Graduate Dental Education Program Admissions Requirements
A U.S. or international dental degree is required for admission to all Penn Dental Medicine Graduate Dental Education (GDE) programs with the exception of the Pediatric and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Residency programs, which will only accept a U.S. dental degree.
Applicants who do not have a U.S. DMD/DDS degree (e.g. individuals holding a BDS or other international dental degrees) must provide additional documentation in order to be considered for admission. This additional documentation requires evaluation of their academic credentials by an approved agency.
Application Procedures
Please note that the application includes two components:
- PASS (Postdoctoral Application Support Service) through the American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
- Penn Dental Medicine GDE Supplemental Application made available to applicants only after ADEA PASS has deemed a PASS application as complete.
PASS Application
Penn Dental Medicine participates in ADEA’s centralized application PASS program. The application must be completed via the ADEA PASS website. For more information or questions regarding the application service, contact PASS customer service by email: passinfo@passweb.org or telephone: (617) 612-2065 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (ET) Mondays through Fridays except U.S. federal holidays). The 2024-2025 PASS Application Cycle will open May 8, 2024.
The PASS application must be submitted to the centralized application service by the specified program deadline. Applications received after the deadline by the centralized application service will not be processed.
The following documents must be submitted with the PASS Application to ADEA’s centralized application service:
- Official dental school transcript is required to complete the ADEA PASS application: one of the following must be received to fulfill this requirement — official U.S. dental school transcript or foreign dental school transcript. Applicants who did not attend a U.S. or Canadian dental school must also upload their dental school transcripts via the ADEA Pass Portal. ECE Course by Course evaluations do not serve as a transcript, but as an evaluation of your transcript, and do not fulfill this requirement. Applicants who matriculate at Penn Dental Medicine will be required to submit a final set of official transcripts from all postsecondary institution attended.
- Institution Evaluation Form: IEF (also called the dean’s letter) is an evaluation of the applicant completed by the dean or designated official of the dental school attended. NBDE scores or results, GPA and class rank (if applicable) are also included in the IEF.
- Professional Evaluation Form: PEF is the traditional letter of evaluation that is required for every applicant. Penn Dental Medicine requires 2 PEFs for applicants.
- Unofficial Undergraduate Transcripts: applicants must upload unofficial transcripts for each undergraduate college attended to the ADEA PASS application. Do not send official college transcripts directly to the Office of Student Admissions.
- Official National Dental Board Scores (NBDE): applicants who attended U.S. dental schools are required to provide passing official INBDE or NBDE Part I and II scores. It is preferred that international dental school graduates applying to Prosthodontics provide INBDE/NBDE scores. All other internationally educated dentists may submit official INBDE/NBDE scores in support of their application if available. For INBDE information and registration materials, visit the American Dental Association-Testing or contact: The Joint Commission on Dental Examinations, 211 East Chicago Avenue Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60611; (800) 324-1694.
- INBDE: Official INBDE scores are required for all U.S. educated dentists. Applicants who have taken the INBDE must submit official INBDE scores electronically to ADEA PASS by program application deadlines. Although an INBDE score is not required for admission consideration, a passing score is required for accepted U.S. educated dentists before matriculation into Penn Dental Medicine GDE programs.
- NBDE Part I and II: Official NBDE Part I and II passing scores from January 2012 – present is required for all U.S. educated dentists. Applicants must submit official NBDE Part I and II scores electronically to ADEA PASS by program application deadlines.
- ADA ADAT Scores (ADA Advanced Dental Admission Test: ADAT Scores are not required for admission to Penn Dental Medicine Graduate Dental Education Programs. ADAT scores will be accepted if available through the ADEA PASS application when released by the ADA.
- GRE Scores (Periodontic/Orthodontic Program only): Although Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not a requirement for admission, GRE scores will be accepted for those applying to the Periodontic/Orthodontic Program. To submit your official GRE scores please use the GRE code 6962 when sending your official scores.
Additional Requirements for International Applicants
An official TOEFL score report is required for all international applicants (including native English speakers) who received their dental education from a non U.S./Canadian dental school. There is no waiver of this requirement.
- Official TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically through ADEA PASS. Applicants must contact ETS to have official scores released to ADEA PASS. ETS will electronically send your scores to ADEA PASS. Paper copies are not accepted. Visit the TOEFL website to request your scores using the ADEA PASS code C352. It takes approximately 10-12 business days from the date you make the request to post to your application,
- Although there is no minimum TOEFL score, serious consideration will be given to applicants with Internet-based test (IBT) scores of 90 and above.
