University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

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 the clinical experience section of our website.

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

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. An official Course-by-Courses ECE Evaluation must be sent to ADEA CAAPID. WES evaluations will not be accepted.

Three letters of evaluation are required and must meet the following criteria:

• One letter must come from the Dean or Director of the applicant’s primary dental school on letterhead stationery with an original hand-written signature. 
• One letter must come from a faculty member of the same institution on letterhead stationery with an original hand-written signature. 
• One letter must come from a supervising dentist at a U.S. or Canadian dental practice where you were employed, volunteered or observed. The letter must appear on letterhead stationery with an original hand-written signature.

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.

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.

• 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 2025 was 102.
• TOEFL scores from July 2023 and later are required for admission.
• Official TOEFL scores must be sent to ADEA CAAPID.
• For information and registration materials visit TOEFL.
• IELTS scores will not be accepted.

Official National Dental Board Examination (NDBE) Scores - Passing official NBDE Part I and Part II, or INBDE scores are required for all applicants. Official ADA National Board scores must be sent to ADEA CAAPID.

Applicants who are extended an interview are required to provide us with the following documentation either prior to or on the day of the scheduled interview. Do not send Penn Dental Medicine these documents unless you have been extended an invitation to participate in the PASS interview process.

• Dental School Diploma – we will accept a notarized copy of your original dental school diploma with a certified English translation, if needed.
• Official Dental School Transcripts – we will accept either an original sealed official transcript or a notarized copy of your official dental school transcript. If your transcript is in a language other than English, we will require a certified English translation.