The objective of the Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. is to educate a student who will be committed to lifelong, self-motivated learning, skilled in the techniques of problem solving in a clinical setting, well-prepared to deal with the future advances in dental therapy and dental care delivery, able to deal with the medical presentations of dental patients, effective in group learning/accomplishment environments and highly skilled in the delivery of dental health care of outstanding quality.

Admission

The School of Dentistry admits 144 students each year for the curriculum leading to the Doctor of Dental Surgery. Admission to the school is granted through the Office of Admission and Student Affairs which receives and processes all applications, evaluates credentials and notifies applicants who qualify for entrance by forwarding letters of acceptance. Students are selected by the Committee on Admissions, composed of faculty and staff, who base their decision on consideration of an applicant's personal qualities, aptitude and superior scholarship necessary for the successful study and practice of dentistry. Candidates who have received or will receive a baccalaureate or higher degree will be considered more favorably than applicants who have fulfilled only minimum requirements. Admission information may be obtained by completing our on-line form. You may also request information by mail or in person. Address inquiries to: USC School of Dentistry, Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, 925 West 34th Street, Room 201, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0641, (213) 740-2841, or email: uscsdadm@usc.edu

Admission Requirements

Minimum entrance requirements include:

1. A minimum of 60 semester units, or the equivalent completed or in progress, at the time of application, from an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.  A bachelor’s degree is highly recommended.  There is no preferred major.    
2. Completion of the following required prerequisites

‡ One year is equal to 2 semesters or 3 quarters.  All basic pre-dental required classes must be sequential and represent a terminal course i.e. 101a and 101b, or on a quarter system 101a,b,c. 
* The English Composition and the Philosophy, History, or Fine Arts requirements will be waived if applicant obtains a bachelors degree. 
- No foreign coursework will be accepted.

3. All students who apply for admission to the School of Dentistry are required to take the Dental Admission Test (DAT), given under the auspices of the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association. The Dental Admissions Test must be taken no later than February 1 of the year for which formal application is made.  Test scores more than three years old (from the time of application) will not be accepted. 
4. Two letters of recommendations are required from a science professor, in a lecture based course.  Additional letters of recommendations may be submitted.  Committee letter packets are acceptable. 
5. An interview is required and is by invitation only.  Due to the large volume of applicants, we are unable to interview all qualified candidates.  Every attempt is made to interview as many qualified applicants as possible within the admissions interview calendar. 
   • -  It is strongly suggested that students take additional upper division courses. Biochemistry, human or comparative anatomy, embryology, histology, genetics, physiology, immunology, pathology, molecular biology, micro-biology, art, sculpting, drawing, and business are examples of recommended courses.
   • -  To expedite the admissions process, it is recommended that the DAT be taken during a testing period before filing formal application.  No action can be taken on an application until official DAT scores have been received.
   • -  As a private institution, USC actively seeks a culturally and geographically diverse population.  Therefore, out-of-state and international applicants are evaluated and selected based on the same criteria as California residents.
   • -  No applicant will be denied admission on the basis of race, religion, creed or disability. All admitted students must provide evidence that functional health is sufficient to meet professional demands, both in the student role and as an entry-level practitioner.

Application Procedure

1. Applications can only be made through the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) at http://www.adea.org  Application must be submitted to AADSAS no later than February 1st of the year in which enrollment is anticipated. 
2. Domestic applicants are required to pay a nonrefundable $85 processing fee. International students requiring an I-20 student Visa must pay a nonrefundable $145.00 processing fee.  Personal/business check, cashiers/certified bank check or money orders are accepted. Please make payable to "USC School of Dentistry” and include your AADSAS number on the check. Send payment at time of application to:
   
   USC Office of Dental Admissions
   File No. 121452
   Los Angeles, CA 90074-2145
    
3. The Office of Admissions and Student Affairs sends notification upon receipt of the application.  Status letters are sent throughout the admissions cycle.
4. Interview invitations are sent via email and mail.  No interview can be granted unless the file is complete, including official DAT scores.  Generally the admissions interview calendar is between October and April, but is subject to change.
5. The School of Dentistry uses a system of rolling acceptances beginning on December 1st.  Generally the class is finalized by May 1st. 
6. A non-refundable commitment fee of $3000 is required by the deadline indicated in the acceptance letter to hold a place in the entering class. This non-refundable fee will be applied toward tuition upon enrollment.
7. Prior to enrollment, accepted students must provide: final transcripts, evidence of sound health, and meet the school's health requirements.
   • To expedite the processing of applications, all information must be submitted through AADSAS and not sent directly to the USC Dental Admissions office.

Financial Assistance
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Federal subsidized, unsubsidized and private loans are available for permanent residents and U.S. citizens enrolling in the Doctoral program.

Foreign students are usually ineligible for financial assistance through the university or U.S. banks with the exception of permanent residents or U.S. citizens. In no case is financial assistance available to foreign nationals attending school on student visas.

Orientation

Students who have been accepted into the pre-doctoral dental program and who have reserved their place in the class will receive information on orientation during the first two weeks in July. Orientation takes place prior to the first week of classes. The purpose of the orientation program is to acquaint incoming students with the school, its policies, programs, faculty and facilities. Incoming students receive financial counseling and receive their initial equipment issue during this orientation period.

