Bachelor of Science Dental Hygiene Program

Applicants for the Dental Hygiene Bachelor of Science program can submit their applications between October 24, 2025 and February 22, 2026 to be considered for admission. The recommended minimum GPA for applicants is 3.0; preference in admission is given to students with high scholastic averages, especially in the sciences. Applications that are submitted or remain incomplete after the deadline will not be considered. 

Note:  All supplemental materials must be uploaded to the ADEA DHCAS application portal.  No supplemental materials will be accepted via email or postal mail.

The following application materials should be submitted by February 15:

• ADEA DHCAS Primary Application - Application must have a status of Complete in order to be considered for the current cycle
  
  
  • Completion of  Prerequisite Courses

    A minimum of 16 of the 24 science credits must be complete at the end of the fall semester PRIOR to the fall you wish to be considered for our program. All pre-requisite courses must be complete at the end of the spring semester PRIOR to the fall you wish to be considered for our dental hygiene program.

  • Dental Hygiene Shadowing Form PDF -  Permitted file format: PDF
    
    Baccalaureate degree-seeking students are required to observe a registered dental hygienist who is presently working in practice for a minimum of eight hours to increase awareness and knowledge of the profession prior to applying for the Dental Hygiene Program. 
    
    
  • Official Transcripts
    

    Official transcripts must be received from each college or university attended. Foreign transcripts must be evaluated by WES or ECE. If you are enrolled in school during the fall semester, request another transcript after fall grades have been included.

  • Recommendation Letters
    

    One recommendation must be from a college-level science teacher and another from a dental hygienist or dentist. Recommendations must be from non-family members. Members of the Dental Hygiene faculty at the University of Maryland CANNOT write letters of recommendation. You may wish to submit another recommendation from an employer for a total of three recommendations.

  • Resume -  Permitted file formats: PDF or Microsoft Word
• Instate Residency Form Please complete if you wish to be considered for in-state tuition
• TOEFL Requirements - Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency.  Test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) is required.  Results must be uploaded to the ADEA DHCAS application portal. The code number is 5848.
  • TOEFL Scores - must be between 80-85 IBT (internet-based test), 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, to be considered for the Dental Hygiene program here at the University of Maryland Baltimore

International Students

• Applicants must submit completed applications and all supporting documents, by February 15.
• Foreign documents must be certified official and be submitted in sealed envelopes from the institution issuing them. If the documents are not in English, they must include an English translation.
• WES  wes.org or ECE  www.ece.org evaluations are required. Ask for a course by course evaluation.
  

  Only courses equivalent in U.S. course names, U.S. letter grades and U.S.  semester hours from the Phase I Preprofessional Curriculum categories of inorganic chemistry (also known as general chemistry), organic chemistry, basic statistics, social sciences, lower-level elective and humanity elective if taken will be considered.

   At minimum, the remaining Phase I Preprofessional Curriculum courses in General Biology w/lab, Anatomy & Physiology I & II with labs, Microbiology with lab, Principles of Nutrition, English composition, Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology and Public Speaking must be completed at a U.S. accredited college or university prior to applying to the University of Maryland Dental School for the Phase II Professional Dental Hygiene Curriculum.

• Please see  http://www.umaryland.edu/ois for rules and regulations regarding international students.
• Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required. Results must be uploaded to the ADEA DHCAS application portal.  The code number is 5848.
  

  TOEFL scores must be between 80-85 IBT (internet based test), 550 paper based or 213 computer based to be considered for the dental hygiene program here at the University of Maryland Baltimore.

The University of Maryland Dental Hygiene Program is accredited regionally by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (267) 284-5000 and the Commission on Dental Accreditation, (CODA).

Please read all the instructions below before completing your online application.

You must complete the ADEA DHCAS application to be considered for the program. The application cycle is open from October 24 until February 15. The ADEA DHCAS application includes all supplemental materials such as transcripts, resume, personal statement, recommendation letters, and shadowing form. There is a fee associated with this application. Please review the Quick Start Guide and FAQs on the ADEA DHCAS website for more information about the application process. If you have questions about the ADEA DHCAS application, please reach out to ADEA DHCAS customer support.

Applicants will check the status and progress of their application online by logging back into ADEA DHCAS. 

Applications for the Bachelor of Science program are reviewed by the Dental Hygiene Admissions Committee for the following:

• Completeness of application
• Completion of required prerequisite courses
• GPA of required science courses
• Overall GPA of required courses
• Overall academic record (including repeated courses, failures, withdrawals, etc.)
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Professional demeanor
• Potential for and demonstration of leadership qualities
• Quality of personal statement
• Interest and knowledge of the dental hygiene profession
• Completion of pre-application dental hygiene shadowing experiences
• Quality of recommendation letters

Candidates whose applications meet preliminary screening criteria will continue with the admissions process and may be invited for an interview with members of the Committee on Dental Hygiene Recruitment and Admissions. A personal interview does not guarantee admissions.

General Guidelines

Before completing the ADEA DHCAS, please review the Dental Hygiene Bachelor of Science degree admissions requirements and guidelines.

Note: All supplemental materials must be uploaded to the ADEA DHCAS application portal. No supplemental materials will be accepted via email or postal mail.

Final Notes and Reminders

You may stop and save your work to continue later while completing the ADEA DHCAS.  Please note your application will not be reviewed or considered until the ADEA DHCAS is submitted successfully, and all supplemental materials are received.

NOTE:  ADEA DHCAS allows limited changes to your primary application and supplemental materials.

All 57 prerequisite credits must be completed by end of the spring semester prior to fall enrollment. Example: classes begin fall of 2025. All pre-requisites must be completed Spring 2025.

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 (20 credits is highly recommended), by the end of December prior to the academic year 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 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 be completed within 7 years of application to the Bachelor of Science or Dual Degree, B.S./M.S. Program.

The following courses will be completed at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, via hybrid online learning (live and online), where both dental hygiene and dental faculty work with dental hygiene students in classroom, laboratory, simulation, clinic and community settings. These courses may be completed in either two years (as a full-time student) and includes the following courses and credits. Didactic courses utilize blended synchronous and asynchronous learning experience. 

NOTE: due to the cohort structure and the sequencing of courses in dental hygiene programs, students who are unable to complete the entire dental hygiene program at The University of Maryland School of Dentistry, need to contact the desired transfer institution to determine admission and program requirements, including transferability of previously completed coursework.