dental · Jackson, Mississippi · public
University of Mississippi School of Dentistry prerequisites
What Mississippi 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
One semester or 1 to 2 quarters, no lab, with one restriction that catches people out: like microbiology, it must be taken at a senior college or university rather than a community college.
- 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, but the department is open: the line reads humanities or English, and it "must include 2 semesters of writing intensive courses." Philosophy, history or a similar humanities course carries it as long as the writing is there.
- College mathematicsrequiredextra here
No published minimum
Two semesters or three quarters of mathematics at the level of "college algebra and trigonometry or higher." Statistics is not named, and a non-majors mathematics course will not count: courses "in mathematics or science designed for non-science majors" are excluded from the 90 required semester hours.
- Anatomy and physiologyrecommended
3 credits
Named by a minority of schools and useful preparation for the first year regardless.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most dental schools ask for 3 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended here: 1 semester or 1 to 2 quarters, with lab, and it must be taken at a senior college or university. The page states semesters rather than credit hours, so no credit figure is recorded.
Experience hours
- Dentist shadowingrequireddiffers
70+ hours
Most dental schools ask for 100+ hours.
"Effective June 1, 2025, applicants must complete a minimum of 70 hours of clinical shadowing with at least four (4) licensed dental providers." Fewer hours than most schools, but spread across at least four providers, and at least one of those experiences must be with a general dentist. Breadth is the harder half of this requirement.
- 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 of the four required letters: "College science faculty letters from biology, chemistry, or physics instructors (2)." All four go through AADSAS.
- Dentist letterrequired
1 letter
One of the four required letters is from a dentist, alongside the two science faculty letters and the community service letter.
- Supervisor letterrequiredextra here
1 letter
Mississippi requires four letters through AADSAS, and one of them is a community service or volunteer letter. That makes a service commitment with someone who can write about it a practical requirement, not just a nice addition.
Also on the school’s page
Mississippi publishes its prerequisites as semesters rather than credit hours: humanities or English, 2 semesters or 3 quarters, which "must include 2 semesters of writing intensive courses"; inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and general biology or zoology I and II, each 2 semesters or 3 quarters and each with lab; microbiology, 1 semester or 1 to 2 quarters, with lab; mathematics, 2 semesters or 3 quarters, college algebra and trigonometry or higher; and biochemistry, 1 semester or 1 to 2 quarters. Microbiology and biochemistry must be taken at a senior college or university. "Applicants must have successfully completed at least 90 semester hours at a United States or Canadian fully accredited college or university," with strong preference for applicants who finish a baccalaureate degree before entering. Correspondence courses, physical training, military science, dogmatic religion, mathematics or science courses designed for non-science majors, and credit granted without college-level testing do not count toward the 90 hours. "While not required, these courses are highly recommended: Foreign language, sociology, psychology, speech, humanities, philosophy, embryology, histology, immunology, cell biology, physiology, gross anatomy, neuroanatomy." Two facts from the applicant evaluation page, https://www.umc.edu/sod/Students/Prospective%20Students/Applicant-Evaluation-and-Decisions.html, decide whether applying is worth the fee: "DAT scores more than three years old are not acceptable," and "for admission purposes, the School of Dentistry gives preference to residents of the State of Mississippi; in recent years, nonresidents have not been admitted." No minimum GPA or DAT number is published; the school lists overall GPA, science GPA, overall DAT and overall science DAT as its cognitive components. One of the four required letters must come from a community service or volunteer supervisor, so service is in practice expected even though no hours figure is published.
School
umc.eduCheck your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Mississippi still needs from you.
See it for dental school