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Pre-Dental Course Requirements

Course Requirements Overview

This is a guide to common pre-dental course requirements.  

Professional schools have a variety of prerequisites required for admission to their programs. On this page, we include information about timelines for pre-dental requirements and the options available. 

  • Many programs prefer in person coursework, and some programs may not allow online coursework. See individual schools for policies.
  • Individual schools may require or recommend additional courses.
  • All Prerequisites must be completed with a letter grade of C or higher.
  • Schools vary on Credit-By-Exam (AP/IB/CLEP) policies and preferences for prerequisites. Please see "Can I Claim AP/IB Credit?"

School requirements can change. See individual school websites and admissions guides under “Research Dental Schools Before You Apply." We always recommend checking for any updates.

Recommended Pre-Dental Courses

Most Texas dental schools require:

  • Biology:  Lecture – 12-15 hrs;  Lab – 2-3 hrs 
  • General Chemistry:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • Organic Chemistry:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • Biochemistry:  Lecture – 3 hrs
  • Microbiology: Lecture - 3 hrs
  • General Physics:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • Math:  Statistics – 3 hrs
  • English:  Rhetoric (Composition) and/or Literature – 6 hrs

(Dental School Prerequisite Course Timelines and a Pre-Dental Science Courses Flowchart are available at the bottom of this page.)

Humanities and Social Science Course Options:

  • Psychology and Sociology
  • Ethics
  • Analytical problem-solving and Critical thinking
  • Writing, Interpersonal communications, and Presentation skills
  • Small business management and Accounting
  • Mechanical drawing and studio art
  • Cultural studies
  • Spanish and other language studies relevant to your career goals

UT Austin Courses Typically Taken to Fulfill Requirements

In addition to the course lists below, see explanations of requirements on the TMDSAS (Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service) Undergraduate Course Requirements & look at the TMDSAS Approved Course List

Science Requirements

Subject Lecture Lab
Biology
  • BIO 311C + BIO 311D + BIO 325 OR
  • [BIO 315H + BIO 325H] (honors) + BIO/INB/MBS Elective 3 hrs

 

 

 

BIO 325 is not specifically required, but it is a UT Austin prerequisite for other required upper-division Biology courses, including Microbiology.

 
  • BIO 206L OR 
  • 2 hrs of upper-division BIO lab

 

 

Must be formal lab course work. Research lab credit, such as INB/MBS 377, does not fulfill this requirement.

 

 

 

***Note - BCH 369L (for Biochemistry majors) or BCH 219L (for Biochemistry majors) - contact your dental program(s) of choice to see if this lab will fulfill the 2hr BIO lab requirement.***
Microbiology
  • BIO / MBS 326R

 

 

UT Austin prerequisite for this course: BIO 325 or BIO 325H AND CH 302 or CH 302H.

 

 BIO 226L was previously listed as a required course. Currently, BIO/MBS 226L is NOT required for any Texas Dental School programs. Please make sure to check with any out of state programs you may be interested in for their required pre-requisite courses.

Anatomy

 

(req. for Texas A&M Univ. School of Dentistry)

 
  • BIO / INB 446L

 

 

 

  

Physiology

 

(req. for Texas A&M Univ. School of Dentistry)

 
  • BIO / INB 365S

 

 
  • BIO / INB 165U
General Chemistry
  • CH 301 + CH 302 OR
  • CH 301H + CH 302H (honors) OR
  • CH 301C + CH 302C (for Chemistry majors)
  • CH 204 OR
  • CH 104M + CH 104N
Organic Chemistry
  • CH 320M + CH 320N OR
  • CH 328M + CH 328N (for Chemistry majors)
  • CH 220C OR
  • CH 128K + CH 128L (for Chemistry majors)
Biochemistry
  • BCH 369 OR
  • BCH 339F (for Biochemistry majors)
  
Physics

UT Austin offers 4 accepted lecture/lab sequences. Dental schools have no preference.

  • PHY 317K + PHY 317L  OR
  • PHY 302K + PHY 302L  OR
  • PHY 303K + PHY 303L  (for Engineering majors)  OR
  • PHY 301 + PHY 316  (for some Science and Engineering majors)

Starting FALL 2021, PHY 105M/N will replace lab numbers PHY 102M/N, PHY 103M/N, and 117M/N.

  • If PHY 317K + PHY 317L
    • PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR
    • PHY 117M + PHY 117N
  • If PHY 302K + PHY 302L
    • PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR
    • PHY 102M + PHY 102N
  • If PHY 303K + PHY 303L
    • PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR
    • PHY 103M + PHY 103N (for Engineering majors)
  • If PHY 301 + PHY 316
    • PHY 101L + 116L (for some Science and Engineering majors)

Non-Science Courses

Subject Course Information
Statistics

Statistics usually fulfills math requirement at Texas schools.

See TMDSAS acceptable statistics courses

  
Rhetoric (Composition)
  • RHE 306
  • RHE 309K
  • Any Writing Flag course in RHE Dept.
 Choose 1 courses from rhetoric (composition).
Literature
  • E 316L
  • E 316M
  • E 316N
  • E 316P
  • Any Literature course in English Dept.

Choose 1 courses from the literature.

Remedial, developmental, and "English As a Second Language" courses are not accepted.

 

Dental Schools Prerequisite Course Timelines

Completing the pre-dental courses and extra-curricular activities generally requires six semesters or longer, regardless of the student’s age or year in college. Your personal timeline may differ from these samples. Work with your academic advisor to incorporate these courses into your degree plan.

Important Note: Timelines do not include all course options and details. To be sure that you are fulfilling all requirements, see individual school websites and Research Dental Schools Before You Apply.

 

Additional Course Information