteria.
- Students must maintain a minimum 2.8 VCU cumulative GPA.
- If a student's VCU cumulative GPA drops below 2.8, they will be placed on pre-health probation and allowed one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.8 — provided it is mathematically possible to do so. If it is not mathematically possible to do so, or if the student fails to raise their minimum cumulative GPA to 2.8 during their probationary semester, they will be removed from the pre-dental hygiene major and transitioned into their secondary major. If no secondary major exists, students will be moved into the Discovery program (Undeclared major) where they will receive assistance with selecting another major.
- Pre-health probation students: Students must meet with their pre-health adviser prior to the add/drop deadline of the pursuant semester in order to adjust their class schedule and to create an action plan.
- By the time a student has attempted1 60 credits, if they have not successfully matriculated to the dental hygiene major, they must declare a secondary major related to their parallel plan.
- If a student exceeds 75 attempted1 credits and has not successfully matriculated to the dental hygiene major, they will be removed from the pre-dental hygiene major and their secondary major will become their primary major.
Details of special requirements for admission to the dental hygiene program can be found on the degree requirements tab of the dental hygiene program page of this Bulletin.
Transfer students who are admitted to the pre-health major in dental hygiene must apply to the B.S. in Dental Hygiene degree program following the minimum number of semesters needed to complete the prerequisite courses required for admission. Transfer students must adhere to the same guidelines outlined above (re: declaring secondary majors, developing action plans, etc.).
Students may appeal the removal from the pre-health major in dental hygiene via the associate director of pre-health advising in University Academic Advising. Students must initiate the appeal with their assigned academic adviser in UAA. The associate director may, at his or her discretion, extend the time period needed to meet the requirements, generally by only one semester. A student who wishes to appeal must submit his or her appeal at least one week prior to the start of the next semester in which they register for classes.
Attempted hours include credit hours from courses in which a W, an F or any other grade has been assigned. This is reported in the transcript as “overall attempted hours.”
Prerequisites for the dental hygiene program
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| VCU courses | ||
| Select one of the following biology sequences (Note the three-credit lecture component satisfies general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning.): | 4 | |
| Biological Concepts and Biological Concepts Laboratory | ||
| Introduction to Biological Sciences I and Introduction to Biological Science Laboratory I 1 | ||
| BIOL 205 | Basic Human Anatomy | 4 |
| BIOL 209 & BIOZ 209 | Medical Microbiology and Medical Microbiology Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 101 & CHEZ 101 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I (both satisfy general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning) 2 | 4 |
| PHIS 206 & PHIZ 206 | Human Physiology and Human Physiology Laboratory | 4 |
PSYC 101  Play course video for Introduction to Psychology | Introduction to Psychology (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and AOI for diversities in the human experience) | 4 |
| SPCH 121 | Effective Speech | 3 |
| or BUSN 225 | Winning Presentations | |
| SOCY 101 Play course video for Introduction to Sociology | Introduction to Sociology (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and AOI for diversities in the human experience) | 3 |
| STAT 210 | Basic Practice of Statistics (satisfies general education quantitative foundations) 3 | 3 |
| UNIV 111 Play course video for Focused Inquiry I | Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II | Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| UNIV 200 | Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| Humanities/fine arts elective | 3 | |
| Visual or performing arts 4 | 3 | |
| Electives to reach the 60-credit minimum requirement for entrance into the program and completion of VCU’s general education curriculum | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
Any course that has an art or music designation, including art history and music appreciation
The minimum number of credit hours required (for admission to dental hygiene program) is 60.
Sample curriculum outline
| Freshman year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall semester | Hours | |
| Select one of the following biology sequences: 1 | 4 | |
| BIOL 101 & BIOZ 101 | Biological Concepts and Biological Concepts Laboratory | - |
| BIOL 151 & BIOZ 151 | Introduction to Biological Sciences I and Introduction to Biological Science Laboratory I | - |
| MATH 151 | Precalculus Mathematics (satisfies general education quantitative foundations) | 4 |
| PSYC 101 Play course video for Introduction to Psychology | Introduction to Psychology (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and AOI for diversities in the human experience) | 4 |
| UNIV 111 Play course video for Focused Inquiry I | Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| CHEM 101 & CHEZ 101 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I (both satisfy general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning) | 4 |
| PHIS 206 & PHIZ 206 | Human Physiology and Human Physiology Laboratory | 4 |
| SOCY 101 Play course video for Introduction to Sociology | Introduction to Sociology (satisfies general education AOI for diversities in the human experience) | 3 |
| STAT 210 | Basic Practice of Statistics | 3 |
| UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II | Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| Term Hours: | 17 | |
| Sophomore year | ||
| Fall semester | ||
| BIOL 205 | Basic Human Anatomy | 4 |
| SPCH 121 or BUSN 225 | Effective Speech or Winning Presentations | 3 |
| UNIV 200 | Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| Visual or performing arts | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 13 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| BIOL 209 & BIOZ 209 | Medical Microbiology and Medical Microbiology Laboratory | 4 |
| Humanities/fine arts elective | 3 | |
| Electives to reach the 60-credit minimum requirement for entrance into the program and completion of VCU’s general education curriculum | 8 | |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Total Hours: | 60 | |
The three-credit lecture component satisfies general education AOI for scientific and logical reasoning.
The minimum number of credit hours required (for admission to dental hygiene program) is 60.