Pre-Dental Course Requirements

Course Requirements Overview

The following is a guide to common pre-dental course requirements. Professional schools have a variety of prerequisites required for admission to their program. On this page, we will review general requirements, timelines, and course recommendations to fulfill these requirements at the University of Texas at Austin.

A few things to note:

These are general recommendations. Individual schools may require or recommend additional courses not listed. If you have a certain school in mind, make sure to check their website for a full list of their course requirements.
All prerequisites must be completed for a letter grade with a C or higher.
- Some schools may require a higher minimum grade.
Schools vary on their policies for accepting Credit-By-Exam (AP/IB/CLEP) for prerequisites. For our recommendations, view our FAQ page on “Should I claim AP/IB Credit?”
Many programs prefer in-person coursework, and some may not allow online coursework. Make sure to Research Dental Schools before you apply to make sure you are meeting all requirements posited by the program.

Students are responsible for understanding the specific academic requirements for admission to dental school. The Health Professions Office is available to assist students with research skills for finding admissions details, as well as course recommendations.

Application Tip

The competitive GPA for dental schools in Texas is around a 3.80 GPA. This means, you'll need to make A's and B's (with more A's than B's) in your coursework to remain competitive.

Be mindful of your grades and seek academic support early and often. Don't wait until your first poor test score to seek help! Attend supplemental instruction, tutoring, and office hours regularly.

General Requirements

The following are the general requirements for Texas dental schools. Most Texas dental school requirements align with the TMDSAS Education Requirements. However, some programs may require or recommend courses in addition to these listed. We always recommend checking for any updates on a dental school's admission website before choosing your courses.

Most Texas dental school require:

Biological Sciences: 12 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab
General Chemistry: 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab
Organic Chemistry: 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab
Biochemistry: 3 hours of lecture
Microbiology: 3 hours of lecture
General Physics: 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab
Mathematics: 3 hours of statistics
English: 6 hours of Rhetoric, Composition, or English courses

Additionally, Texas A&M School of Dentistry requires:

Anatomy with lab: 4 hours
Physiology: 3 hours

Some dental schools may require or recommend additional courses in the humanities, social sciences, or otherwise. We strong recommend taking courses in the following areas as well:

Social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, or anthropology
Humanities, such as philosophy, ethics, or otherwise
Rhetoric, literature, and writing courses
Interpersonal communication and presentation skills
Business, such as accounting, finance, or business management
Foreign language or cultural courses, relevant to your career goals
Courses to increase your analytical, critical thinking, or problem-solving skills
Course to increase your perceptual ability or fine motor skills

Course Timelines

Completing the pre-dental coursework can generally require six semesters or more. Your personal timeline may differ depending on your academic record or other factors. Here are our general recommendations for course timelines:

At minimum full-time enrollment (12 hours), aiming for 14-16 hours a semester
6-9 hours a semester of science or prerequisite courses
A healthy balance between you core, major, and prerequisite requirements

The following are examples of how you can structure your requirements with these recommendations in mind, but they do not contain all course options and requirements for all dental schools. To be sure you meet all requirements, make sure that you Research Dental Schools for additional requirements.

Sample 4-Year Plan

Sample 5-Year Plan

UT Austin Courses

The following are the courses commonly taken at UT Austin to complete the prerequisite requirements. This is not an exhaustive list of all options. For more detailed recommendations, please contact your academic advisor or schedule an appointment with the Health Professions Office.

