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Post-Baccalaureate Program

The primary objective of Texas A&M University College of Dentistry’s Post-Baccalaureate Program (PBP) is to assist students from underserved populations and/or disadvantaged backgrounds* in gaining acceptance into the College of Dentistry after successful completion of the program.

This will be achieved by enrolling in a rigorous year-long curriculum that will focus on Dental Admission Test (DAT) preparation and upper-division science courses at the University of Texas at Dallas. Students will enhance their test-taking skills and develop more effective learning strategies by participating in specially-designed seminars and workshops.

2025 Summer Component: May 19, 2025 - June 27, 2025

The first summer component will entail intense DAT preparation, including tutoring, review sessions, and mock DATs.  PBP fellows must score as follows on the DAT: Academic Average, 19 or higher; Total Science, 18 or higher; Biology, 18 or higher; General Chemistry, 18 or higher; Organic Chemistry, 18 or higher; Reading Comprehension, 19 or higher; Perceptual Ability, 17 or higher; and Quantitative Reasoning, 17 or higher.  The DAT may not be taken more than two times during the Program. Fellows will be required to take the DAT before the start of the fall semester.

* Please note: Beginning March 1, 2025 DAT score reports will change from a 2-digit to a 3-digit scoring. Due to this new analyses, more time is needed. Hence, unofficial scores will not be given at the testing site on the day of examination. 

2025-2026 Academic Year Component

The academic year component will consist of 30 hours of courses to enhance fellows science backgrounds and to improve their communication and other social skills.  These courses will include a minimum of four (4) upper-division biology courses per semester. Courses will be offered by the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).  Each participant will be advised as to the proper courses in which to enroll during the academic year.

The curriculum will be designed specifically to magnify the strengths of each fellow academic profile, as well as focus on the real and perceived weaknesses in her/his preparatory background. Fellows must maintain a GPA of 3.40 or higher in courses taken at UTD (4.00 scale; +/- not included in GPA).

2026 Summer Component

The second summer component will offer Pre-Clinical Dentistry, Introduction to the Human Body, Biomedical Sciences, Investigating Dentistry, and Learning Strategies courses. The curriculum is designed to enhance academic success during the fellow first-year of dental school.  All courses offered during both summer sessions at the College of Dentistry must be successfully completed to the satisfaction of faculty.  This includes a grade of C(75) or better in the Pre-Clinical Dentistry course and B(80) or better in all other graded courses.

To be eligible for this program, applicants MUST:

  1. Be a legal resident of Texas (NO EXCEPTIONS.)
  2. Have applied to Texas A&M College of Dentistry for admission into the dental program. A Texas A&M College of Dentistry application must be on file.
  3. Lack no more than one College of Dentistry prerequisite course. All College of Dentistry prerequisite course grades must be a ‘C’ or better. For a list of prerequisite courses, go to: Admission Questions. Preference will be given to candidates who have completed ALL of Texas A&M College of Dentistry’s prerequisites
  4. Have completed a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. accredited college or university by May 19, 2025
  5. Have a minimum overall GPA of 2.50
  6. Have a DAT Academic Average score of at least 15
  7. Must not have taken the DAT more than a total of 2 times before the start of the program. (Note: An applicant who has completed the DAT requirements by the 2nd attempt and who is considering taking the DAT a 3rd time, should contact the Program Director.)
  8.  ** Be a member of a dentally-underserved population and/or be considered academically or economically disadvantaged and
  9. Demonstrate a strong potential of working with underserved populations or in communities with limited access to dental health care.

** An academically disadvantaged individual is one who comes from an environment that has inhibited the individual from obtaining the knowledge, skill and ability to enroll in and graduate from a health professions school. For the purpose of this program, an applicant is considered academically disadvantaged:

  1. If he or she is or will be a first generation college graduate to earn a baccalaureate degree in his or her family, or
  2. If he or she meets at least 4 of the following criteria:
    • English is not the applicant’s primary language
    • Overcame or is experiencing extreme hardship
    • From a single parent family
    • Non-traditional student (including older age)
    • Significant employment while attending school
    • Attended a low-performing high school
    • Resident of a financially poor school district
    • Resident of  a county designated as underserved by health professionals
    • Resident of a lowest 10% per capita income county
    • Other disadvantaged factor(s) identified by the applicant

** An economically disadvantaged individual is one who comes from a family with an annual income below a level based on low-income thresholds according to family size, published by the U.S. Census Bureau in the Federal Register, and adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index.

The Selection Committee is composed of the Program Director, the Director of Recruitment and Admissions, and other appropriate faculty.
The Committee will review applications and select applicants to interview and admit into the program. Participants who successfully complete the PBP will be admitted to Texas A&M College of Dentistry.

Number of Participants:
Sixteen (16) participants will be selected.

All applicants must complete and submit the PBP on-line application and all supporting documents by February 7, 2025.

Access the PBP on-line application at  https://bamf.tamhsc.edu/2 

  1. Log-in by entering the username and password you created for the DDS application;(After signing in, if you do not see the 2025 PBP application, click the drop-down arrow next to your name, click Preferences, click the link under Space Enrollment, click Admissions – College of Dentistry 2025 PBP. If you continue to encounter log-in issues, please contact nsneed@tamu.edu )
  2. Complete the assigned documents
    • Statistical Questionnaire 
    • Acknowledgement of Clery Act
    • Primary Application 2025-2026
  3. Submit the following:(detailed instructions on the following documents can be found in the on-line application)
    • ONE letter of recommendation from your college's Health Professions Advisory Committee or TWO letters from science professors who taught you
    • Most current official transcripts from all accredited colleges and/or universities attended
    • Official ADA copy of DAT scores

 

Applicants will be notified of their status in the program by March 21, 2025.

Each Post-Baccalaureate Program participant will be responsible for securing funds (personal or loans) to cover program-related costs.

Estimated school-related expenses (tuition, fees, books, housing, etc.) and living expenses for the fall and spring semesters at UTD is $33,000.00. Please visit UTD’s website for the most updated costs of attendance information.

http://www.utdallas.edu/cost-scholarships-aid/

Once PBP participants have started the program, if they withdraw from PBP for any reason other than acceptance into the 2025-2026 entering dental class at Texas A&M College of Dentistry or another dental school, they may be responsible for reimbursing the College of Dentistry all financial support provided to them.

This financial support includes, but is not limited to:

  1. stipends
  2. lodging
  3. DAT application fees
  4. materials and supplies

The reasons for withdrawal from PBP include, but are not limited to: 

  1. Applying to and accepting an offer of admission to another dental school while in PBP or after successful completion of the program, and
  2. Withdrawing from PBP due to plans to pursue a profession other than dentistry.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a part of an award totaling $3,425,785 with ~30% financed with non-governmental sources (Texas A&M College of Dentistry). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
Kerin L. Burdette, DDS, MPH, FAAPD
Director, Student Development
Director, Post-Baccalaureate Program
 
Natasha Sneed  
Administrative Coordinator

Texas A&M College of Dentistry 
Office of Student Development 
3302 Gaston Avenue, Rm. 365 
Dallas, TX  75246 
Phone: 214.828.8332 
Fax: 214.874.4502 
Email:  nsneed@tamu.edu