Degree Requirement and Prerequisite Courses

Dental Hygiene Prerequisites

Applicants for the BS/MS Dual Degree CDHL Program must have completed a previous Bachelor’s Degree in a field other than dental hygiene.

All 57 prerequisite credits must be completed by end of the spring semester prior to summer enrollment. The following required courses may be completed at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university. To be considered for admission, students should have completed the majority of the prerequisite courses, including a minimum of 16 credits of the science courses, by the end of December prior to the summer enrollment semester for which they are applying.  Please note that students are required to earn at least a C grade in all prerequisite courses. No grades lower than C will be accepted.

The CDHL Dental Hygiene Program will accept general credit by AP examination in the areas of non-science courses such as sociology, psychology, humanities, social sciences and English only if it appears on an official transcript. 

All sciences courses must have been completed within 7 years of application to CDHL.

Science Courses   
(All science courses must have been completed within 7 years of application to the program.) 
Anatomy / Physiology I & II with labs 8 credits
General Biology with lab 4 credits
Inorganic or General Chemistry with lab 4 credits
Microbiology with lab 4 credits
Higher-level science class with lab (A few examples: Pathophysiology, Pathology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Cellular Biology just to name a few)
4 credits
Non-Science Courses   
Basic Statistics 3 credits
Technical Writing (This course should offer instruction and practice in writing and producing documents that deal with scientific, technological, and/or business related subject matter. It should emphasize clear and concise writing with the goal to communicate complicated topics in a manner that is easily understood by the reader.)
3 credits
English Composition 6 credits
Humanities (This course can be taken in the categories of literature, philosophy, foreign languages, music and art appreciation, fine arts, math, particular education courses and history.  Course must be academic, non-studio courses. Physical Education courses are not transferable.) 3 credits
Introduction to Psychology 3 credits
Introduction to Sociology 3 credits
Principles of Nutrition* 3 credits
Public Speaking 3 credits
Social Sciences (Social science electives can be taken in the categories of psychology and sociology (other than the required introductory course), anthropology, political science, economics, Cultural Studies, Woman's Studies, geography, business management, religion, information systems (not keyboarding courses) and education,  Introduction to Computers (academic course) is often a General Education Requirement for college freshman and would be acceptable as a social science elective.) 6 credits
TOTAL OF 57 CREDITS OF REQUIRED COURSEWORK