dental · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · public
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine prerequisites
What Pitt 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 labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most dental schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Pitt lists "Physics I" and "Physics II" without the "(with lab)" tag it attaches to every biology and chemistry line, so the two-semester sequence is required and the laboratory is not.
- English or writing-intensiverequired
2 semesters · 6 credits
Two courses, "English I" and "English/Writing Intensive," with at least one of them literature-focused. A pair of composition courses does not satisfy the literature half.
- Anatomy and physiologyrecommended
3 credits
Pitt recommends anatomy, 3 semester hours, and stops there. Physiology is not named, so a standalone anatomy course answers the recommendation.
- Microbiologyrecommended
3 credits
Required at a meaningful minority and recommended widely; a strong pick for the spare science slot.
Experience hours
- Dentist shadowingrequired
100+ hours
Pitt publishes no shadowing figure on either the admission requirements page or the admissions process page. What it does say is that "During the interview, applicants are expected to display evidence of personal exposure to the field of dentistry," so chairside time is expected and its extent is left to you to justify in person.
- 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 letter "From a pre-health advisory committee (preferred)" is Pitt's stated first choice, standing in place of the three individual letters. "A total of four letters of recommendation including the committee letter will be accepted."
- Science faculty letternot required here
Pitt asks that two of the three letters come from "a professor/advisor/mentor" without requiring any of them to teach a science, so the science faculty line overstates what the school says. It is recorded as a faculty letter of any discipline in adds instead.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
2 letters
"Three (3) letters from separate individuals, two (2) of which must be a professor/advisor/mentor." Pitt does not say the professor must teach a science, so two academic writers of any discipline answer this; the third letter is left open. A pre-health advisory committee letter replaces this route entirely.
- Dentist letternot required here
No dentist letter is named. Pitt specifies only the pre-health committee route or three letters with two from a professor, advisor or mentor, leaving the third writer entirely open.
Also on the school’s page
Pitt lists its prerequisites course by course rather than in credit hours: "English I" and "English/Writing Intensive" with at least one literature-focused, "Biology I (with lab)" and "Biology II (with lab)," "Physics I" and "Physics II," "Chemistry I (with lab)" and "Chemistry II (with lab)," "Organic Chemistry I (with lab)" and "Organic Chemistry II (with lab)," and one course of biochemistry. Anatomy, 3 semester hours, is recommended but not required. The rule that shapes planning most here is recency: "All science prerequisite coursework must be completed within the last five years," which can put a career changer's old credit out of date. "A minimum grade of C or 2.0 GPA for prerequisite courses is required" but "Prerequisite grades of B or higher taken onsite at a four-year institution are strongly preferred," and "A minimum total GPA of 3.2 is required including overall GPA, science GPA, and prerequisite GPA," a published floor that is unusually high. "A Baccalaureate degree from the United States or Canada is required prior to matriculation." On community college credit: "No more than 60 of the minimum required credits will be accepted from a community college or junior college," and "It is preferred that no more than one-third of an applicants' credits are earned from a community college or junior college." On the DAT, "A minimum DAT Academic Average of 410 (Formerly 19) is required and a minimum of 390 in each subsection is preferred," figures quoted on the current 200 to 600 scale in force since March 2025 with the retired number in parentheses, and scores "may not be more than three years old at the application deadline of October 31, 2026." Letters run through ADEA AADSAS and "The Faculty Admissions Committee strongly prefers letters from non-relatives."
School
dental.pitt.eduCheck your transcript against this list
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