Pre-Dental Program

If dentistry is your career of choice, George Fox offers majors that meet the prerequisites to get admitted to any dental school in the region – and the majority nationwide.

You'll most likely major in biology or biochemistry, but you can choose any academic major we offer as long as you take certain specific courses required of your dental school of choice. The beauty is, you'll have an academic advisor by your side to help chart your academic journey. You won’t go this alone!

For your part, you’ll need to meet the minimal entrance requirements to dental school, earn good grades (3.5 GPA or above), and perform well on the national Dental Admission Test (DAT), usually taken in the spring of your junior year.

As for our part, we offer undergraduate research and clinical job-shadowing opportunities. Many of our students engage in clinical research, both at the university and at Oregon Health & Science University.

In addition to offering the prerequisite courses you need to prepare you professionally, we approach science and faith as lessons that support each other, and we teach from that perspective. We are the largest Christian college in the Northwest to offer a pre-dental program.

Ally Swanson

Ally Swanson

Dentist, Grants Pass, Oregon

My time at George Fox prepared me very well for dental school. I was consistently challenged and supported by my professors when I expressed my desire to pursue dentistry.

students in the biochemistry class

What Will I Study?

Even though specific requirements differ with each dental school, the requirements generally include courses in:

  • Biology (general biology, microbiology, human anatomy and physiology)
  • Chemistry (general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry)
  • Physics (general physics), and
  • English (composition)

As getting into dental school is competitive, you should choose electives that will demonstrate your knowledge and dedication to learning. Select your major based on what you enjoy and where you’ll thrive academically.

Although you may major in any discipline, the majority of pre-dental students major in biology or biochemistry, which provide the foundational sciences required for admission to most dental schools.

You should also focus on learning as much as you can about medicine, ethics, etc., from physicians, local hospitals, and other health professionals. Shadowing a physician or dentist can be helpful in determining whether you would really like to have a career in that profession. A significant number of these hours are expected by admissions committees to demonstrate that you clearly understand the expectations of the profession.