Admissions Requirements

Penn Dental Medicine begins accepting applications for the 2025-26 application cycle through ADEA CAAPID on March 6, 2025. While our application deadline is June 1, 2025, applicants are encouraged to submit their applications early. Penn Dental Medicine makes admissions decisions on a rolling basis.

Upon our receipt of a complete application from CAAPID, applicants will receive an invitation to create an account in the Penn Dental Applicant Portal where applicants will be prompted to complete our supplemental application and submit a nonrefundable application fee in the amount of $75. Only complete applications will be considered.

• Note: Due to the high volume of applications (over 1,600 for the 2024-2025 application cycle), it is recommended that complete applications be submitted well in advance of the deadline date.
• For the 2024-25 application cycle over 59% of all applications were submitted to CAAPID by May 1, 2025.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. The Admissions Office cannot be held liable for any delays caused by the U.S. Postal Service or other mail delivery systems. All application materials and documents become the property of Penn Dental Medicine and will not be returned to the applicant.

DDS/DMD or equivalent from your home country. Provisional certificate is not accepted.

Clinical Experience – An important factor in the selection process of applicants to the Program for Advanced Standing Students is an applicant’s clinical experience gained both outside the U.S. and in the U.S. and/or Canada. However, applicants with comprehensive understanding of the U.S. and/or Canadian dental practice model receive priority in our process. As such, applicant should gain substantial clinical experience in one or more U.S. and/or Canadian dental practice settings, prior to submission of their application. While experience in the dental specialties enhances an applicant’s overall understanding of the U.S. and/or Canadian dental practice model, experiences gained in one or more general dental practice settings is preferred.

• U.S./Canada Clinical Experience – priority will be given for candidates with significant clinical experience in the U.S. and Canada, such as shadowing (paid or unpaid) dental practices, working as dental assistant, and/or dental hygienist.
• Non U.S. Clinical Experience – experience as a practicing, licensed dentist in home country will be evaluated.

The following documents must be submitted to ADEA CAAPID:

Official National Dental Board Examination (NDBE) Scores — passing official NBDE Part I and Part II, or INBDE scores are required for application consideration. Do not submit official ADA National Board scores to Penn Dental Medicine. Official ADA National Board scores must be submitted to ADEA CAAPID.

Official TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores — an official TOEFL score is required for all applicants (including native English speakers) who have received their dental degree from a non U.S. dental school. Do not submit official TOEFL scores to Penn Dental Medicine. Official TOEFL scores must be submitted to ADEA CAAPID. IELTS is not accepted.

• While there is no minimum TOEFL score, serious consideration will be given to applicants with Internet-based test (iBT) scores of 90 and above. The average iBT TOEFL score for the class entering January 2024 was 102.
• TOEFL scores from July 2023 and later are required for admission.
• MyBest TOEFL scores are not considered.
• Requests for waiver of TOEFL will not be considered.
• For information and registration materials, visit TOEFL.

Official Course-By-Course Evaluation conducted by ECE (Educational Credential Creditors). The Course-By-Course evaluation report provides the U.S. equivalence of each educational credential plus a list of courses taken and their U.S. and grade equivalents. It also identifies upper level courses and grade point averages. For more information, visit ece.org. Your official ECE Course-By-Course evaluation must be submitted to ADEA CAAPID. WES evaluations will not be accepted.

Three letters of evaluation— All letters of evaluation must be submitted through ADEA CAAPID. Only letters appearing on letterhead stationery including the evaluator’s original hand-written signature will be considered. Applicants should inform their evaluators of the aforementioned letter formatting requirements at the time letters are being requested through ADEA CAAPID. Letters that do not meet these formatting requirements will not be accepted delaying the processing of your application. Additional letters will not be accepted.

• One letter must come from the Dean or director of the applicant’s primary dental school.
• One letter must come from a faculty member of the same institution.
• One letter must come from a supervising dentist at a U.S. or Canadian dental practice where you were employed, volunteered or observed.

Penn Dental Medicine understands that ADEA CAAPID limits applicants to just three letters of evaluation which may not meet the letter requirements of the many schools to which applicants are applying. To address this, we have developed a process by which applicants can provide us with those letters when an application enters our letter validation process. The letter validation process begins after we have received a ‘complete’ application from ADEA CAAPID, a complete Supplemental Application and application fee.

During our letter validation process, applicants who have submitted letters that do not meet our requirements to include type of evaluator, missing title and/or original hand-written signature, or letter does not appear on letterhead stationery, will be notified and provided the opportunity, through our applicant portal, to submit a request directly with your evaluator. Unfortunately, this process cannot be facilitated in advance of our letter validation process. Requested letters must be submitted, only by your evaluators, directly through the Penn Dental Medicine applicant portal. Letters received via email or postal mail will not be accepted unless approved in advance by admissions personnel. Please note that this is not an opportunity to add additional letters of evaluation other than those originally submitted.

Residency Status — Penn Dental Medicine maintains no specific residency or visa requirements to submit an application. Please note, however, that your residency status should allow you to gain the clinical experience required for a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. and/or Canadian dental practice model in order to present a competitive application. Refer to Clinical Experience above for additional information.

Additional factors which can enhance your application — Additional degrees or certificates (post graduate training as specialty certificate, master’s or doctoral degree)