University of California San Francisco
DDS course prerequisites
Important notes on coursework and credit
- Online courses: Accepted if taken during or after the start of the pandemic, provided they are from an accredited U.S. or English-speaking Canadian institution.
- Pass/fail grades: Accepted for courses taken during the COVID-19 pandemic (graded coursework preferred when available). Grades are reviewed in context.
- Coursework requirements:
- Minimum 139 quarter units (93 semester units) of college work (exclusive of repeats/nontransferable courses).
- Units must be from an accredited U.S. or English-speaking Canadian institution.
- At least 43 quarter (29 semester) units from a four-year institution.
- Up to 96 quarter (64 semester) units may be from a community college.
- A minimum grade of C– is required in prerequisites “a–g.”
- Prerequisites should be completed before taking the DAT and submitting an application.
- AP exams: Coursework is preferred, but AP exams may partially fulfill prerequisites. Submit an official AP Test Score Report through the College Board (School Code 5482). See the table for credit details.
- IB exams: IB exams may also partially fulfill prerequisites. Submit an official IB transcript directly to UCSF. Scores of 5, 6, or 7 on Higher Level exams award 8 quarter units. For chemistry, biology, and physics, at least one 4-quarter-unit course with lab is still required.
| a. English: Two courses in English composition. (Note: ESL, scientific, professional, technical and creative writing classes do not fulfill the English requirement.) | 8 | 6 |
| b. Inorganic Chemistry with Laboratory: A minimum of three quarters or two semesters of inorganic chemistry with laboratory. | 12 | 8 |
| c. Organic Chemistry with Laboratory: A minimum of two quarters or one semester of organic chemistry with laboratory. | 8 | 4 |
d. Biochemistry: (Note: This must be taken at a 4-year institution.)
| 4 | 3 |
| e. Physics: A minimum of three quarters or two semesters of physics with laboratory. | 12 | 8 |
| f. Biological Sciences: One year of general biology or zoology with laboratory, designed for science majors. Vertebrate zoology is strongly recommended. (Note: Anatomy, botany or elementary courses of a descriptive nature cannot be used to complete this requirement.) | 12 | 8 |
| g. Psychology: General psychology. | 4 | 3 |
| h. Social Sciences, Humanities, or Foreign Language (in addition to requirements "a" and "g"). | 16 | 11 |
| i. Additional electives to bring the total number of units to at least 139 quarter units or 93 semester units. (Recommended: embryology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, genetics, statistics) | 63 | 42 |
| Totals: | 139 | 93 |
| General Chemistry | 3-5 | 8 (One course [4 units] with lab still required) |
| Biology | 3-5 | 8 (One course [4 units] with lab still required) |
| Physics B | 3-5 | 8 (One course [4 units] with lab still required) |
| Physics C, Mechanics | 3-5 | 4 (Two courses [8 units] with lab in electricity and magnetism still required) |
| Physics C, Electricity and Magnetism | 3-5 | 4 (Two courses with lab in mechanics still required) |
| Physics B & C | 3-5 | 8 (One course [4 units] with lab still required) |
| English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition | 3 | 4 (Fulfills first half of prerequisite) |
| English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition | 4-5 | 8 (Fulfills entire prerequisite) |
| Psychology | 3-5 | 4 (Fulfills entire prerequisite) |
| Humanities and Social Science (Art History, European History, French, German Language, Government & Politics, Human Geography, Latin, Macro-Economics, Micro-Economics, Music Theory, Spanish, Studio Art, US History, World History) | 3-5 | 4 per exam toward social sciences, humanities or foreign language electives |