dental · Richmond, Virginia · public

VCU School of Dentistry prerequisites

What VCU 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.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

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.
Three semester hours, half the baseline's two-semester ask.
College mathematicsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Listed as "Math/Stats," 3 semester hours, so either college mathematics or statistics answers it.
Advanced biologyrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
Strongly recommended: "300/3000 level and above biology courses."
Anatomy and physiologyrecommended
3 credits
Named by a minority of schools and useful preparation for the first year regardless.
Microbiologyrecommended
3 credits
Required at a meaningful minority and recommended widely; a strong pick for the spare science slot.
Social sciences and humanitiesrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
Strongly recommended: "Behavioral science courses."

Experience hours

Dentist shadowingrequired
100+ hours
Shadowing dentists. Schools that publish a number most often say 100 hours, and admissions committees read breadth across general and specialty practice. Hours shadowing physicians do not answer this; log dental chairside time here. Across the 77 school overlays, 36 require shadowing, 22 recommend it and 19 publish nothing; the numbers those schools name range from 30 hours to 100, so this baseline figure is a planning floor rather than a common standard.
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 science professors, or a committee letter where your school offers one.
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.

Also on the school’s page

VCU's table runs in semester hours: general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics at 8 each "including lab and lecture," plus biochemistry 3, math/stats 3, and English 3. All prerequisites need a C or better and "We cannot accept prerequisites that are graded pass/fail without a letter grade." "It is preferred that prerequisite courses be completed no more than five years prior to applying and all other courses be completed no more than 10 years before applying." A minimum of 90 semester credit hours is required by the date of application, and "an offer of admission is contingent upon successful completion of a qualifying bachelor's degree"; community college is capped at two years (60 hours) followed by at least two years at a four-year institution. "There is no GPA minimum requirement, however, admitted candidates have an average GPA of 3.7." "There are no DAT minimum score requirements, however, admitted candidates have a DAT Academic Average score of 430-440" on the current 200 to 600 scale; scores cannot be more than three years old and the Canadian DAT is accepted. Most prerequisites should be complete at application with at most one or two planned before matriculation. Courses involving psychomotor skills are strongly recommended, and a criminal background check precedes matriculation. The page publishes no letter or shadowing terms, so those lines fall back to the baseline.

School

dentistry.vcu.edu

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