Requirement	Course(s) to Fulfill Requirement	Notes
Biological Sciences	Lecture BIO 311C + BIO 311D + BIO 325 + 3hrs UD BIO/MBS/INB OR BIO 315H + BIO 325H + 6hrs UD BIO/MBS/INB Lab BIO 206L (or BIO 206LA + BIO 206LB for transfer students) OR 2hrs UD BIO/INB/MBS lab	BIO 325 is not specifically required, unless specifically stated on a school's website. However, it is the prerequisite for many upper-division biology courses at UT Austin. For upper-division biological sciences, choose from Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Parasitology, or Ecology. Some NEU major courses may count for upper-division biology for Texas dental schools. Please visit HPO for more information. Labs must be formal lab coursework. Research lab credit, such as BIO/INB/MBS 377 will not fulfill this requirement. The additional biology requirements for Texas A&M dental school may be counted towards the 3-6 hours of "your choice" biology requirements.
General Chemistry	Lecture CH 301 + CH 302 OR CH 301H + CH 302H OR CH 301C +CH 302C (for CH majors) Lab CH 204 OR CH 104M + CH 104N	It is recommended by the chemistry department that you take your 1-hour general chemistry labs in the same semester that you take the corresponding lecture course.
Organic Chemistry	Lecture CH 320M + CH 320N OR CH 328M + CH 328N (for CH majors) Lab CH 220C OR CH 128K + CH 128L (for CH majors)	Seats in CH 220C can be limited. Please attempt to register for CH 220C when you register for CH 320N for the first time. If you are not able to get a seat, please continue to attempt to register for CH 220C in future semesters. If you are graduating and are not able to secure a seat in CH 220C, please email Chemistry Student Services for more guidance.
Biochemistry	Lecture BCH 369 OR BCH 339F (for BCH majors)	TMDSAS has changed the way that they count biological science, chemistry, and biochemistry requirements. Because of this change, some schools may allow BCH to count towards 3 hours of biology or chemistry requirements in addition to the biochemistry requirement. We recommend that you do not double count BCH as a biological science or chemistry requirement and ensure that you have the requisite biological science and chemistry hours without BCH included.
Microbiology	Lecture MBS 326R OR MBS 326M	Currently, MBS 226L (Microbiology lab) is not required for any Texas dental school. This could change from cycle to cycle. Please make sure that you are researching prerequisite courses at specific schools prior to registering or applying. MBS 326M is currently accepted by Texas dental schools to meet the microbiology requirement. It may not be accepted by out-of-state dental schools. The course to take to meet the most general requirement is MBS 326R, General Microbiology.
Anatomy & Physiology	Lecture/Lab INB 446L Lecture INB 365S	Anatomy and physiology are both upper-division courses at UT Austin. Please ensure that you are meeting the prerequisites prior to enrollment. If you have any questions, please email the Biology department. At this time, Texas A&M School of Dentistry is the only program in Texas that requires anatomy and physiology. Taking these courses, even if you do not plan to apply to Texas A&M, may still improve the competitiveness of your application and understanding of biological concepts prior to matriculation.
General Physics	Lecture Choose one (1) 6-hr sequence from: PHY 302K + PHY 302L PHY 317K + PHY 317L PHY 303K + PHY 303L (for Engineering majors) PHY 301 + PHY 316 (for some Science & Engineering majors) Lab PHY 105M + PHY 105N PHY 101L + PHY 116L (if taking PHY 301 sequence)	At this time, dental schools have no preference on the physics sequence that you take. We recommend taking the sequence that aligns with your major and/or calculus readiness. Starting Fall 2021, PHY labs are coded differently in the course schedule. If you have any of the following lab courses from pre-Fall 2021, these are the same courses as PHY 105M and PHY 105N. PHY 117M + PHY 117N PHY 102M + PHY 102N PHY 103M + PHY 103N
Mathematics	Choose 3 hours from an approved statistics course. For Texas medical school recommendations, please review the TMDSAS course listing. Common options include, but are not limited to: SDS 301 SDS 302F SDS 320E EDP 371	Some schools may require the course be taken in a math or statistics department. Check your target school’s website for more information. Calculus: Calculus may be required at some out-of-state dental schools. Refer to your target schools’ website for more information. At Texas dental schools, calculus is currently not required.
English	Choose 6 hours from the RHE and E departments. RHE 306 RHE 309J E 316L, M, or N Any course from the RHE department Any literature course from the E department	Some schools may require 1 course from each department. Check your target school’s website for more information.

TMDSAS Course Listing

Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS) has two resources available for students to see if courses can apply to TMDSAS requirements.

TMDSAS Course Listing – This is a course listing of courses (as of EY 2024) at UT Austin that will count toward biological science, chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and statistics requirements.
TMDSAS Course Definitions – These are more detailed descriptions of the course requirements, including the specific topics that are included in each core requirement for TMDSAS.

What about out-of-state schools?

For schools not participating in TMDSAS, we encourage students to review their target schools’ websites to see the acceptable topics and courses that are required for their specific admissions.

Other Recommendations

Please read below for additional considerations as you select your courses.

AP, IB, Dual Credit, and Transfer Courses

Students should take care when deciding whether to claim AP or IB credit for prerequisite courses. Please see our FAQ with our full recommendations. If you are thinking about taking courses away from UT Austin after your first year at UT Austin, please see our recommendations for where to take courses.

What if I'm a transfer student who took prerequisites at my previous institution?

Our recommendations are different for students who transferred to UT Austin with previous prerequisite courses completed, especially science and math courses. Please see our FAQ for our full recommendations on advising transfer students.

Non-Science Pre-Health Courses at UT Austin

If you are interested in taking additional pre-health related courses to strengthen or diversify your application, we recommend reviewing the approved courses for the Pre-Health Certificate for Science Majors in your catalog.

It is not required for students to pursue the certificate to take these courses. Visit the Pre-Health Certificate website for more information.

Pre-Dental Course Requirements

Course Requirements Overview

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General Requirements

Course Timelines

UT Austin Courses

TMDSAS Course Listing

What about out-of-state schools?

Other Recommendations

AP, IB, Dual Credit, and Transfer Courses

What if I'm a transfer student who took prerequisites at my previous institution?

Non-Science Pre-Health Courses at UT Austin