dental · Aurora, Colorado · public
University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine prerequisites
What Colorado asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 4 lines differ from the standard dental school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab. As universal for dental school as it is for medical.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab. The DAT's general chemistry section assumes the full sequence.
- Organic chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab at most schools. A small number accept one semester plus biochemistry; confirm on the school's page before planning around it.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Roughly half of schools require a semester and the share grows every cycle. The DAT does not test it, but first-year dental biochemistry assumes you have seen it.
- Physics with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters, algebra-based accepted essentially everywhere. A handful of schools want only one semester; the two-semester plan covers them all.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most dental schools ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits.
One semester rather than the baseline's two: 3 semester credits of English composition, and a "University-designated writing intensive course" is acceptable in its place.
- Anatomy and physiologyrecommended
3 credits
Named by a minority of schools and useful preparation for the first year regardless.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most dental schools ask for 3 credits and list it as recommended.
"Microbiology (Lab not required)," 3 semester credits or 5 quarter credits. The dental baseline only recommends it; Colorado requires it outright.
Experience hours
- Dentist shadowingrequireddiffers
50+ hours
Most dental schools ask for 100+ hours.
"50 hours of dental shadowing" and it is a screen, not a suggestion: the hours "must be completed at the time of application submission" and "Applicants without this minimum number of hours will not be reviewed or considered for interview." Half the baseline number, but enforced harder than most.
- Non-clinical volunteeringrecommended
100+ hours
Few schools publish a number; committees still read for a service habit held over time.
Letters
- Committee letterrecommended
1 letter
Accepted nearly everywhere in place of individual faculty letters where your college offers one.
- Science faculty letterrequired
2 letters
"Two letters must be written by science professors who have taught and graded the applicant at the university level," reduced to one science letter if the applicant finished undergraduate study before June 2021. A pre-health committee letter may substitute for all three required letters.
- Dentist letternot required here
Colorado does not name a dentist among its writers. Beyond the two science professors it asks for "One letter by an evaluator of the applicant's choice," with a fourth optional letter permitted. A dentist you shadowed is a natural pick for that open slot, but the school does not require one.
Also on the school’s page
Colorado publishes a prerequisite table in semester credits: 8 of general biology or general zoology with two labs, 8 of general chemistry with two labs, 8 of organic chemistry with two labs, 8 of general physics with two labs (algebra or calculus based), 3 of microbiology with no lab required, 3 of biochemistry with no lab required, and 3 of English composition. Two structural asks sit outside the subject vocabulary: 30 semester credits of upper division coursework, "usually 300s-400s level courses," and a minimum of 90 semester hours overall, with a bachelor's degree strongly encouraged. Every prerequisite needs "a grade of C or better"; C- or lower and pass/fail or credit/no credit are not accepted; "All science courses must have been taken within 10 years"; "No more than 60 semester hours are allowed from a community/junior college"; and since summer 2023 "online course work is discouraged" and needs prior approval by email. Coursework must be done by the end of the spring term of the year of acceptance. On the DAT, "There is no minimum or cutoff," and the school says the test "should either be taken before application or in June/July of the application year," not after August 31 given the October 15 deadline; the page notes the 200 to 600 scale began March 1, 2025 and that two-digit scores stay acceptable until February 2030. No GPA minimum is published. Applications open June 4 of the preceding year and close October 15, with verification by October 22.
School
dental.cuanschutz.eduCheck your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Colorado still needs from you.
See it for dental school