Pre-Dentistry

The Department of Biological Sciences offers outstanding preparation for a career in dentistry. The suggested curriculum below fulfills the admissions criteria for both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville schools of Dentistry.

To be a competitive dental school applicant, students should adhere closely to the suggested Pre-Dentistry curriculum, earn an overall GPA of at least 3.2, and earn a Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math (BCPM) GPA of at least 3.2. A strong performance on the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) is crucial. You must apply to take the DAT exam through the American Dental Association and to find local testing centers/testing dates. The objective is to take the DAT after the Spring semester of the Junior year, so the student should begin preparing for the examination as early as the Fall of the Sophomore year. Dental schools use this national examination to compare applicants from different undergraduate institutions. Presently a score of 18 is average for admission.

Suggested Curriculum

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For First Time Freshman (Scroll Down for Transfer Students)

Fall Year 1	Hrs.	Spring Year 1	Hrs.
BIO 100T Transitions	1	BIO 216 Biological Inquiry & Analysis	4
BIO 115 The Cellular Basis of Life	3	CHE 202 General Chem & Quantitative Analysis	5
CHE 201 General College Chemistry	5	BIO 221 Zoology: Animal Form and Function	4
ENG 105 Critical Reading, Writing & Inquiry	4	MAT 150 Algebra & Trigonometry or
PSY 180 General Psychology or		MAT 250 Calculus & Analytical Geometry I	5
COM 161 Introduction to Public Speaking	3
Total	16	Total	18
Fall Year 2		Spring Year 2
BIO 222 Botany: Plant Form & Function	4	BIO 323 Cell Biology: Systems	3
BIO 300 Microbiology	4	CHE 320 Organic Chemistry II	3
CHE 312 Organic Chemistry I & Lab	5	CHE 325 Organic Chemistry II Lab	3
PSY 180 General Psychologyor		XXX XXX Global Awareness Elective	3
COM 161 Introduction to Public Speaking	3	CIV 201 or 202 World Civilization I or II	3
Total	16	Total	15
Fall Year 3		Spring Year 3
BIO 321 Cell Biology: Mechanisms	3	BIO 333 Genetics	4
BIO 322 Animal Physiology	4	CHE 330 Basic Biochemistry	3
PHY 130/131 General Physics I & Lab	4	PHY 132/133 General Physics II & Lab	4
BIO 308 Ethics in Biology	3	HUM 211 The Western Tradition	3
		DAT Exam, May
Total	14	Total	14
Fall Year 4		Spring Year 4
ENG 204 Advanced Expository Writing	3	BIO 499 Senior Seminar	1
MGT 250 Introduction to Management	3	BIO 320 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy	5
XXX XXX Unrestricted Electives	6	BIO 421 Vertebrate Histology	4
STA 135 Intro to Prob & Statistics or		XXX XXX Electives to complete 120 hrs total &
PSY 300 Principles of Statistical Analysis	3-4	42 hrs of upper level credit	2
Total	15-16	Total	12

 For Transfer Students with an Associate's of Science degree

Note, this pathway follows the pre-Biology Curriculum from WKCTC. It assumes that students have taken courses that will transfer as Murray State's BIO 115, BIO 216, CHE 201, CHE 202, MAT 150 and PHY 130/131. See Murray State Transfer Equivalency Tool to help you figure out how courses transfer from your current institution. NOTE: Students should take BIO 300, BIO 321 (or 323), BIO 322 and CHE 330 before taking the DAT. This exam is taken in May of the year prior to graduation. Therefore, we highly recommend that students take BIO 221 and Microbiology prior to transferring to Murray State. This will allow students to take all of the courses needed to do well on the DAT during their first year at Murray State and to take the DAT Spring Year 1 Post AS.

Fall Year 1 Post AS	Hrs.	Spring Year 1 Post AS	Hrs.
BIO 221 Zoology: Animal Form & Function	4	BIO 300 Microbiology	4
BIO 321 Cell Biology: Mechanisms	3	BIO 333 Genetics	4
CHE 312 Organic Chemistry I & Lab	5	CHE 320 Organic Chemistry II	3
PSY 300 Principles of Statistical Analysis	3	CHE 330 Basic Biochemistry	3
		XXX XXX Unrestricted Electives	3
Total	15	Total	17
Fall Year 2 Post AS		Spring Year 2 Post AS
BIO 222 Botany: Plant Form & Function	4	BIO 320 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy	5
BIO 322 Animal Physiology	4	BIO 421 Vertebrate Histology	4
ENG 204 Advanced Expository Writing	3	BIO 499 Senior Seminar	1
PHY 132/133 General Physics II & Lab	4	CHE 325 Organic Chemistry II Lab	3
		DAT Exam, May
Total	15	Total	13

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