dental · Seattle, Washington · public
University of Washington School of Dentistry prerequisites
What Washington asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard dental school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most dental schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Biology or Zoology, 3 quarters or 2 semesters", with zoology accepted outright in place of general biology. No credit figure is recorded because UW counts terms, not hours, and no lab is required: "The required courses must be lecture rather than lab courses."
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most dental schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Only "2 quarters or 1 semester" of general chemistry, half the usual two-semester sequence, and lecture rather than lab. Read the semester equivalence carefully before dropping a course: UW's two quarters map to one semester here.
- Organic chemistry with labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most dental schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"2 quarters or 1 semester" of organic chemistry, again lecture rather than lab. Lighter than the baseline's full two-semester sequence with lab.
- 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.
"3 quarters or 2 semesters" of general physics, lecture rather than lab.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
UW's required course table names no English or writing course. The school says social sciences and humanities coursework is important and is reviewed by the admissions committee, but it is not a prerequisite here.
- 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 rather than recommended: general microbiology, 2 quarters or 1 semester, lecture rather than lab. UW distinguishes between equivalents, recommending Microm 410 and 442 and calling Microm 301 and 412 "accepted but not preferred", so pick the majors-level course where you have the choice.
Experience hours
- Dentist shadowingrecommendeddiffers
100+ hours
Most dental schools ask for 100+ hours and list it as required.
UW publishes no hours figure, so none is recorded: "Competitive applicants should show a demonstrated effort towards increasing their knowledge of the dental profession, though shadowing and dental related experiences." A dentist letter is one of the three letters the school names, which is hard to earn without chairside time.
- 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 letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most dental schools ask for 2 letters.
One science letter rather than the baseline's two. "Three letters of recommendation should be sent to AADSAS", and UW names the three writers it wants: one from a dentist, one from a science faculty member, and a character reference.
- Dentist letterrequired
1 letter
One letter from a dentist, usually one you shadowed. The count is now from primary sources rather than an estimate: across all 77 schools, each read from its own published page, 17 require a dentist letter, 14 recommend one, 38 state a letter set that does not include one, and 8 name no writers at all. The first estimate here said 70 percent; the real figure is 22. The line stays required as the fallback for the 8 silent schools, because a letter obtained needlessly costs effort while one missing at a school that wanted it can cost a cycle, and every school that does require it says so in its own overlay. Awaiting the human pass like the rest of this set.
- Supervisor letterrecommendedextra here
1 letter
The third of the three letters UW names: "A character reference, often from community service/volunteer work." Someone who supervised your service, not a professor and not a dentist, which makes the volunteer commitment double as a letter writer.
Also on the school’s page
UW states its prerequisites in quarters first, since the university runs on quarters, and the whole table is short: General Chemistry 2 quarters or 1 semester, Organic Chemistry 2 quarters or 1 semester, General Biochemistry 2 quarters or 1 semester, General Physics 3 quarters or 2 semesters, General Biology or Zoology 3 quarters or 2 semesters, General Microbiology 2 quarters or 1 semester. The rule that shapes all of them: "The required courses must be lecture rather than lab courses." No English, mathematics or social science course appears on the required list at all, though the school says courses in the social sciences and the humanities are also important and are reviewed by the committee. For microbiology UW names its own preferred equivalents, Microm 410 and 442, and accepts Microm 301 and 412 as "accepted but not preferred". On grades the page asks only for "A solid B-average or better is expected in the sciences", with no numeric GPA or DAT floor published. The DAT is unavoidable: "There are no exceptions to completing the DAT." Note a disagreement between two UW pages: the requirements page says applicants must take the DAT "by the October 1 deadline", while the how-to-apply page gives "The deadline for the AADSAS application is November 1st 9:00 P.M. PST" and says the DAT must be taken before that November 1 due date. The stricter October 1 date is the one to plan around. Selected applicants pay a 100 dollar fee for a secondary application, and the entering class is 71 students. Letters and dental experience come from https://dental.washington.edu/students/admissions/how-to-apply/ rather than the requirements page.
School
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