University of Tennessee Health Science Center

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center offers a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene. The program, established in 1926, is fully accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. The program prepares students through didactic, laboratory, and clinical experiences to function as licensed dental hygienists and strives to create a learning environment in which each graduate is instilled with the knowledge, skills and values to provide care to patients, along with a sense of responsibility to self, the community and the profession. 

The campus is part of the largest health science center in the Mid-South, providing great potential for access to diverse population groups. In addition to treating patients in the College of Dentistry clinic, agreements have been reached between the university and several community clinics to provide student rotation experiences. 

The curriculum is designed as the third and fourth years of a bachelor of science degree program and consists of two academic years of full-time instruction. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to take national, regional, and state licensing exams.

To be eligible for the Dental Hygiene Program at the UT Health Science Center, students must fulfill the following requirements:

• Prior to enrollment, students must complete the sixty (60) semester hours of pre-professional college coursework listed below.

  Prerequisite Courses	Semester Hours
  Biology (General or Zoology)*	4
  Microbiology	4
  Human Anatomy and Physiology	8
  General Chemistry**	8
  Nutrition	3
  English***	9
  Psychology	3
  Sociology	3
  College Algebra	3
  Speech	3
  Electives	9
  TOTAL	60

  * Must be appropriate for science majors.
  ** Chemistry courses for Pre-Nursing students are acceptable. Must include content in biochemistry.
  *** Must include Composition I and II and any literature.
  **** Social Sciences courses may include psychology, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy.

• A GPA of 2.5 is the minimum required for application to the program; however, a 3.0 or higher in prerequisite courses is typically needed to be competitive.
• For students accepted into the program, a final transcript must be sent to UT Enrollment Services in order to verify an applicant’s GPA scores.
• Courses with grades of “D” are not acceptable. If a required course is repeated, both grades are used in calculating a cumulative grade point average.
• Credit hours earned for non-theory courses in physical education, music, art, and military science are not acceptable as elective hours.
• Students are advised to complete science courses as soon as possible during the course of obtaining their prerequisites.
• Credit for science courses completed more than five years prior to application will be carefully reviewed by the Admissions Committee and may not be accepted in fulfillment of the required number of hours.
• All science courses require laboratory experience.
• Proof of one year of American History at the high school or college level is a requirement for graduation from UTHSC.

For more information, please visit http://www.uthsc.edu/dentistry/educational-programs/dental-hygiene/index.php