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School Statistics

Pittsburgh

Admissions Statistics for Pittsburgh Dental School Requirements

Background Information

  • Location: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Institution Type: Private state-related
  • Campus Setting: Urban
  • Dental Doctoral Degree: Doctor of Dental Medicine
  • Mission Statement: “To improve oral health by teaching a new generation of clinicians to deliver oral health care with skill and compassion, research that expands the boundaries of our knowledge and builds on discoveries to enhance human life and service to the diverse community of patients who entrust themselves to our care.”
  • Year Opened: 1896
  • Number of Months to Earn Degree: 45
  • Campus Housing Available: Limited
  • Class Size: 80
  • Term Type: Semester

Combined degrees offered:

B.A./B.S.
M.B.A.
M.P.H.
M.S.
Ph.D.
Other Degrees

International Dental Graduate Programs:

Traditional Predoctoral Program for IDGs
Advanced Standing Program for IDGs
Yes
Yes

Admissions Statistics: (2022 Applicant and Entering Class Data)

  • Mean Age of First-Time, First-Year Enrollees: 23

Acceptance Rates by Location:

Number of Applicants
Number of Enrollees
Enrollment Rate
Overall
1722
76
4.41%
In-State
227
49
21.59%
Out-State
1369
27
1.97%
International
126
0
0%

Class Breakdown by Residency:

Number of Enrollees
Percentage of Incoming Class
In-State
49
64.47%
Out-State
27
35.53%
International
0
0%

Academic Averages for Acceptance:

DAT Academic Average
DAT Perceptual Ability
Cumulative GPA
Science GPA
20.6
20.2
3.77
3.68

Range of Academic Averages for Acceptance:

5th Percentile of Enrollees
95th Percentile of Enrollees
DAT Academic Average
18
24
Cumulative GPA
3.33
4.00
Science GPA
3.24
3.99

Prerequisites

Preferred
Strongly Preferred
Required
Baccalaureate is:

Required Coursework:

Required Course
Credits (Semesters/Quarters)
Required Lab
Biology
8/12
Inorganic Chemistry
8/12
Organic Chemistry
8/12
Physics
6/10
Biochemistry
3/4
English Composition
6/10
  • Recommended courses include: Anatomy, Cell Biology, Histology, Microbiology, and Physiology

Community College Coursework and Advanced Placement Credit:

Prerequisites
Electives
AP Credit Accepted
Yes
Yes
Community College Coursework Accepted
Yes
Yes

Maximum number of Community College Credit Hours:

  • 60

Required Shadowing Hours:

  • A minimum of 50 hours of dental shadowing are required
  • Continuous shadowing is required at a variety of types of practices

Letters of Recommendation: 

  • Four letters accepted in total
    • Option 1 : Pre-health advisory committee letter (preferred)
    • Option 2: Three separate letters, of which 2 are from a professor/advisor/mentor.

Dental Admissions Test Requirements:

Mandatory DAT
Canadian DAT Accepted?
Applicants Evaluated Before Official DAT Submission?
Applicants Evaluated Before Official DAT Submission?
Yes
Yes
No
Highest score

Supplemental Information:

Participation in ADEA AADSAS
Required Supplemental Application
Supplemental Application Fee
Yes
No
Yes: $75 fee for all students

Interview Format

  • The interview includes one-on-one interviews with faculty memes, presentations by department directors and chairs, student panel with current dental students of the school and a tour of the school’s facilities.

Finances and Application Logistics

Financial Estimations for students starting Fall 2024:

Year
In-State Tuition
Out-State Tuition
Additional Fees
Estimated Living Expenses
D1
$55,570
$66,634
$27,144
$28,000
D2
$55,570
$66,634
$19,540
$28,000
D3
$55,570
$66,634
$22,454
$28,000
D4
$55,570
$66,634
$23,386
$28,000

University Offerings

1. Academic Offerings 

  • Pre-Dental Opportunities
    • Guaranteed Admission 8-year Program for freshmen undergraduates enrolled at the Pittsburgh campus
    • Post-baccalaureate programs
  • Research
    • Dean’s Summer Research Program allows D1s to pursue research during the summer before they begin dental school
    • Student Research Group connects students to research projects in the areas of craniofacial genetics, tissue regeneration, informatics, public health, and other topics
    • Pitt Dental Medicine faculty support student research opportunities in their labs by acting as mentors

2. Clinical Experiences

  • Clinical Curriculum Overview
    • D1: Students focus on the theme of “Health Promotion and Disease Prevention” through biomedical lecture courses. Preclinical experiences include students performing oral exams on each other and assisting upperclassmen. 
      • First patient assigned during summer of D1
    • D2: Students focus on the theme of “Diagnosis and Treatment Planning'' through lecture courses and simulated cases. The year ends with students presenting a case to a faculty panel to demonstrate their application of knowledge to patient care. 
    • D3: Students focus on the theme of “Interdisciplinary Case Management” with their own assigned patient families. Students also complete the required didactic courses this year.
    • D4: Students focus on general practice opportunities with a great emphasis on patient care. Interprofessional rotations and elective courses are available to students. 
  • Postdoctoral and Residency Programs
    • Advanced Dental Education and Residency Programs:
      • Dental Anesthesiology
      • Endodontics
      • General practice Residency
      • Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
      • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
      • Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
      • Pediatric Dentistry
      • Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry
      • Prosthodontics
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