DDS Admissions
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Empowering Future Dental Professionals.
Thank you for your interest in applying to the UNC Adams School of Dentistry DDS program. We’re looking for passionate, driven individuals ready to make a difference in oral health care. Our Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program combines world-class education, hands-on experience, and a commitment to service to prepare you for a successful and impactful career.
Whether you’re a first-time applicant or continuing your journey in health sciences, this is your chance to join a community of leaders and innovators. Explore how to apply, key deadlines, and what makes our program one of the most sought-after in the nation.
Curriculum
The Advocate-Clinician-Thinker (ACT) curriculum is where innovation meets tradition to shape the next generation of dental professionals. At the Adams School of Dentistry, we prioritize an immersive learning experience that not only equips students with the clinical skills necessary for dental practice but also fosters a deep-rooted commitment to advocacy and critical thinking. Our curriculum is designed to inspire and challenge students, providing them with the tools they need to excel in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
Important Deadlines
- May 14 – 2024-2025 ADEA AADSAS application opens.
- June 4 – First day to submit your ADEA AADSAS application. We anticipate that the UNC Adams School of Dentistry supplemental application will be open in mid-June.
- Application review process begins. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure ample time for review.
Applicant interviews begin. Interviews occur on an invitation-only basis between September and November.
October 1 – UNC Adams School of Dentistry deadline to have AADSAS application completed and submitted. We strongly encourage applicants to submit their applications well before the application deadline.
October 8 – UNC Adams School of Dentistry deadline to have the UNC Supplemental Application completed.
December 13 – First offers of admission are extended. Acceptance packets will be mailed with detailed information about the $500 non-refundable deposit and forms to secure your seat.
Admissions Information
Applicants to the UNC Adams School of Dentistry Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Program are required to complete the following steps to apply. All application materials must be received by the application deadline, October 1.
- Create an ADEA/AADSAS account and fill out the application (see Starting Your Application on the ADEA AADSAS website)
- Submit required materials to ADEA/AADSAS (see below)
- Submit required materials directly to the UNC Adams School of Dentistry (see below)
ADEA/AADSAS
| Transcripts | Original, official transcripts from every college or university the applicant has attended must be submitted directly to AADSAS. |
| Letters of Recommendation | Three (3) letters of recommendation. All letters of recommendation should be sent to the school through the ADEA AADSAS. One letter should be from a science professor, one from a professor within the applicant’s major and one from a dental practitioner. We will also accept committee letters in place of the science and/or major, but applications must still include letter from dental practitioner. |
| Dental Admissions Test (DAT) | Official DAT scores are required. Scores more than three (3) years old will not be considered. |
UNC Adams School of Dentistry
| Supplemental Application | Applicants will receive emailed instructions on how to access the UNC supplemental application within 48 hours of submitting their AADSAS application. The supplemental application fee of $84 may be paid via credit card when submitting your supplemental application. |
| Photo | A 2×2 passport-style photo will be uploaded to the UNC Supplemental Application. |
| Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) | Valid TOEFL Score. International applicants must submit an acceptable score of the TOEFL. |
Students preparing for the study of dentistry are encouraged to complete a regular four-year curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.
Students not pursuing a degree must complete at least three years of accredited college courses (96 semester hours or 144 quarter hours). Prospective dental students should consider courses in molecular biology, math, statistics, business, writing skills, computer science, sculpture and art. Students are encouraged to take as many courses as possible in social science, history, literature, economics, philosophy and psychology.
The Adams School of Dentistry will accept a maximum of 64 credit hours from an accredited two-year community college or from an accredited online college or university accepted by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill. However, students who have 64 hours of credit from a community college or an online college or university must complete any additional course work at a four-year institution.
The following required pre-dental courses must be completed (preferably from a four-year institution) prior to admission and be no more than five years old.*
| Course | Semester Hours | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General biology and zoology (labs required) Two lecture courses with a minimum of four semester hours each. One course will be General Biology with lab. One course (including lab) must be human anatomy and physiology or vertebrate zoology. Both courses must include labs involving vertebrate dissection. (If your school offers Human Anatomy and Physiology in a two-part sequence you must have both courses in order to meet our requirement of Human Anatomy) | 8 | 12 |
| General chemistry (labs required) Two lecture courses with a minimum of four semester hours each. | 8 | 12 |
| Organic chemistry (labs not required) Two lecture courses with a minimum of three semester hours each. | 6 | 10 |
| Biochemistry (lab not required) One upper-level lecture course with a minimum of three semester hours. | 3 | 5 |
| Physics (labs not required) Two college-level courses that will cover basic principles of physics relevant to living things. | 6 | 10 |
| English Two semesters that include knowledge ordinarily required of candidates for a degree in an approved college (usually required of freshmen and sophomores). | 6 | 10 |
*Please note that a minimum grade of “C” is required in each prerequisite course.
For information on how courses will transfer visit the UNC-Chapel Hill Course Transfer Equivalencies Website.
Scholarships, Tuition and Financial Aid
Learn more about tuition and financial aid by exploring these resources.
UNC’s prestige, beautiful school, and rigorous academics are what first drew me to Carolina, but it was my interview day that solidified it for me. At my interview, the faculty and upperclassmen were so welcoming — I could feel that they sincerely wanted us to be there.
Mylan Young, DDS 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
The ADEA AADSAS application opens to applicants on May 14, 2024 and submissions may begin on June 4, 2024. Our application deadline is October 1, 2024. When considering your application timelines, remember that you must also complete our supplemental application by this deadline. Be mindful that it may take 4-6 weeks for AADSAS to process your transcripts after your application has been submitted.
We evaluate our candidates holistically and incorporate performance on the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) into our overall assessment of a candidate’s potential for success. We encourage applicants to apply early and will review applications even if DAT scores are pending. Interview invitations may be extended to applicants with pending DAT scores based on consideration of other application characteristics, such as academic achievement, engagement in extracurricular activities, etc.
Unofficial DAT scores may be submitted to our admissions office by emailing a scanned pdf to DDSAdmissions@unc.edu. We will require our candidates to submit official DAT scores before extending an acceptance offer. Acceptance offers begin in December and will continue on a rolling basis until the class is full. When planning to take your DAT, please keep in mind that it may take 2-4 weeks for the official DAT scores to post on your AADSAS application.
We will accept Pass/Fail grades for prerequisite courses taken during a semester affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021). Prerequisite courses taken in a semester not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will require a letter grade. All grades must be reported on your transcript to be considered by our Admissions Committee.
If given the option, we strongly encourage students to receive letter grades. Letter grades help to demonstrate a student’s academic achievement.
We expect all students to have completed all prerequisite courses before July 15, 2025. Please note that a minimum grade of “C” is required in each prerequisite course.
We want our applicants to have a broad, well-rounded understanding of what it means to be a general dentist, however, we do not have any set number of shadowing hours for our applicants.
We also strongly encourage our applicants to take advantage of the multiple online dental CE activities that are available and include any certificates of completion in their application.
Stay tuned to the UNC Adams School of Dentistry social media channels for more information about virtual shadowing opportunities with our faculty.
We are planning on conducting in-person interviews for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle. More details about our interview process will be included in our interview invitations.
Contact
Mailing Address
UNC Adams School of Dentistry
Campus Box #7450
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450
Directions
dentistry.unc.edu/directions
Resources for Prospective Students
