The pre-dental studies designation (“designation”) is for undergraduate students who are planning on pursuing a DDS or DMD degree. The pre-dental designation is not designed or intended for students enrolled in QU’s entry-level clinical degree programs.
The pre-dental designation is not a stand-alone program and is completed along with a student’s undergraduate degree and major. The pre-dental designation allows students to enroll in and track completion of common dental school course requirements. While the pre-dental designation includes many common prerequisites, requirements vary by dental school. Students are responsible for checking dental programs in advance of the AADSAS application process to determine if additional coursework is required.
Pre-Dental Studies Enrollment: Students enroll in the designation after the start of classes by attending one “Pre-Med 101” workshop held by the director of pre-health advising. Pre-Med 101 offerings can be found on Handshake at the start of fall and spring term and will be advertised via Pre-Health Opportunities emails.
Prospective Students: Prospective undergraduate students wanting to enroll in the designation should select "pre-medical studies" as a track of interest when applying to QU. This automatically adds you to the Pre-Health Opportunities email list, whereby you receive information about pre-dental designation enrollment and Pre-Med 101 sign-up prior to matriculation and throughout first year.
Requirements:
To receive the pre-dental studies designation upon graduation, the following are required:
- Cumulative GPA of 3.30 or above for required designation courses
- Minimum of 18 credits of designation coursework must be completed at Quinnipiac
- All designation course requirements must be completed on ground (no online coursework accepted)
- All designation course attempts are calculated to determine GPA eligibility (no grade “replacement” for repeated courses)
- If designation coursework is completed elsewhere, it must be transferred in as QU credits and listed on the QU transcript to count toward designation completion.
Experiential Development
In addition to strong academic performance, pre-dental students need to actively pursue opportunities throughout their undergraduate years that help them gain knowledge about the healthcare field and their intended profession. A wide range of skills and competencies should be developed through involvement in:
- healthcare and dentistry exposure (shadowing, clinical work, volunteering, etc.)
- research outside of the curriculum
- service commitments and community involvement
- leadership
- activities that develop manual dexterity
Active participation in pre-health and pre-dental workshops, advising, and events is expected. Students should work toward developing the AAMC's Pre-Med Competencies for Entering Medical Students (relevant to pre-dental students) and utilize pre-dental resources available via ADEA Go Dental.
Advising
Advising services for pre-dental students include preparatory workshops, guest speaker events, peer mentorship, and one-on-one advising. Early-college students are supported by the Pre-Med Ambassador peer mentorship program, which is overseen by the director of pre-health advising within the Office of Career Development and Experiential Learning. Enrolled designation students may seek advice on pre-professional development and the dental school application process from the director of pre-health advising. Advising topics include assessment of readiness, competency development, timeline planning, application strategy, essay reviews, school selection, mock interviews, and navigating the application process. Quinnipiac's Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) offers optional committee letter evaluation process for eligible dental school applicants.
Transfer Students
Students who transfer to Quinnipiac University and wish to receive the pre-dental studies designation must complete a minimum of 18 credits of the required designation coursework at QU. Grades received for designation requirements taken at other universities may be utilized for transfer student GPA calculations to determine eligibility.
Advanced Placement Credits
The vast majority of Quinnipiac pre-dental students opt not to utilize AP credits for entry-level biology and chemistry for strategic purposes (dental school policy or preference, and DAT prep). Some professional schools may accept AP credits for required sciences provided that applicants complete advanced college coursework in the same discipline. Other schools, including many dental schools, either do not accept or do not prefer AP credits for prerequisite science courses. Students are encouraged to check with the specific AP policies for any dental schools to which they intend to apply.
Online Coursework
In accordance with professional school admissions policies, online courses will not be accepted for any designation course requirements. Online degree seekers are not eligible for the pre-dental studies designation.
Course Requirements
All courses listed in this section may count toward both the major (if applicable) and the pre-dental studies designation.
Required Courses (All Courses Required for a Minimum of 46 Credits)
Students must complete all of the listed required courses, as they are the minimum prerequisites for application to dental schools and cover content tested on the Dental Admission Test (DAT).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Biology I and General Biology I Lab | ||
| General Biology for Majors and General Biology for Majors Laboratory | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Biology II and General Biology Lab II | ||
| Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics Lab | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Physics I and General Physics I Lab | ||
| University Physics ( (includes lab)) | ||
| Select one of the following courses: | 4 | |
| General Physics II and General Physics II Lab | ||
| University Physics II ((includes lab)) | ||
| Required courses: | ||
| CHE 110 & 110L | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Lab | 4 |
| CHE 111 & 111L | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Lab | 4 |
| CHE 210 & 210L | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab | 4 |
| CHE 211 & 211L | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab | 4 |
| CHE 315 & 315L | Biochemistry I and Biochemistry I Lab | 4 |
| BMS 370 & 370L | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab | 4 |
| MA 141 | Calculus of a Single Variable | 3 |
| MA 275 | Biostatistics | 3 |
In addition to required pre-dental designation courses, students should complete any two (2) English courses and Psychology 101 (PS 101) to meet many dental school admission requirements. Advanced sciences such as Anatomy & Physiology, Genetics, Histology, and Cell Biology, as well as ethics and philosophy courses, are highly recommended.
Dental school prerequisites vary by program. Pre-dental students should review school-specific requirements via the ADEA Dental School Explorer or via program websites.