- IELTS scores cannot be substituted for TOEFL scores.
Applicants who do not have a U.S. DMD/DDS (e.g. individuals holding a BDS or other international dental degrees) must provide additional documentation in order to be considered for admission. This additional documentation requires evaluation of their academic credentials by an approved agency. The following agencies have been approved to meet this admissions requirement. No internationally educated applicant will be considered for an interview without this evaluation document. Please contact one of the following approved agencies for assistance:
Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
Education Evaluators International
Education International, Inc.
International Education Research Foundation
World Education Services
Penn Dental Medicine is unable to offer financial assistance, including loans, scholarships, and/or assistantship, to those who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. International applicants who are accepted into the program must demonstrate proof of adequate personal financial resources to cover all years of the program before a Student Visa application is issued.
Foreign-trained dentists planning to practice dentistry in the United States after completion of a graduate dental education program, must obtain a dental degree from a U.S. accredited dental school in order to secure a license to practice dentistry. There are over 30 U.S. dental schools that provide DMD/DDS degree programs for foreign-educated dentists. For more information on these programs visit the ADEA.org CAAPID application service website.
Penn Dental Medicine GDE Supplemental Application
Both the GDE Supplemental Application and $90 non-refundable application fee are submitted in the PDM Applicant Portal made available to applicants only when we confirm receipt of a complete ADEA PASS application as defined by ADEA PASS. It is in the applicant’s best advantage to submit the items listed below well in advance of the application deadline. OMFS and DScD applicants should review specific admissions requirements and procedures. The following items must be received by the program’s deadline.
- The Penn Dental Medicine GDE Supplemental Application: Complete the Penn Dental Medicine GDE Supplemental Application online through the PDM Applicant Portal. A separate GDE Supplemental Application is required for each program if you apply to multiple Penn Dental Medicine programs.
- Application Fee: The $90 non-refundable application fee should be submitted directly to the PDM Applicant Portal. A separate application fee is required for each program if you apply to multiple programs. No application fee waivers are available.
It is recommended that the GDE Supplemental Application and the application fee are submitted at the same time well in advance of the application deadline.
All application materials and documents become the property of Penn Dental Medicine and will not be returned to the applicant.
Penn Dental Medicine Advanced Education Program Application Deadlines
Advanced Dental Program |
Application Deadline |
|---|---|
| Advanced Education in General Dentistry | October 15 |
| Endodontics | July 15 |
| Oral Medicine | October 1 |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | see specific admissions requirements and procedures |
| Orthodontics | September 1 |
| Pediatric Dentistry | October 1 |
| Periodontics | August 15 |
| Periodontics/Orthodontics | October 1 |
| Dual Periodontics/Prosthodontics | August 15 |
| Prosthodontics | August 15 |
| Master of Science in Oral Biology | see respective advanced education program deadlines |
| Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) with Certificate | see respective advanced education program deadlines |
| Doctor of Science in Dentistry (DScD) without Certificate | March 15, see separate admissions application requirements and procedures |
Reapplying to Penn Dental Graduate Dental Education Programs
Individuals who were not accepted to an advanced dental education program in prior years are encouraged to reapply. All reapplicants are required to apply through ADEA’s Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). Applicants who wish to reapply to the Penn Dental Medicine’s GDE programs must submit all required application documents. Reapplicants may submit any relevant documents and/or records that support any recent achievements or additional training in addition to a statement describing any changes from previous applications.
Criminal Background Checks – All matriculating students are required to complete a criminal background check prior to matriculation. It is possible that infractions as a result of a background check could prevent an accepted applicant from matriculating at Penn Dental Medicine. Please note that professional licensure requirements may prohibit individuals with criminal convictions from ultimately obtaining a professional license. Licensure requirements vary by state. Prospective students are encouraged to consult state licensing agencies for more information.
Health and Immunization Requirements – All admitted students must meet The University of Pennsylvania and Penn Dental Medicine’s health and immunization requirements prior to matriculation. Matriculating students will be asked to provide Student Health Services and Penn Dental Medicine with proof of immunizations prior to matriculation. Students must remain in compliance for the duration of their enrollment at the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact
Office of Student Admissions — GDE Programs
Robert Schattner Center
Penn Dental Medicine
240 South 40th Street, Room 122
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6030
Email: PDMGDE-Admissions@dental.upenn.edu
Telephone: 215-898-8943 (M-F 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)
Fax: 215-573-9648