Eligibility

A student is eligible for the Doctor of Dental Surgery after successfully attaining the qualitative and quantitative level expected in the doctoral curriculum, specifically: has met the 2.0 GPA requirement for graduation; has no conditions existing at the termination of the final academic time unit that would qualify him or her for academic probation, clinical probation or academic disqualification; has no unreconciled marks of F, IW, ICW, N or NC; has demonstrated the personal characteristics expected of a professional; has fulfilled his or her financial obligations as well as all other obligations and requirements for graduation.

Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. | International D.D.S.

Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists

This program is designed to teach qualified dentists from other countries the knowledge and skills available in the United States. Time necessary to complete the program depends upon the doctor's ability; a minimum of two years is usually required. About eight months will be devoted to fundamental, technical and academic procedures. The remaining time is devoted to clinical training as necessary to achieve graduation qualifications. Graduation from the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists leads to a D.D.S. degree but does not give automatic licensure to practice dentistry. However, graduates are eligible to take the State Board Dental Examinations in most of the United States. (A few states still require U.S. citizenship.)

*** THE APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT
www.usc.edu/admission/graduate/applyonline/ ***

Instructions for online application:

1. Click “Create Account” on the right hand side
2. After you create an account, you will need to login using the Pin and Password that USC will email to you. (This can take up to a full day to be sent to you.)
3. Once you login, in the third section “Application Information” you will be asked which program term you are applying for, please select SUMMER 2008
4. Remember to Save and Continue each section that you finish. The application will not allow you to submit it until all sections are completed and fee has been paid.

Applications are available online from June 1st until September 15th through the USC Graduate School.  All applications and supplemental material must be submitted by September 15th.

Please submit online:

1. Completion of the formal application.
   • Two letters of recommendations are required. One letter from Dean of Dental School. One letter from a faculty member of Dental School.
2. $145.00 USD application fee
3. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Internet Based TOEFL (IBT) is preferred; applicants should receive a minimum score of 100.  USC will still accept the computer based exam (min. 250), as well as the paper based exam (min 600)
   • USC Graduate School’s TOEFL code is: 4852

Please send to the School of Dentistry in one envelope: (925 W. 34th St Room 201 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0641)

1. National Dental Board Examination Part I (Must be in a sealed envelope from the ADA).
   -  A minimum score of 75 percent must be attained in each category.
   -  National Dental Board Examination Part II is recommended.
2. Documentary proof of license to practice from a Ministry of Health or proper governing body.
3. Complete official/original transcripts or mark sheets, in the original language, of all college and university course work, including dental education, accompanied by certified English translation when necessary.
4. Evaluated course-by-course transcripts from WES (www.wes.org), ECE (www.ece.org) or IERF (www.ierf.org).  (Must be in a sealed envelope the company)
5. Dental degree in original language accompanied by English translation when necessary.

*All official/original transcripts (mark sheets), dental degrees, dental licenses, and recommendation letters must be presented with a certified English translation when needed.
 
*Original copies of documentation (sealed in original envelope) are required. Notarized photocopies can only be accepted for the initial application review.

*Admissions requirements are always subject to change

Student Visas
The I-20 Student Visa is issued to the applicant only after complete admission and acceptance has been granted. Before the papers can be processed, a notarized bank statement of financial support for tuition and expenses for one year ($93,000) must be presented to the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists. The Office of Graduate and International Admission will issue the I-20 visa upon receipt and approval of these documents.

Admission
Prospective students must apply to the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists, through the USC Graduate School.   An interview is required and is by invitation only.  Due to the large volume of applicants, we are unable to interview all qualified candidates.  The interview will be near the end of October and resembles the USC School of Dentistry’s current Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. curriculum. Applicants will work in small groups to solve a sample case study and will be evaluated on their performance and interpersonal skills.  You will also be tested on a short practical examination in fixed prosthodontics and operative dentistry.

Financial Assistance
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It is university policy to accept candidates who have the personal financial resources to pay for graduate study. Foreign students are usually ineligible for financial assistance through the university or U.S. banks with the exception of permanent residents or U.S. citizens. In no case is financial assistance available to foreign nationals attending school on student visas.

Permanent residents and U.S. citizens enrolling in the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists are advised that financial support for all students is severely limited, therefore, all applicants are urged to carefully examine their financial resources before accepting an offer of admission.

Grade Point Average
Since this is a short program and highly concentrated, a GPA of 2.0 (A = 4.0) must be maintained each trimester. Therefore, each applicant will be provisionally accepted. If a doctor is unable to maintain an average GPA of 2.0, he or she will be asked to resign.

Periodic meetings each trimester by the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists faculty to evaluate each student's progress are used to help counsel the students more effectively in their course work. From these meetings, recommendations are made regarding advancement, special programs and disqualification.

Graduation Requirements
In order to receive the Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree, students in the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists must: (1) successfully complete all the courses in the curriculum, (2) pass Part I and Part II of the ADA National Board examination, and (3) pass an oral comprehensive examination on the clinical sciences administered by the faculty of the Advanced Standing Program for International Dentists.

Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. | International D.D.S.