Doctor of Dental Medicine Admission Requirements

KCU’s College of Dental Medicine (CDM) seeks the best and brightest student population and considers academic and non-academic criteria in selecting applicants who have the potential for success.

Admission requirements for the Doctor of Dental Medicine program are as follows:

I. Completed AADSAS Application

II. U.S. DAT score

DAT scores must be dated no later than three years prior to entry, e.g., for August 2025 entry scores need to be May 2022 or later.

III. Bachelor’s Degree

A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college is required for admission to the College of Dental Medicine. This requirement may be waived for students enrolled in KCU-CDM Partner Programs. 

IV. Prerequisite undergraduate coursework (completed with a grade of C or better)

· General Biology (Zoology, or similar is an acceptable alternative)- 8 semester hours of lecture and lab (12 quarter hours)

· Microbiology or Biochemistry –4 semester hours of lecture and lab (6 quarter hours)

· General Chemistry –8 semester hours of lecture and lab (12 quarter hours)

· Organic Chemistry – 8 semester hours of lecture & lab (12 quarter hours)

· Additional Biology, Chemistry, and/or Physics courses – 12 semester hours (18 quarter hours)

· English Composition/Technical Writing – 6 semester hours (8 quarter hours)

· *Human Anatomy – 4 semester hours (6 quarter hours)

*Course is strongly recommended, but not required

V. Three letters of recommendation

Letters must be dated within two years of matriculation year (e.g., if starting classes at KCU in August 2025, letters must be dated no earlier than May 2023).

· One from a pre-health advisor or committee; may substitute a science faculty member who is familiar with your scholastic performance

· One from a dentist (non-family member)

· One from an individual who can attest to your academic strengths, abilities and fit for dental school

VI. Demonstrated community service through volunteerism and/or service-oriented employment

VII. Clinical dental experience (shadowing or practice)

Admission to the Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) program is competitive and based on a “whole file review” process including the factors below:

· Academic Background - Grade point averages, performance trends, dental admission test scores; degree of difficulty of courses taken and course load

· Maturity - Academic, personal and employment experiences

· Motivation - Perseverance, non-academic achievement and personal declaration

· Professionalism – Leadership experiences/potential; ethics; integrity; commitment to service

· Recommendations - Source, degree of association, directness and environmental similarity to professional education

· Interview - Acceptable applicants will be interviewed at the discretion of the committee. Speech, manner, interests, goals and individual characteristics are evaluated during the interview process.

· Communications Skills – Oral and written

· Diversity - The CDM is dedicated to building a diverse community that recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. The College is committed to equal opportunity, fairness and access in the admissions policies without regard to age, national origin, race, religion, gender and/or sexual orientation.

· State of Residence – Preference given to permanent residents of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and KCU College of Biosciences graduates.

VIII. Health & Minimum Technical Standards

All candidates and enrolled dental students must meet health and technical standards to be admitted to, participate in, and graduate from the dental education programs of KCU. Applicants are advised to review this policy online.

Reasonable accommodation will be made as required by law; however, the candidate/student must be able to meet all technical standards with or without reasonable accommodation. Please refer to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Requests for accommodation should be directed to the KCU disability services coordinator, [email protected]. More information can be found by clicking here.