Before you register for admission to the School of Dentistry, file the Student Health Service form with the USC Student Health Center. This form, which must be signed by your physician, must include a detailed physical exam, personal self-health history form, current PPD tuberculosis test, tetanus immunizations, Hepatitis B core antibody blood test, and measles, mumps and varicella immunizations.
Before applying, you must have completed one year, meaning two semesters or three quarters, of each of the following: general biology and lab, general physics and lab, inorganic/general chemistry and lab, organic chemistry and lab, English composition and either philosophy, history or fine arts. Students who have taken these classes at a four-year university get preference. It is also recommended that you take upper-division science courses, such as anatomy, biochemistry and physiology, before admission.
Students need to include with their application two letters of recommendation from lecture-based science professors of chemistry, biology or physics. It is also strongly recommended that you include one letter of recommendation from a licensed dentist.
Prior to admission, students must take the Dental Aptitude Test, or DAT, given by the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association. This test must be taken no later than February 1 of the year you apply. To speed up the admission process, take the DAT before applying. When taking the DAT, list the dentistry schools you are applying to so the DAT scores can be sent directly to them.
The USC School of Dentistry complies with the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service. Submit all application materials to the AADSAS no later than February 1 of the year you are applying. An $85 processing fee must be paid for the application to be processed and should be forwarded to the USC School of Dentistry.