Prerequisites - dental hygiene program

Click on Program of Study to see detailed prerequisite information: Program of Study  

Please meet with a Health Sciences Counselor for assistance with all prerequisite course questions. 

  • Prerequisites to the Dental Hygiene Program are as follows:
    • Science Prerequisites: Anatomy; Chemistry; Physiology; Microbiology - 2.7 minimum GPA requirement
    • Non-Science Prerequisites: Food & Nutrition; Reading Composition; Critical Thinking; Communication; Math; Psychology; Sociology - 2.5 minimum GPA requirement
    • All courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher
  • Applicants must complete program prerequisite courses by the end of the preceding fall semester:
    • For Fall 2025 Admission, all pre-requisites must be complete by the end of Fall 2024. No In Progress courses accepted.
  • The Dental Hygiene Program requires a 4-5 unit course in intermediate algebra or higher as a prerequisite to admission into the Dental Hygiene Program.  
  • All prerequisite classes are in Semester units, and you must complete the required Semester units. If your college units are in Quarter units, you will need to convert these to Semester units to determine if you have the required prerequisite course credit. You may need to file a course substitution request form for these classes to be considered. Please see a counselor for assistance with your course substitution.
    • To convert quarter units to semester units: Quarter units x 2/3 (.666) = Semester Units
  • Advanced Placement (A/P) classes are accepted for English 1A and Math prerequisite coursework only. No other A/P courses accepted.
  • P/NP grades not accepted for any prerequisites.

*Per the DHBC accreditation there will be no more wet-lab waivers starting in Summer 2022.  All prerequisite labs must be taken in person.*

Applications that do not meet all of the required prerequisites and program criteria will not be considered eligible for the lottery.