Dental Science

College Academic Services Building 120
(213) 740-2534

Pre-Health Coordinator: Edward Martinez

The Bachelor of Science in Dental Science is offered by the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the University of Southern California's School of Dentistry. The program affords USC undergraduate students who are accepted by the end of their third or fourth year of studies into USC's School of Dentistry the opportunity of earning an academic baccalaureate degree upon completion of 32 units of prescribed courses in the USC School of Dentistry by the end of their fourth dental school trimester. The degree is not a terminal degree and is only awarded concurrently with the D.D.S. degree from the USC School of Dentistry. The degree is not available to students who have already obtained another baccalaureate degree.

Admission to the Program

This program is open only to students who enter USC as freshmen. They must register their intent to pursue the degree with College Academic Services. Since granting of the degree presupposes successful completion of course work in the USC School of Dentistry, application and admission to that school will be required, together with the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT). Students must file with College Academic Services and the Director of Academic Affairs of the USC School of Dentistry their intent to continue the degree upon gaining admission to the USC School of Dentistry.

Program Requirements

A total of 128 units is required for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Science, and prescribed units must be completed in the USC School of Dentistry.

General Requirements

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Science degree must complete the general education requirements for students seeking the Bachelor of Arts degree in biological sciences or chemistry in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Since pre-dental students intending to apply to USC's School of Dentistry are required to complete eight units of philosophy, history or fine arts, general education courses should be chosen with this requirement in mind.

Pre-Dental Requirements

Required coursesUnits
BISC 106LPrinciples of Biology I, or
BISC 116LAdvanced Principles of Biology I4
BISC 107LPrinciples of Biology II, or
BISC 117LAdvanced Principles of Biology II4
CHEM 105abL*General Chemistry, or
CHEM 115abLAdvanced General Chemistry4-4
PHYS 135abLPhysics for the Life Sciences4-4
CHEM 322abLOrganic Chemistry4-4
MATH 125Calculus I4

*Requires entrance exam.

Other pre-dental required courses (non-LAS) are DENT 221 (1) and FA 208ax or bx (perceptual skills) (2). In addition to the general education and pre-dental requirements, students must complete elective courses to reach the total of 96 required units. Students with a score of 4 or 5 in Advanced Placement chemistry, biology and/or calculus may use these scores to fulfill some of the chemistry, biology and/or mathematics requirements. Completion of the first 96 units of course work in no way guarantees admission to USC's School of Dentistry.

Major Requirements

Students must successfully complete 32 units in the USC School of Dentistry from among the following courses offered in the first four trimesters of the D.D.S. curriculum (refer to the catalogue listing for the School of Dentistry for course descriptions).

CoursesUnits
ANAT 501Functional Neuroanatomy-Neurophysiology3
ANAT 521Head and Neck Anatomy3
ANAT 522Systemic Human Anatomy3
DBIO 501Basic Biochemistry2
DBIO 502Biochemistry of Human Disease and Nutrition3
MBIO 501Microbiology and Immunology2
DHIS 521Oral Histology and Embryology3
DHIS 522Basic General and Systemic Histology4
DPHY 501abHuman Physiology4-2
INTB 504Human Craniofacial Development and Genetics3
INTB 521Medical Microbiology3
PTHL 500aBasic and Applied Systemic Pathology3
PTHL 500bBasic and Applied Systemic Pathology2

No substitutions will be permitted.

Grade Point Average Requirements

In addition to the university's 2.0 or higher overall GPA (A = 4.0), a GPA of 2.0 or higher is required for all science courses taken which are applicable toward the degree. Grade point average requirements for the D.D.S. degree apply to all course work taken in the USC School of Dentistry.

Conferral of the B.S. in Dental Science Degree

The B.S. in Dental Science is conferred by the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the spring graduation following completion of all requirements for the D.D.S. degree in the USC School of Dentistry. The Registrar of the USC School of Dentistry will certify to College Academic Services the student's successful completion of the specified 32 units of School of Dentistry course work for the degree.

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Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu