dental · Detroit, Michigan · private
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry prerequisites
What Detroit Mercy asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 3 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-intensiverequired
2 semesters · 6 credits
Two semesters of English or writing-intensive coursework at most schools that name it.
- Statisticsrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics appears on Detroit Mercy's recommended list, and statistics also counts as one of the disciplines a required science faculty letter may come from.
- 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.
Required outright here where the baseline only recommends it: "Three (3) semester hours (4.5 quarter hours)" of microbiology. No laboratory is specified.
- Social sciences and humanitiesrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Sociology, psychology and business sit on the school's recommended list alongside anatomy, physiology and statistics. None of them is required.
Experience hours
- Dentist shadowingrequired
100+ hours
"100 hours of shadowing with a non-relative general dentist" is required at the time of application, or equivalent dental assisting experience. Two limits are easy to miss: the dentist cannot be a relative, and the hours are meant to be with a general dentist rather than a specialist.
- 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
"A single (1) composite/committee letter" replaces the two science faculty letters, provided science faculty are among the contributors. It does not replace the dentist letter.
- Science faculty letterrequired
2 letters
The count matches the baseline but the discipline list is narrow and specific: "Two (2) letters from science faculty" within biology, chemistry, physics or mathematics including statistics, from instructors in whose course the applicant earned a grade, with strong preference for biology or chemistry professors. Plant and environmental biology are excluded.
- Dentist letterrequired
1 letter
"One (1) letter from a non-relative general dentist" is mandatory and stands separately from the faculty or committee letters. The same non-relative and general dentist conditions that govern the shadowing hours govern this writer.
Also on the school’s page
Detroit Mercy's prerequisite list runs in semester hours with quarter-hour equivalents beside it: "Eight semester hours (12 quarter hours) of General Biology or Zoology with laboratory," the same eight with lab for inorganic or general chemistry, the same eight with lab for organic chemistry, "Eight semester hours (12-quarter hours)" of physics with laboratory, "Six semester hours (9-quarter hours)" of English which composition courses satisfy, and three semester hours each of biochemistry and microbiology. Only the microbiology line differs from the dental baseline, so the rest are not restated. A minimum of 60 credit hours from accredited US or Canadian institutions is required, prerequisites "should be completed within 7 years of the application date," and "a minimum GPA (science and overall) of 3.0 is required for consideration," with 3.5 or higher the competitive target. Grades of C or higher are expected in prerequisites, though the school says high B grades or higher are truly more competitive. On the DAT, all applicants must take it, scores must be within two years of application submission, and the page points to roughly 390 per section as a target minimum with about 420 or better competitive; those figures are on the current 200 to 600 scale.
School
dental.udmercy.eduCheck your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Detroit Mercy still needs from you.
See it for dental school